Living Room Wall

I'm working on a small project in my living room. When I first moved in I had a small loveseat and couch and so I arranged some photos on the wall behind the loveseat like this:

I really liked it and got several compliments on a job well done. It's been like that for a few years now, the only problem is that I got a new couch about a year ago that is slightly longer so the photos are no longer centered above the couch and I think it looks kind of funny.

Most people have told me to just add more photos to the left and I agree so I've been collecting black picture frames for awhile now. The only thing is that my fabulous cousin, Pam, gave me a really cute clock that I now want to add to the mix so I need to rearrange a little more than originally planned. So, stay tuned for when I am done and take a picture, you can tell me what you think.

Banquets

I got a very small taste of being famous the last few weeks. I was honored at two different banquets in regards to being a finalist for the PAEMST award. The first banquet was a couple weeks ago on Friday, February 11th with the Utah Science Teachers Association at Thanksgiving Point. They sent me the invitation via email about three days beforehand. Steven was already going to the conference so he stayed and I brought Randi as my plus one. I got this lovely certificate:

Yes, they spelled my name wrong, but it's ok because they gave me money too. At the very end of the event, they had a raffle, I ended up winning two tickets to the Living Planet Aquarium.

This past Friday, I had another banquet with the Utah State Office of Education. I knew about this one a few months in advance as it's a pretty big deal.

It was in Salt Lake City at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on the top floor. I would have taken pictures of the room and the view but I figured that might be a little tacky. I had lined up several people to be my plus one but they all had to cancel on me. I am lucky enough to have an amazing cousin, Kevin, who went with me even though I invited him to go that morning, he even drove! Upon arrival, I was given a lovely corsage:

We had a very nice dinner--salmon! Kevin and I agreed, it would have been better to serve steak, we both like our cow. After dinner, there was a keynote speaker who spoke about excellence. After that, they presented the five finalists by reading a short bio and showing a few pictures of them working with their classes. I had the thought, "who are these people and where did they come from?!?!?" run through my head as I kept hearing about how they taught in the mountains of Peru and worked closely with teachers in Japan and Russia. It kind of made me feel a little unqualified to be a finalist for the same award. But I felt much better when, at the very end, a lady came up to me, introduced herself, and shook my hand. She was a previous award winner and she helped with the judging on the state level so she watched my video and told me how much she loved it and my lesson idea as she teaches sixth grade too. A photographer was there snapping pictures so I'm sure they will show up eventually somewhere, I'll let you know when I find out. This is the certificate I received that night (my name is spelled right in this one):

Oh so busy!

I have been oh so busy this month, it's been crazy! Normally I can just sit around and time will slowly creep by, but not so. I have had meetings, appointments, social gatherings, banquets, and all sorts of things to be at and go to.

The main highlight of this last week was a birthday gathering for one of my favorite people, my cousin! We went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner then sent the kidlets home with the grandparents so we could play. We went bowling and then went and found dessert at TGI Friday. Brownies are yummy!

A week and a half ago I was honored at a banquet. It was held by the Utah Science Teachers Association and they recognized me as being one of two finalists for my PAEMST award (nope, still haven't heard the final verdict on that one yet). Sure they spelled my name wrong on the certificate, but it's shiny and I got a Visa gift card and two free tickets to the local aquarium (who should I take on a date to the aquarium?)! I have another banquet this Friday. This one is held by the state office of education (who should I take on a date to a banquet that my boss will be at?).

Last Monday was interesting...but not in a good way...I don't want to talk about it...I'm not happy...the people who have heard about it know that I was fuming for quite awhile. Sorry...no details...too many people could be reading this and then feelings may be hurt.

On another note...I've been asked to help train the 6th grade teachers in my district about the new math core we've adopted. A bunch of people are freaking out about it, they're acting as though the world is coming to an end. Really, it's scary because it's all technical and stuff and once you start using your reading comprehension skills and go deeper, you can see that it's basically the same as before...just different. Preparing for all of the training meetings and pre-training meetings is taking up a bunch of time, but it's kind of fun.

The ward came over to my complex tonight to watch a movie. We were supposed to go to the dollar theater and watch the latest Narnia movie but it was sold out. We ended up watching Toy Story 3. Afterwards, a few people came over to my house and we had ice cream while we chatted. It was kind of sad that these people didn't know exactly where I lived as they'd never been to my house before, but we had fun and more plans have been planned. I don't have many people over all the time...I should fix that.

Time for bed so I can get started on my next busy week. If you want to do something, just let me know in advance so I can get some things planned around it :)

Hair cut!

I just got home from getting my hair cut and I love it! I love the person who cuts my hair, Stacy is amazing! I always have a good conversation and always end up with a good cut as well. My only problem is that I love the way she styles my hair but can't ever seem to repeat it in the morning. I was thinking to myself as she was blowing it dry that I just need a Stacy to do my hair for me every morning. Plus, having someone else play with your hair just feels good. It's time for bed, but if I go to bed I will mess up my hair and I won't get to enjoy it any more. Maybe I will stay up a little longer. I was going to take a picture but then realized that I left my camera at school, got one on the phone, but those never turn out.