The Good, the Bad, and the Alveys

Here is a quick recap of the past month, with all it's awesomeness, all it's horribleness, and all it's regularness.

The Awesomeness:

First, we celebrated James's 24th birthday. It was a hunting themed party, since Boo likes to hunt so much.

Yeah, people I made that awesome camo cake.

Everyone enjoying the party, especially mom for some reason. I have no idea what is so funny.

The Horribleness:

James and I were looking forward to telling everyone over Christmas that we were going to have a baby. Unfortunately, after an ER visit the night of James's birthday, lots of blood tests, a few ultrasounds, and bad news about certain things making it difficult for me to carry a baby, a long, drawn-out two weeks ended worse than it had began. I miscarried at around 6 weeks. After a few days off work, some moping around, some hating the world (especially people that have kids,) I finally decided I had to move on. So we're doing ok with it now.

And about Thanksgiving, well that's what we were dealing with over that holiday, so it wasn't the greatest Thanksgiving ever. (I was still in my "I hate everyone" phase that day. I may have wanted to pick up the turkey and throw it at people, maybe.)

The bright side of the horribleness is that I realize what an amazing person I married.

I love you, Boo.

The Regularness:

Church callings are not my most favorite thing, but dang, they sure do like me. I was called as a Sunday School teacher for about a second, just enough time to teach one horrible lesson. I am now called as the 2nd counselor in the Young Woman's. I think I may have liked my once a month teaching job better.

I have almost made it through a half a year of teaching! I may have yelled or swore at a few kids, but I have not killed or beat any of them. They have actually been a really good group of kids to teach, and we FINALLY made it through reading The Hunger Games after two and a half months! I was sick of it by the end, but they LOVED it.

And, now we are getting ready for Christmas, which I love. This year's Lloyd Christmas party is going to be awesome, and just let me tell you fam, my ugly Christmas sweater is pretty awesome, so is James's.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Boo

Ok, this is pretty late coming. James birthday was Thursday, but we've been having some life issues, so this is the first chance I've had to post it.

Look what he can do!

175ish pounds

A whooping 6ft. 3 in.

Head circumference = big (not as big as mine though)

Milestones:

Doesn't like sleeping that much

Walks surprisingly fast

Still hasn't mastered the art of whispering, but is improving

Eats everything

Is quite gassy

Loves to make loud, annoying noises just to tick me off

Favorite shows of late: How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory

Enjoys frantically waving, much like a lunatic, at random people that drive by

Loves shooting at, killing, blowing up . . . EVERYTHING still

Jeez, isn't he just growing up so fast!

Happy 24th Birthday!

This is Like an Oprah Episode: Full of Random Crap and I Intend to Talk About Myself a Lot

First thing's first. If you're looking for a good book to read, one that you can be mindlessly sucked into like Twilight or The Hunger Games (not to say the The Hunger Games is as horribly written as Twilight because I'm reading it with my students right now, and I think there are some definite merits to the book, anway,) I just read a new book by Veronica Roth called Divergent. It's the first of a triology. (The second unfortunately doesn't release until May of next year.) It's got a dystopic society/corrupt government theme like The Hunger Games that I like in books for some reason. Anyway, I'm just saying it'll probably be one of those books that explodes when they decide to make a movie of it, which I guess is already in the works. Definitely not the next great piece of American literature, but an entertaining read. So, Chad and Amanda, you wanted a book recommendation; there it is. I'll even lend you my copy.

Next, oh yeah, it was Halloween, and we "festivitied" it up. Okay, so we carved pumpkins like we normally do, but we were actually home to give out candy this year, which James loves to do for some reason. I do not, however. But, I did win the GVMS faculty costume contest! (Sorry, no pics of that.)

Last, I've recently discovered a great joy in buying crappy things from the DI and making them less crappy. Also, just buying cheap, random things at Ross.

Sweet metal, old-school bicycle: got at DI for $10.00.

Box with painting on it: got at DI for $2.00.

Very tall candle holder thing: got at DI for $1.00.

Bird house that I painted: got at DI for $1.00

Most awesome birdcage: got at Ross for $10.00.

Random things that I love above my cabinets: totally worth it!

Now this little beauty (my menu board because yeah people I have OCD and plan out my meals like a school cafeteria,) I fashioned out of the bottom of a treadmill that didn't work, painted it with chalkboard paint, painted some strips of wood for the boarder, and made James nail them on for me. Plus, the fall thing hanging on it, I made out of letters, wire, leafs, and hot glue.

My kitchen sign, just in case anyone gets really confused as to where my kitchen is. I got a metal board at a boutique for $3.00 and those letters for 1.00.

My box of crap (mostly for James because I don't like it when crap is laying around). He made it. I painted it.

Now, my fat kitchen man I got at Ross for like $2.00, and I made the sign from a plate I got at DI for $0.75, and then painted it with chalkboard paint.

The pitcher I got at DI for maybe $2.00, and I spray painted it green.

Please ignore the crappy picture. I made the fall wreath a while ago. It's a yarn one, and they are a huge pain because they take so long, but we just barely put up the vinyl "welcome" sign on the door.

And last, I got this sign from DI for $2.00 thanks to Trisha finding it for me.

Why didn't I realize DI was so fun a long time ago?

Kitchen Renovation

When James and I bought this house we bought it knowing that the kitchen was in need of some major repair. This picture doesn't do the grossness of it justice, but if you look closely at the corener by the stove you might be able to tell there is no counter top. We covered up the missing pieces with bits of white board until we could get it replaced. Yeah, that's really white trash.

All of the laminate on the countertops was bubbling up/peeling off, and the cabniets and wall under the sink was molding away from some sort of leak.

So this is the before.

This is the during, and yeah unfortunately the damage under and behind the sink was worse than we thought, so my kitchen was in this state for a few days.

We had no sink or running water in the kitchen for several days, and yeah that's a pile of dirty dishes on the stove. Awesome!



Luckily James is the world's best handy man. He can fix everything!

He only had a few freakouts during the process where he had to go outside and yell and beat things. One of the freakouts may or may not have involved this lazy suzanne being in his way.

And now I have a sink that I dare put my dishes in,

and actual countertops, not white boards,


and courntertops that don't make my want to disinfect them every thirty seconds.

The finished product!
(Now we just need to get rid of that ancient stove, and it will be perfect!)

On to the next things to fix: finish painting the rest of the house.

Holy, It's Been Two Years!

This is my photo montage of the past two years, accompanied to two of my favorite songs/two of James' least favorite songs. Enjoy!

"This is the First Day of My Life"

This is the first day of my life. I swear I was born right in the door way.

I went out in the rain suddenly everything changed; they're spreading blankets on the beach.

Yours is the first face that I saw. Think I was blind before I met you.



Now I don't know where I am, don't know where I've been, but I know where I want to go.



And so I thought I'd let you know, these things take forever. I especially am slow.






But, I realize that I need you, and I wonder if I could come home.





Remember the time you drove all night just to meet me in the morning.

And I thought it was strange, you said everything changed. You felt as if you just woke up.

And I said, "This is the first day of my life. I'm glad I didn't die before I met you.

But I don't care, I could go anywhere with you, and I'd probably be happy."

So if you want to be with me, with these things there's no telling, we'll just have to wait and see.

But I'd rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery.

Besides maybe this time is different; I mean I really think you like me.

"The Way I Am"

If you were falling, then I would catch you.

You need a light, I'd find a match.

Cause I love the way you say good morning,

and you take me the way I am.

If you are chilly, here take my sweater.

Your head is aching, I'll make it better.

Cause I love the way you call me baby,

and you take me the way I am.

I'd buy you Rogane when you start losing all your hair.

Sew on patches to all you tear.

Cause I love you more than I could ever promise,

and you take me the way I am.

You take me the way I am.

HAPPY SECOND ANNIVERSARY, BOO! I've loved every minute of it!

(Yes Amanda, I theft your idea. Great idea by the way!)

Things that Make You Go, Hmmmm

I googled "looks of utter confusion" and this is the best I could come up with.

While it might be surprising to some, there are quite a few things that make me go hmmm/wtf/I don't get/why are you the way you are. Such things like, where do baby corn come from and why do they taste so delicious, why does James insist on talking in a high pitch voice when he is angry, what in the heck are the song lyrics to the song"Things that Make You Go, Hmmm" actually trying to communicate, how do people live in such disgustingly unclean houses, who decided that math was actually important to learn, how do people not love tomatoes, why can't everyone be more like me, etc., etc. etc..

Well recently there have been two MAJOR things that have made me go, hmmmmmm.

Confusing Incident Number 1:

The main character of this "tale" may or may not be related to me (but he/she probably is.) He/she may or may not be well liked by me (but he/she probably isn't). And, to protect (not the person's identity) but me from having to deal with any more uncomfortable issues, we shall from henceforth refer to this he/she as Person X.

Now Person X is not young. Person X is definately not under the age of 7 like you my want to imply after hearing this story, but please refrain from doing so. Person X is older than me. Now Person X did not get a birthday present from us last year. Mostly because, well we were extremely poor at the time, we were busy with something much more important, Person X does not qualify in likableness or age to recieve a birhtday present (even if Person X was liked he/she wouldn't have got a present,) and no one else that is related to me in the same way Person X is got a present either. (We like to keep things fair around here.) Now we were recently informed that Person X was highly offended/saddened by our lack of a gift. (Now I would also like to insert that Person X did recieve a very polite phone call of birthday happiness.) We were informed that we should be kinder this year and give Person X a nice, little gift.

Thing that makes me go, hmmm: why is Person X so childish/materialistic that he/she cannot be merely satisfied with a phone call of birthday happiness?!

Answer me this. Are you offended by relatives (maybe immediate relatives) not giving you a gift for your birthday? Can you be satisfied with just a simple phone call?

Confusing Incident Number 2:

Now I don't have to be so coded this go around because no one from my work reads/will ever read my blog (although Person X doesn't either.) At faculty meeting this morning my principal informed the English teachers that we should be teaching cursive because it is a dying art and it forces students to write nicer.

Thing that makes me go, hmmm: who in the hell teaches cursive in the 8th grade?! Shouldn't I be more concerned with the fact that I have students that read on a 2nd grade reading level, that I recently had to teach students the difference between a capital "I" and a lower case "i," that after two weeks of "reviewing" parts of speech I still have too many students that can't tell me the difference between a verb and a noun?

Answer me this. Do you think teachers should still be teaching cursive in an age when computers are so readily available?

Gangsta's Paradise (Just for You, Chad)

Dangerous Minds: a thriller, crime drama starring Michelle Pfeirffer, an ex-marine teacher struggling to connect with her students in an inner city school.

There are so many connections between Michelle and I, right? (Minus the ex-marine part and the inner city school part, but I totally look just like that when I'm in my "teacher get-up" I swear.)

Who would have thought that teaching in the small, farming community of Gunnison , Utah would require such rough, badass teacher skills, like breaking-up a hallway brawl (I may or may not have forgot to make sure the kid that was getting repeatedly punched in the head was ok, and just left him in the hall,) preventing a ferocious pencil throwing attack, turning in a graphic drawing of a student killing another student, and engaging in (every Thursday) an intense glare-off with the future leader of the Mexican gang. (Little girl you do scare, but I am skillfully trained in the art of the Lloyd glare, and you cannot top that, but really you do scare me.)