Group of girls writing a skit: Ms. Mac, ¿Cómo se dice botín en ingles?
Me: Booty, like pirate treasure.
Group of girls: Doesn't it mean swag? We are writing our skit like Jersey Shore.
Me: That is sad.
I love my job.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
To My Future Husband, Wherever You Are
¡¡¡¡DISCLAIMER!!!! This is quite the serious post, you have been warned.
If you had told me at 18 years old that I would graduate from college and move to Houston, Texas and become a Spanish teacher, I would have laughed in your face. My two years of high school Spanish had basically taught me to count to one hundred, getting a big confused at around sixty, and label every color and school item in the classroom-very useful for a conversation about the weather or politics. If you would have told me that I would serve a mission, graduate from college and start my teaching career with no impending marriage on the horizon, I would have wondered why life was even worth living.
And yet here I am.
I woke up this morning with a strong desire to write a book. The sad part is the only thing I could think about was starting with what I did this morning and documenting the life of a single mormon girl. I think John Bytheway said it best when he described marriage as a duet and then being single was like trying to sing it by yourself. Everyone stands around you and wonders why you can't do it, laughs at you even saying, what is wrong with you? Just sing the notes that are written, but one person can't possibly do it, so it is pointless to try. That's how i felt- how I FEEL sometimes.
I am not depressed or unhappy, I am so glad I am where I am doing what I'm doing. I know I'm where I'm supposed to be doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but I guess that is the scariest part of all. Thinking that maybe this is the plan, this is my potential and that I will never be anything more than a teacher, wishing to be a mother instead of the other way around.
I don't know where you are, or if you are even out there, but I want you to know that what you see is what you get. I cannot be someone that I am not, but I am trying to be better. But there are some things you really should know.
I will always be the girl who thinks her sisters are her only true friends, who idolizes her younger brother and loves her older brother more than he will ever really see. I will forever be the girl who calls her dad just because she misses him, but will always make up some question about the car just so she can talk to him for a minute. I will never stop being the girl who can talk to her mom for hours about things that she doesnt' really care about, just because her mom will always be the most entertaining person she will ever know. I will always curse when I'm angry and limit my crying to the shower because I don't want people to hear me. I will forever listen to my music too loud and set seven alarms for various times about an hour before I actually HAVE to get up, because it takes me that long to get out of bed. I will be the girl who secretly wants to give talks in sacrament meeting, who wants to play your guitar, but will never tell you that while we are sitting at a campfire. I will always be the girl who laughs too loud and cries too long, who sneezes three times every time and quotes movies like she saw them just yesterday. I will always love fictional characters and compare every guy I meet to Lloyd Dobler.
That is me. And if you never come, I will understand and be okay with it. I cannot change who I am for someone else, and though I am always trying to be better, there are things I just don't want to change
Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed. Doctrine and Covenants 123:17 That's all I can do, and I'll keep praying that you are as patient as I need you to be, as funny as I hope you are, and as willing to work as I hope I am.
P.S. I cheat at solitaire.
If you had told me at 18 years old that I would graduate from college and move to Houston, Texas and become a Spanish teacher, I would have laughed in your face. My two years of high school Spanish had basically taught me to count to one hundred, getting a big confused at around sixty, and label every color and school item in the classroom-very useful for a conversation about the weather or politics. If you would have told me that I would serve a mission, graduate from college and start my teaching career with no impending marriage on the horizon, I would have wondered why life was even worth living.
And yet here I am.
I woke up this morning with a strong desire to write a book. The sad part is the only thing I could think about was starting with what I did this morning and documenting the life of a single mormon girl. I think John Bytheway said it best when he described marriage as a duet and then being single was like trying to sing it by yourself. Everyone stands around you and wonders why you can't do it, laughs at you even saying, what is wrong with you? Just sing the notes that are written, but one person can't possibly do it, so it is pointless to try. That's how i felt- how I FEEL sometimes.
I am not depressed or unhappy, I am so glad I am where I am doing what I'm doing. I know I'm where I'm supposed to be doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but I guess that is the scariest part of all. Thinking that maybe this is the plan, this is my potential and that I will never be anything more than a teacher, wishing to be a mother instead of the other way around.
I don't know where you are, or if you are even out there, but I want you to know that what you see is what you get. I cannot be someone that I am not, but I am trying to be better. But there are some things you really should know.
I will always be the girl who thinks her sisters are her only true friends, who idolizes her younger brother and loves her older brother more than he will ever really see. I will forever be the girl who calls her dad just because she misses him, but will always make up some question about the car just so she can talk to him for a minute. I will never stop being the girl who can talk to her mom for hours about things that she doesnt' really care about, just because her mom will always be the most entertaining person she will ever know. I will always curse when I'm angry and limit my crying to the shower because I don't want people to hear me. I will forever listen to my music too loud and set seven alarms for various times about an hour before I actually HAVE to get up, because it takes me that long to get out of bed. I will be the girl who secretly wants to give talks in sacrament meeting, who wants to play your guitar, but will never tell you that while we are sitting at a campfire. I will always be the girl who laughs too loud and cries too long, who sneezes three times every time and quotes movies like she saw them just yesterday. I will always love fictional characters and compare every guy I meet to Lloyd Dobler.
That is me. And if you never come, I will understand and be okay with it. I cannot change who I am for someone else, and though I am always trying to be better, there are things I just don't want to change
Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed. Doctrine and Covenants 123:17 That's all I can do, and I'll keep praying that you are as patient as I need you to be, as funny as I hope you are, and as willing to work as I hope I am.
P.S. I cheat at solitaire.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
TMFH: Dancing
I like to dance.a.lot. I have been known to dance in the following places:
Hallways at church
Grocery store
Work
Your work parties
My work parties
Kitchen
Living Room
Dining Room
Shower
School functions
Mountain tops
In the car
While running
At the gym
Fishing
In the middle of serious discussions
When I am pretending to listen to you
When you are not listening to me
When I'm angry
When I'm happy
When I'm hungry
When I'm cooking
When someone else is cooking
When I am feeling anything...
I hope you can live with that.
Hallways at church
Grocery store
Work
Your work parties
My work parties
Kitchen
Living Room
Dining Room
Shower
School functions
Mountain tops
In the car
While running
At the gym
Fishing
In the middle of serious discussions
When I am pretending to listen to you
When you are not listening to me
When I'm angry
When I'm happy
When I'm hungry
When I'm cooking
When someone else is cooking
When I am feeling anything...
I hope you can live with that.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Ebineezer Scrooge Ain't Got Nothin On Me
So there once was a guy named Samuel. He was a prophet. He was sent to tell the Israelites that they were not doing so hot. He told them to repent and that if they did, the Philistines would stop kicking the crap out of them. They did, and then asked him to pray for them. Being a prophet, he was kind of a big deal, so Samuel prayed. The Philistines saw all the Israelites in one place and thought, HEY! This will be like shooting fish in a barrel, except they didn't factor in that whole 'God' thing. The Israelites, freshly repentant, were saved.
Samuel laid a stone between the Israelites and the Philistines, calling it Ebenezer, and declared that the Lord had helped them to that point. Ebenezer has since been known as the stone of help.
On June 18, 2011, I set out to run a marathon. It was something I had decided to do in honor of a friend, it was something I followed through with because it had a lot of meaning for me, it was something that gave me a cause and it was something that made me work towards something. I did it to feel closer to my God.
I could hardly eat the night before. My dad forced some spaghetti down my throat and I mulled around the house all night trying to sleep. I woke up that morning terrified. I kept repeating to my dad that this was the most scared I have ever been. He would reassure me that I would be fine and reminded me of all the training I did.
The first song on my shuffle was Ke$ha. I knew it was gonna be a good run. I said a prayer for Brittni and then I was off. Lets just say that the first 4 miles I was on fire, and then the next 10 were brutal. By half way I wanted to die because I had ascended the entire way! When I got to the highest point of the race there was a couple sitting there, they happily said, 'Its all down hill from here!' I almost burst with excitement.
As I came down the halfway point, my cheersquad was there. They are the best friends that anyone could ask for. I was so grateful to have them and to be honest, felt more of Brittni in what they did for me than even running the race. They were there every few miles with words of encouragement.
At about mile 20 I saw my dad for the first time. He could tell I was spent, and so he was there every two miles after that with a popsicle. He would cheer me on and tell me where I would see him next. It was so awesome. It gave me smaller goals to look forward to.
In the end, I finished. And all I have to say is that it is by divine help that I did.
This summer, I lay my Ebenezer here in Alaska. I have learned so much about myself, I have learned about what I want to be. I have learned about doing the right thing, even when it is hard, about repenting when it hurts. I have learned about my family, who my friends are, and I have learned about laying down a rock in places where I have struggled, but where I have felt the Lord with me.
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
Samuel laid a stone between the Israelites and the Philistines, calling it Ebenezer, and declared that the Lord had helped them to that point. Ebenezer has since been known as the stone of help.
On June 18, 2011, I set out to run a marathon. It was something I had decided to do in honor of a friend, it was something I followed through with because it had a lot of meaning for me, it was something that gave me a cause and it was something that made me work towards something. I did it to feel closer to my God.
I could hardly eat the night before. My dad forced some spaghetti down my throat and I mulled around the house all night trying to sleep. I woke up that morning terrified. I kept repeating to my dad that this was the most scared I have ever been. He would reassure me that I would be fine and reminded me of all the training I did.
The first song on my shuffle was Ke$ha. I knew it was gonna be a good run. I said a prayer for Brittni and then I was off. Lets just say that the first 4 miles I was on fire, and then the next 10 were brutal. By half way I wanted to die because I had ascended the entire way! When I got to the highest point of the race there was a couple sitting there, they happily said, 'Its all down hill from here!' I almost burst with excitement.
As I came down the halfway point, my cheersquad was there. They are the best friends that anyone could ask for. I was so grateful to have them and to be honest, felt more of Brittni in what they did for me than even running the race. They were there every few miles with words of encouragement.
At about mile 20 I saw my dad for the first time. He could tell I was spent, and so he was there every two miles after that with a popsicle. He would cheer me on and tell me where I would see him next. It was so awesome. It gave me smaller goals to look forward to.
In the end, I finished. And all I have to say is that it is by divine help that I did.
This summer, I lay my Ebenezer here in Alaska. I have learned so much about myself, I have learned about what I want to be. I have learned about doing the right thing, even when it is hard, about repenting when it hurts. I have learned about my family, who my friends are, and I have learned about laying down a rock in places where I have struggled, but where I have felt the Lord with me.
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
So here's to you Ebenezer. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Friday, July 1, 2011
TMFH: Self Portraits
I hope you love this face
Cuz you are gonna see it in every album of every vacation/graduation/baby birthing/exciting event photo album we ever have.
Just giving you fair warning.
Remember when I posted on a regular basis?
I do.
I actually have about 5 posts that are drafted out or outlined or half written or are in my head and I want to write them down, but I haven't made the time. Summers are so busy!! And I don't really know why I feel like this takes precedent over the marathon post, but it does.
I love the random situations I am privy to.
I have two really unrelated/really awesome mini stories to share. I hope you won't think I'm weird.
#1
The day before the race, I was pretty busy at work. Every other Friday is what we call a 'double ship day', which for you non-tourist job people means that there are not one, but TWO cruise ships in which means that my little town of 275,000 pretty much triples in size. Its a busy day for me, but I try to make it as enjoyable as possible. Before one of my tours I chatted it up with a gentleman who had a Team in Training hat on. (Side note, I am TOTALLY going to join TNT. They are awesome) He told me he was running the half and I told him I was running the full and that it was my first and that I wanted to crawl in a hole in die I was so nervous. After the tour we got to talking and he told me that he ran his first marathon just 6 months after his first round of chemotherapy. I told him that was amazing and asked him what type of cancer he had. 'Large B-cell Lymphoma'. I started crying immediately. I apologized and explained that my mom had been diagnosed in October with the same type of Lymphoma and that she had just finished a round of chemo AND radiation. He teared up and we exchanged some conversation about it. At the end, we took a picture and he told me he would look for me at the finish line.
#2
Yesterday, I got off a tour and was helping my passengers off the trolley. (P.S. if you didn't already know, I drive a trolley and it is AWESOME) I started to chat a bit with the people at the front of the line waiting to get ON, and as a man came off, he approached the man in the front of the line, shook his hand and announced which branch of the military he served in during Vietnam. The man at the front of the line returned the exchange with his regiment number and type. They shook hands and each said to the other, 'Welcome home brother.'
Now. Neither of these two experiences have anything to do with the other, except for the fact that the both touched me deeply. One because I knew that it was one of those moments when I could see God's hand in a chance meeting. The other because here were two perfect strangers who were both 'anxiously engaged in a good cause' and it made me proud to be an American.
I may say that I hate my job, and sometimes I do, but I am so glad that I get to interact with so many different people. I am not a fan of saying the same thing 585 times a summer.
I actually have about 5 posts that are drafted out or outlined or half written or are in my head and I want to write them down, but I haven't made the time. Summers are so busy!! And I don't really know why I feel like this takes precedent over the marathon post, but it does.
I love the random situations I am privy to.
I have two really unrelated/really awesome mini stories to share. I hope you won't think I'm weird.
#1
The day before the race, I was pretty busy at work. Every other Friday is what we call a 'double ship day', which for you non-tourist job people means that there are not one, but TWO cruise ships in which means that my little town of 275,000 pretty much triples in size. Its a busy day for me, but I try to make it as enjoyable as possible. Before one of my tours I chatted it up with a gentleman who had a Team in Training hat on. (Side note, I am TOTALLY going to join TNT. They are awesome) He told me he was running the half and I told him I was running the full and that it was my first and that I wanted to crawl in a hole in die I was so nervous. After the tour we got to talking and he told me that he ran his first marathon just 6 months after his first round of chemotherapy. I told him that was amazing and asked him what type of cancer he had. 'Large B-cell Lymphoma'. I started crying immediately. I apologized and explained that my mom had been diagnosed in October with the same type of Lymphoma and that she had just finished a round of chemo AND radiation. He teared up and we exchanged some conversation about it. At the end, we took a picture and he told me he would look for me at the finish line.
#2
Yesterday, I got off a tour and was helping my passengers off the trolley. (P.S. if you didn't already know, I drive a trolley and it is AWESOME) I started to chat a bit with the people at the front of the line waiting to get ON, and as a man came off, he approached the man in the front of the line, shook his hand and announced which branch of the military he served in during Vietnam. The man at the front of the line returned the exchange with his regiment number and type. They shook hands and each said to the other, 'Welcome home brother.'
Now. Neither of these two experiences have anything to do with the other, except for the fact that the both touched me deeply. One because I knew that it was one of those moments when I could see God's hand in a chance meeting. The other because here were two perfect strangers who were both 'anxiously engaged in a good cause' and it made me proud to be an American.
But as you can see, Captain Cook is showing off his better side for you today.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Big Kid Pants
This post is about three weeks overdue, but I have been busy, alright?!?
The story:
I got a phone call while subbing a few weeks ago. Like any good little sub I waited until passing period to listen to the message. It was from a secretary at a high school in another district asking if I was available for an interview for a Spanish teaching position. You better believe the next hour until school was out and I could call her back were excruciating. (read: I was literally counting down minutes and pushing kids out of classrooms so that I could call these people back.)
The second that beautiful bell rang at 2:45 pm (which in real time is about 2:53 because the ring the last bell manually and it NEVER EVER EVER EVER rings ontime) I was on that phone as fast as you could say Lightning McQueen in order to get that interview. It went straight to voicemail, so I did what every self respecting job seeker would do. I called three more times in a matter of three minutes. Finally, I left a message in the hopes that I would hear back before the next century. (Leaving messages is about the least affective way to get a job interview, FYI)
I plugged my phone into my car stereo and got on the road. Imagine my surprise when my ringtone went off through my car speakers. I looked at the number and then wretched the phone out of the connecter as quickly as humanly possible. This is what ensued:
Me: Hello.
Secretary: May I speak with Jody please.
(Country music starts to play through my ear piece)
Me: This is she...do you hear that?
Secretary: Hello?
Me: (More to myself than anyone else) Where is that coming from?
Secretary: (With a bit of a raised voice) I'm calling about an interview for a Spanish Teaching position.
Me: Hold...on...I can't...(Pulling the phone away from my face I realize that my iphone has tried to ibomb this phonecall with some itunes music. I frantically turn it off)
Secretary: Are you there? (sounding a little bit exasperated and annoyed)
Me: Yes, sorry, I am having some technical difficulties. yes I would love to come in!
The rest is boring. but I was about to DIE! I was so embarassed and thought I had blown in before I even went in.
I went home that night a googled the school and found out that guess what.
Did you guess?
Have you guessed yet?
You aren't guessing.
THE SCHOOL IS LITERALLY 6 MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE!
I'm not gonna lie, this made the school about a million times more attractive to me. Then I started researching the school and it is really awesome, was just remodeled, and just seemed to really be on the same page as me as far as teaching beliefs and such. I was really excited to get in there.
So I walk in and the first thing the principal asks me is, 'So, what congregation do you belong to?' Haha, only in Texas would that be an alright question to ask. Turns out his brother is a member and we talk for a bit about that. The rest of the interview was really amazing actually. It was a chat with a bunch of people about education. After about 30 minutes, (during which we all laughed quite a bit) the principal leans back and his chair and says. 'You're a risk, and I don't say that in a bad way. You don't have much experience, but everybody needs to start somewhere. You have a lot of energy and enthusiasm. I like that. We are very interested in hiring you.' This is the part where I almost pee my pants.
Just one week later they offered me the job.
AND I ACCEPTED!!
So starting next year, I am the newest teacher at CYPRESS CREEK HIGH SCHOOL, home of the...
The story:
I got a phone call while subbing a few weeks ago. Like any good little sub I waited until passing period to listen to the message. It was from a secretary at a high school in another district asking if I was available for an interview for a Spanish teaching position. You better believe the next hour until school was out and I could call her back were excruciating. (read: I was literally counting down minutes and pushing kids out of classrooms so that I could call these people back.)
The second that beautiful bell rang at 2:45 pm (which in real time is about 2:53 because the ring the last bell manually and it NEVER EVER EVER EVER rings ontime) I was on that phone as fast as you could say Lightning McQueen in order to get that interview. It went straight to voicemail, so I did what every self respecting job seeker would do. I called three more times in a matter of three minutes. Finally, I left a message in the hopes that I would hear back before the next century. (Leaving messages is about the least affective way to get a job interview, FYI)
I plugged my phone into my car stereo and got on the road. Imagine my surprise when my ringtone went off through my car speakers. I looked at the number and then wretched the phone out of the connecter as quickly as humanly possible. This is what ensued:
Me: Hello.
Secretary: May I speak with Jody please.
(Country music starts to play through my ear piece)
Me: This is she...do you hear that?
Secretary: Hello?
Me: (More to myself than anyone else) Where is that coming from?
Secretary: (With a bit of a raised voice) I'm calling about an interview for a Spanish Teaching position.
Me: Hold...on...I can't...(Pulling the phone away from my face I realize that my iphone has tried to ibomb this phonecall with some itunes music. I frantically turn it off)
Secretary: Are you there? (sounding a little bit exasperated and annoyed)
Me: Yes, sorry, I am having some technical difficulties. yes I would love to come in!
The rest is boring. but I was about to DIE! I was so embarassed and thought I had blown in before I even went in.
I went home that night a googled the school and found out that guess what.
Did you guess?
Have you guessed yet?
You aren't guessing.
THE SCHOOL IS LITERALLY 6 MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE!
I'm not gonna lie, this made the school about a million times more attractive to me. Then I started researching the school and it is really awesome, was just remodeled, and just seemed to really be on the same page as me as far as teaching beliefs and such. I was really excited to get in there.
So I walk in and the first thing the principal asks me is, 'So, what congregation do you belong to?' Haha, only in Texas would that be an alright question to ask. Turns out his brother is a member and we talk for a bit about that. The rest of the interview was really amazing actually. It was a chat with a bunch of people about education. After about 30 minutes, (during which we all laughed quite a bit) the principal leans back and his chair and says. 'You're a risk, and I don't say that in a bad way. You don't have much experience, but everybody needs to start somewhere. You have a lot of energy and enthusiasm. I like that. We are very interested in hiring you.' This is the part where I almost pee my pants.
Just one week later they offered me the job.
AND I ACCEPTED!!
So starting next year, I am the newest teacher at CYPRESS CREEK HIGH SCHOOL, home of the...
COUGARS!!
Could it be any more perfect? I think not.
But I would have blamed country music if I didn't get the job. Just sayin.
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