Car Troubles Part 2

I finally got an estimate as to when I will probably get my car back...1 1/2 to 2 weeks.  It will take that long to get the part needed to fix it, once they have the part they can be done in 3 to 4 hours.  In the meantime, I am trying to figure out how to get to work.  My roommates are awesome and are willing to drive me to places so the only problem is getting to work.  It used to be that quite a few of my co-workers lived in Provo but that is no longer true so it makes it more difficult to find someone I can catch a ride with.  I'm contemplating just renting a car, it would make transportation a lot easier but it's expensive.

On a more positive note: I test drove some cars yesterday!  I started at the Hyundai dealership and drove the Elantra and the Accent.  Both were good, the Accent is nice because I could get it in a hatch back, but the Elantra has a smoother ride and is a little zippier.  After that, I made my way over to Toyota to try out the Corolla.  Apparently, when the salesman saw two girls get out of the car he figured he could make a sale based on color as that was the only question he kept asking.  I got really frustrated with him and only drove the car around the block especially since he wanted me to drive out a different way so I could check out the color on another car.  He finally realized that I didn't care about the color (I had only told him that three or four times) and when he also realized he might not be winning me over, he decided to ask me what I was looking for and what I really cared about, he was a little shocked when I said the engine and driveability of the vehicle.  The last stop was the Ford dealership.  I wanted to drive a Focus.  The only ones they had were the sport versions.  It was really fun to drive and made me happy to drive, but the price tag for the Sport didn't make me happy.  So from my trials yesterday, the Hyundai Elantra is at the head of the pack.  This week I will do some more research and see if there is anything else I might want to try out.

Car Troubles

My car decided it didn't like me this weekend.  Aleisha and I were on our way up to a spa day when we got stuck in traffic and then my car started making weird noises then really bad noises.  We stopped to check things out and then turned back towards home and my mechanic.  A few minutes away from the mechanic, the check engine light came on.  I had to leave my car there over the weekend and found out yesterday that one of the cam shafts broke through a lifter.  Normally it would cost $200 for a new cam shaft but I learned yesterday that I apparently have a special engine and so my part will cost $1200 and they can't find it anywhere without ordering it and taking a few days.  The mechanic is contemplating replacing the top of my engine as it would probably end up costing the same if not less.  This all just means that I am without my car for while...too bad this didn't happen in the summer when it wouldn't matter as much.  Steven has let me borrow his car the last two days and I have another offer for this week as Steven will start work tomorrow and will probably need his car back.  Because of the cost of repairs for my special engine, I'm planning on selling my car and buying a new one.  Any suggestions?

Home Makeover

In having roommates again, I decided to finally jump on all the projects I've been wanting to do around my house for awhile and a few other projects as well.

I've wanted to paint my main bathroom since I first moved in, but just never got around to it.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 The front bedroom got a little of a makeover last November, but I had a few suggestions to paint one of the walls gray, so I did:

I didn't put the rest of the decor back because the new roomies were starting to move a few things in, such as:

Aleisha and I took a bunch of spray paint and turned an old dresser into this lovely beauty!  DOn't worry, we have since bought washers to straighten out the handles in the center drawers.

There are still a few projects I'm working on: 

 This will eventually become a chalkboard.  I have already painted the frame, I just need to paint the center now.

 This ugly light fixture is found in the front bedroom.  I have already taken steps to transform it into something wonderful.

The Last Day of Summer

Today is my last day of summer, my last day of freedom.  This has been the first summer where I'm not counting down the days as I look forward to school starting again because it means something specific to do, a routine to follow.  This year I have had so much fun, have gotten a lot done, and I have so much more I could do!  As I have work to look forward to tomorrow, I sit here and look back at my summer:

* 2 trips to California
* 3 new roommates
* 10 days spent in training meetings
* 2 funerals
* 1 room to shove all of my stuff into
* 2 rooms painted
* 1 sleepover
* 5 houseguests
* 10 books read=10.35 inches

The trips to California were to attend the funerals of my best friend from elementary through high school and my grandmother.  The first trip was extended to include a family reunion as well.

Three friends of mine moved in with me this past week.  Because they think they need rooms to sleep in, I had to move all of my "stuff" back into my bedroom.  I can fit a lot in my room!  We've become organizational gurus in the process.

The ten days in training can be described all the way from excruciating to decent.  Four of the days were spent to train me to train others in the new national math core our state adopted.  Four days were spent training the other teachers.  The remaining two were to teach me how to administer a reading test to my students.

My parents came into town just over a month ago to work on their four-plex and they decided to stay with me.  A couple of weeks later, my aunt and two of my cousins stayed with me as they passed through on their way to Boise.

I was able to read a bit this summer but not as much as I would have liked.  I'm still working on reading my height in books and this summer's list gave me another 10.35 inches.  Added to what I had previously read, I now have 34.8 inches left to go.  Since some of you will ask, these are the books I was able to read this summer:

Coraline

The Neverending Story

Ranger's Apprentice: The Burning Bridge

Magyk

The Graveyard Book

Ranger's Apprentice: The Icebound Land

Ranger's Apprentice: The Battle for Skandia

Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones

The Thirteenth Tale

Shiver

Teacher Dreams

Recently most conversations with friends and relatives involve them asking when school starts again.  This is the first year that I keep forgetting what day I have to be back at work.  By this point with most summers,  I can't wait to have a routine again and actually have something to do that I just about count down to school starting.  This summer, I have had so much fun and achieved so much that I don't want school to start just yet.

With tonight's conversations, I ended up talking to a friend and I got on the topic of the crazy dreams I usually get just before school starts.  I haven't had one yet this summer, so maybe you'll get an update later. In the meantime, my friend was laughing so much at these dreams he told me I should write them down and I figure that if I teach long enough I could probably write and sell a book.  I realized later that I have written down most of the dreams in posts so here are a few flashbacks to my awesome teacher dreams:

* 2010 Beat boxing teacher

* 2009--1st and 6th grade

One that I have not written down is I think my very first teacher dream--Background: I was hired on as an intern to teach 3rd grade and already knew most of the curriculum and what to expect from a 3rd grader.

In my dream I showed up at the school on the very first day, ready to go and excited to teach.  When I got there, the secretary showed me to my classroom.  The room was in the basement and was very tiny.  The secretary tried to pass it off as a classroom but I knew it was more of a large supply closet because of the size and because it had a bunch of PE equipment all over the place.  There were no desks but the secretary told me that we would be getting some tables soon.  I tried to say something but before I could, the bell rang and the secretary told me that my class was coming in from recess.  I was expecting about 25 3rd graders, but the students running in were most definitely NOT 3rd graders, they were more the size of 6th graders and all seemed to have severe cases of ADHD.  Before I could object, the secretary was hurrying out the door and telling me to have a nice day.