Happy Birthday Laura!

I've never known anyone so caring and loving as you. Thank you for being the best big sister I could ever ask for, and for always looking out for me. I love you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

p.s. sweet bangs.

Teaching

Student teaching has been an up and down emotional roller coaster for me. I have learned that teachers hardly sleep, bring work home with them, and are greatly underpaid. However, there are so many rewarding aspects of teaching, and especially for art teachers. Perhaps my favorite part of teaching is just getting to know the kids and having conversations with them about life. Granted, you ask a junior high student about life and 9 times out of 10 you're going to hear about either Justin Bieber or Playstation. But still, great little conversations.

Last week one of my special ed. students came up and pulled me aside to tell me all about Mary Poppins. I learned what year it was made, that his grandparents went on a date to the movie, the release date of the special edition DVD... oh and it went on. I loved it though, he was so into Mary Poppins. So much so, that he drew this and gave it to me at the end of class:

It doesn't take much for me to get choked up over children's art work, and this one did it for me. So, so sweet.

P.S. I've started a new blog entitled the paleo project. It's a work in progress, but check it out and give me shout-outs of support throughout my paleo journey ;)

Listen.

If you know me well, you know I have a dream of learning the banjo. When this happens, this song will be the first I play:

The Youth

I love to poke fun at my students who are obsessed with Justin Bieber. I love to tell them that he's a toddler, or a hologram. I'm totally weirded out by the whole "Bieber fever" thing, but then I'm reminded of my youth...

Behold, a journal entry of mine from junior high-- heads up for the exclamation points after every sentence:

June 17, 2000

5 handsome, charming, and talented young men from all over America, each with a passion for singing and a dream of stardom come to Salt Lake City's Rice-Eccles stadium to give Utah the best night of their life!

Yes! NSYNC finally came! It is Saturday, June 17, 2000! I will go through the whole day w/ you! I woke up this morning excited as heck! I was going to go to the NSYNC concert at 7:30 w/ Katherine Wheatley, Heather Crowley, and Ashley McKell!

It was such a long time until I went to the concert so I wanted to kill some time, but I didn't want to get ready yet because I didn't want to ruin my clothes for the concert! So I played on the computer, played w/ Greeley, practiced the piano, sat by my window for an hour, cleaned my room, listened to NSYNC on my CD player! By this time it was about 3:45! So I decided to slowly get ready! I took a bath, shaved my legs, put lotion all over me, washed my hair, put my hair up, ironed my shirt, and by this time it was almost 5:00! Katherine was going to be here to pick me up at 5:30 so I hurried and go all my stuff together!

(I'll skip some details and get to a great, great part)

We waited for what seemed like hours and then Pink was supposed to be the opening act but she was sick, so instead they had a guy named Presley sing and then another guy named Ron. It made me made because they didn't even have Sisqo sing and he was supposed to!!

(Skipping ahead)...

They interacted with us so much and they made us feel special! They have my respect and I love them and I love my friends! BYE BYE BYE!

A real choice time in life, as you can see.

To all the fictitious men I ever loved.

In order from my first love to my latest, Happy Valentine's Day...

Dear Anna,

I know you're going to greatly dislike that I'm posting this picture of you, but I can't resist. You're just too beautiful for your own good... both inside and out.

Happy 20th!!!

John Stephen Akhwari

I don't know where I've been my whole life to have never seen this video before now...

Anyway, it's touching and very uplifting.