GIVEAWAY Time!!!

All right folks, it's a week late, but it is time for the Christmas Giveaway. Up for grabs are these lovely items:

• Wee Sing For Christmas (CD & Book of Lyrics)
• Mr. Christmas by Roger Hargreaves
• Little Miss Christmas by Roger Hargreaves

I was so excited when I saw this CD that I bought one for my classroom and one for this giveaway. I will admit, I don't love it as much as I thought I would, though my students are big fans. The first half of the CD has religious songs, and the last half is the Santa stuff. If you have kids, they will probably like it!

To Enter: Leave me a comment connecting me to your blog. In your comment, please share one of your very favorite recipes. Giveaway closes at 12:00 NOON on Sunday, December 5th. I will draw a winner on Sunday night and get the winner the prize as soon as possible. If you live close you will get a hand delivery, and if you live more than 20 minutes away from me, I will mail it :-)

Everybody enter - and don't forget to include your favorite recipe!

Lots of Thanks (Belated)

Thanksgiving break started with a huge storm warning. I spent Monday night calling all of my students parents to let them know that school would be let out early. Tuesday night was spent indoors, drinking hot cocoa, building blanket "houses", and enjoying the storm!

Wednesday was my day off. It was wonderful!

Thursday was thanksgiving! Oh how I love this holiday. Not only to I love everything that it stands for, but I am a huge fan of the thanksgiving menu. The whole family was there as we ate, and chatted. Lacey planned an activity for the girls to make a special treat for everyone's plate:

We went bowling after we were all turkey-ed out, and had a great time.

Around 8:00 that night I started to feel sick. Not the "I-just-ate-way-too-much" kind of sick, but the flu kind of sick. Several of my students have had this over the past month, so it wasn't huge shock, but it was not fun anyway. Even though it was quite a miserable little bug, I found lots, and LOTS to be thankful for.

I was thankful that I could call my dad at 1:00 in the morning to come and give me a blessing when I thought I was going to die.

I was thankful when my mom showed up with my dad, bringing with her Gatorade, a rice bag, and pajamas so that she could sleep over.

I was thankful to have my mom there. Even though she was asleep while I threw up, it was nice to know that I wasn't alone.

I was super thankful for my mom the next day who cleaned/sanitized my house while I sat and miserably watched.

I was thankful that KBYU decided to make the day after thanksgiving an "Anne of Green Gables" marathon, giving me an entire day of entertainment. Is there anything better to watch when you can't move from the couch?

I was thankful that Anne and Gilbert finally got together. It never gets old. It always makes me smile. It reminds me to have hope.

I was thankful that I actually slept Friday night.

As odd as it is, I was thankful I got sick over a break so that I didn't have to worry about finding a substitute, and then worry about the substitute all day.

And today I am extremely thankful to be almost back to normal, just in time to head back to school.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, minus the whole puking part.

Stay tuned, this week is the GIVEAWAY week!

ME!

My friend Katie did this blog a while ago. I thought it was fun, so I copied her. I think it is a fun way to look back over time and see how you change.

I am... unique.
I think... way too much. Seriously.
I know... that I am a daughter of God.
I want... to learn to let go of things.
I have... oh so many blessings.
I wish... I was coordinated.
I hate... cloves. Yuck.
I miss... college. I know, nuts.
I fear... regret.
I feel... excitement that the holiday season is here!
I hear... "TEACHER", all day long.
I smell... autumn.
I search... for my desk. It is a constant battle. (my goal is to find it before I leave each day, but it is ALWAYS covered in papers)
I wonder... how my life will turn out.
I regret... not buying more Oatmeal Squares when they were on sale for a dollar.
I love... being in nature.
I care... about other peoples happiness.
I always... have a book with me.
I am not... athletic.
I believe... that it will all work out in the end.
I dance... a lot when it rains.
I sing... as I jog.
I don't... know how to play chess.
I write... blog posts to keep track of my life.
I win... nothing. I have the worst luck at contests! WAIT! I won a candy bar last month!
I lose... everything. Yikes!
I never... get up when my alarm goes off.
I listen... to Ashley's IPOD when I run. It's fun to have different music!
I can usually be found... trying to get caught up at school.
I am scared... of failure.
I read... blogs religiously but don't comment very often.
I am happy about... a lot of things. Life is good.

A 1st Grade Conversation

Before I tell you about my funny conversation with my students this week, I need to give you some background. I do not like being called teacher. I try to remind my students to call me Miss (enterlastnamehere). When they do call me teacher I usually call them student, and that makes us all laugh.

Also, they know that my first name is Katie. My full name is printed on the bottom of each of their lunch cards, so it didn't take them long to figure it out. They think it is so cool that they know my name! We have a deal that they can call me Katie instead of Miss (enterlastnamehere) as soon as they are 18.

Student: TEACHER!!!
Me: What's my name?
Student: (mischievous look in eyes) KATIE!
Me: (laughing) Yep, that is my name. When can you call me Katie?
Student: When I'm 18
Other Student: But what if you're dead by then?
Me: WHAT?!?! How old do you think I am?
Other Student: (Shrugs)
Me: (Quick calculations in head) When you are 18 I will be 36. Not quite elderly yet!

It made me laugh all day!

P.S. The picture has nothing to do with the story, but I thought it was so cute! I love this time of year, and I loved taking a bunch of little turkeys to our schools Thanksgiving feast!

Getting Out of the Blogging Funk

I decided that a good way to get out the blogging funk would be to change the blog a bit. After way too long, I switched this:

To this:

Ashley taught me how to use her digital scrapbooking program. It was so much fun! I couldn't find a picture that I liked well enough to use, so for now my school picture will have to do. We'll see how long it lasts. Knowing me, it could stay up for a long time.

P.S. Just a heads up - my next step for getting out of the blogging funk is a giveaway. It's been a while, so I am doing one for Christmas. I think it's a really exciting one! I'll put it up right after Thanksgiving.

"Katie's" Book

Yesterday I went to dinner at my parents house and found this book sitting on top of a pile of my stuff:

This conversation followed:

Me: Ummmm . . . Mom, did you buy me a book?
Mom: Oh no. I found it. Isn't it yours?
Me: While I could probably use it, no, it is not.
Mom: Hmmmm.

Later on that evening Lacey, Steve, and Ivy arrived. Ivy immediately picked up the tiny book and started to "read" it to herself. It was quite darling.

When we tried to tell Ivy that it was time to come and eat dinner, she was not happy because she was busy reading "Katie's" book. Ivy was not there when I had the conversation with my Mom. The book was no longer sitting with my things. And yet, even at the young age of 2 Ivy could understand that it was really Katie who needed the book. I felt quite pathetic (really, I just laughed really hard. My first graders like to bring up my marital status enough that I think I am becoming quite use to it).

I think that maybe someone was trying to send me a message. Maybe I am suppose to read Dating for Dummies. I am the first to admit that I am not a fabulous dater. I guess Dating for Dummies couldn't hurt!

This Thing Saves Me:

Quite literally. Without it I wouldn't get any sleep. You see, I am a horribly light sleeper. I blame it on growing up in front of a farm where the only noise you ever heard was a cow or donkey. And that was rare. Cars didn't drive by. Neighbors didn't live really close, and they were quiet. It was blissfully silent. Not to mention dark. The ideal sleeping environment.

I wish I was one of those people who could sleep anywhere. I wake up to the slightest noise. Open my bedroom door and I am wide awake. The doorbell. The neighbors dog. A person walking on a different floor. A television on. The list goes on and on.

In China, Brazil and college I wore ear plugs every single night. They kept it quiet enough I could sleep, and since I am a light sleeper I could still wake up to my alarm clock even while wearing them. It seemed to solve my problem.

Then I moved. For several months I lived alone in a house where the noise of cars/dogs/neighbors is constant. I tried wearing earplugs. This time it didn't work. You see, along with being a light sleeper, I also have an overactive imagination, especially when I am alone in a house. Every time I heard a noise through my earplugs I wondered if someone had come in. I freaked myself out for a week.

After a week of almost no sleep I started researching white noise machines. Yes, they are used mostly for infants. But some adults find them helpful. I ordered one and tried it out. After using it for several months I have to say that I LOVE it. Seriously. I can sleep without ear plugs. I sleep more soundly. It took a while to get used to, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who can't sleep because of noise. It is lovely. It really saves me.