Playing Catch Up with Pictures

Manamea helping me at the State
Track meet. She loved watching
discus 5/2012

There's Terina.. dead center with a "crown" of flowers during
her Kindergarten program. She was a fairy and a darn good
one too :) 5/2012

My Pinterest attempt for teacher appreciation. Pretty sure I
found the globe and chalk board in the couch a few weeks
after I gave this to her. 5/2012

Manamea spends too much time at home
 with her Dad. This is the price I pay for
 working full time as a long term sub. 5/2012

Terina's 6th birthday at the American Girls store in Lynnwood.
She was like a kid in a candy store. 5/3/2012

Outside the American Girl Store waiting
for it to open. 5/3/2012

Indoor soccer... It was almost 1 year ago! That's how behind
I am!  24/2012

Reading Rocks Night at school with Mrs. Turco and her
student teacher Miss Christensen

Getting the tree decorated 11/2012

I really  think Joshua and
Manamea have the cutest
hair! It's so curly!! 4/2012

Our "weekend home" for camping in the back yard. Maybe
next year we'll actually go camping somewhere else

Manamea harassing Aunt Carols cat in Boise 8/2012

I thought it was a good idea to
take these two to WinCo. They
look like trouble to me 8/2012

Bingo night with the cousins in Richland! 8/2012

1st day of 1st grade in Mrs. Hobans class. Yes... we were late.
8/2012

Terina's attempt at designing her
soccer teams uniforms. 8/2012

Getting ready to carve pumpkins! We
took the girls to Spooners this year
only to throw them back in the car
when the kids from Kasala's work
pulled in. We found another farm
down the road. Not as cool but it
worked. 10/2012

I pulled Terina out of school one day and took her and
Manamea to the zoo. I just felt like I needed to spend some
time with them. 10/2012

Again at the zoo. We shut down the merry go round :)

Our Pirate Princess. Costume made
by Grandma. she looks so old!
Manamea... not Grandma 10/2012

This is how I find her most days
when I get home from work. Gotta
love being home with Dad. 9/2012

Mike shoved this in her mouth. hahaha
10/2012

Miss Syd doing Manamea's make up. 10/2012

Terina and Syd all dolled up with her Monster High make up
kit that grandma got her for her 5th birthay 10/2012

She sat in the Kava bowl and said
"I sheshe Mama!" good thing she
didn't!! 9/2012

Trick-or-Treating at Great Grandma's house! 10/2012

Me and my Pirate Princess 10/2012

My two buff girls! 11/2012

After the Primary Program. So proud
of Terina and her testimony of the
gospel. 11/2012

Terina with the All Star Blue Birds 11/2012

Playing her favorite position... Goalie! 11/2012

Manamea and her big girl bed. We'll see how long this last. 11/2012

Its Over?!

For the past 12 weeks I have been Mrs.Laban, anatomy, fitness specialist and sports medicine teacher. Today was my last day with that oh so long title. During the spring when Ii was coaching track a friend cane up and told me she was expecting her second child and would be needing a long term sub at the beginning of the year. She asked if I would be interested. At the time I had several job applications in with different districts and really thought I was going to be offered a job at the middle school I had been working at for the last 5 months. Well..... Nothing came out like I thought it would. I had interviews but schools opted to hire people with more experience rather than a girl,who had been subbing for a year and who before moving to Washington was teaching part time at an elementary school in a subject totally unrelated to the job she was interviewing for or endorsed in. Who would have thunk! Thinking all hope was lost I was content on just subbing in the district again and hope that someone needed a long term at some point.

Thankfully while Kasala was in Samoa my friend called again to see if I had found a job and offering her 12 week maternity leave to me again. The principal had gone behind her back and found someone she was not comfortable with to take her spot and she was not having it. After a very expensive phone call to Kasala I decided to take the job. And I am so glad that I did. These past 12 weeks have been amazing. Aside from the fact that one student started a petition around the school saying that I needed to be removed from teaching because I was horrible, all I did was yell and I had no control over the students... it was amazing. I learned so much about myself as a teacher. The things I didn't do so well, the things that I did do well, what I needed to work on and what it was like teaching high school students. I hadn't had a high school class since student teaching at Stadium!

Not only did I learn a lot about myself but I learned so much about how our bodies work, how to train our bodies and then how to tape up our bodies when their broken/hurt! The knowledge I gained was the best part of working. I was excited to go into work work most of the days and I was excited to see a majority of the students! The only thing I regret doing is not going down to eat lunch more often with the other teacher. When I did go eat with them it was fun to hear their take on things. It's definitely a different side than what I saw when I was a student at FP but everything is so different there now anyways. Change was bound to happen but some of the changes just make no sense.

Anyways... I miss teaching full time. I miss having a classroom to go to every morning and having copies to make and papers to grade. I miss having students come in and talk to me just to tell me how their day was going and to see how I was doing. I miss it. But I knew it was going to come to an end and I know that I'm not qualified to teach those kids the things they need to be successful this year so I guess it was fun while it lasted!!

Until my next long term... there will be a new bunch of kids to fall in love with and think of as my own.... In May 2013 at the middle school :)

My "Dirty 30" To Do List

A while ago I started a list of things to do before I turned 30 and during my 30th year. I have no idea where that list went or what exactly was on that list to be honest but as time is running out and that dreadful day of turning 30 is getting closer I thought I'd better put somethings in ink so I can remember.

1. Lose 30 pounds. Almost there so...... Lose 40 pounds
2. Buy some make up and learn how to use it  Thank you Sopohra
3. Start working on my Masters I got accepted to an online program but now I'm having second thoughts. Would it be easier to just add some endorsments? Is that cheaper? Will it be faster? WHAT DO I DO?!
4. Take a trip with just Kasala and remind myself why I love him so much
5. Spend a whole day with each child and remind the, of how much I love them (without going broke)
6. Run/workout at least 3 times a week from now until January 25th... and then at LEAST twice a week for my 30s
7. Take a girls trip with some friends
8. Buy some new clothes that actually fit properly
9. Clean out all my old clothes and take them to DI or Goodwill so if I get fat again I have nothing to wear.
10. Get rid of things from the past.....pictures, letters...things like that I should have thrown away a long time ago.
11. Tell the important people in my life how much they mean to me
12. Give myself at least 3 compliments a day (this is going to be the hardest)
13.  Read the Book of Mormon every night
14.  Learn to cook healthier meals
15.  Be consistent with Visiting Teaching no matter who it is I visit or who my partner is
16. Work hard to forgive.... and seek forgiveness
17. Monthly temple trips...with Kasala, the girls, Grandma, Mom.... Whoever will go
18. Be a better Blogger....
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.

My list is far from being filled with things I want to do in the next few months and with in the next year but I think it's a good starting off point. There are some pretty serious things that I'm going to have to work extra hard at but I have a feeling that if I keep this commitment to myself, I'll be blessed... and so will my family.

So.... I have 9 weeks to drop 8 pounds and to start packing for our trip to Hawaii. I'm really looking forward to this time with just Kasala and am so grateful that Mom and Dad were willing to watch the girls for us while we took this time for ourselves. Where would I be without my parents?!

And... suggestions welcomed! Any ideas of what I should fill the last 13 spaces with?

Finding the Good....

Is really hard sometimes!

I had the chance last week to go to Time Out for Women last weekend in Portland with some friends. The hook, line and sinker for me was that I couldn't bring the kids! It was a weekend away from the girls and some time for myself which I hardly ever get. And if I do by some miracle get time alone I'm too tired to enjoy it! So this was a great chance to get away, recharge, and "Find the Good". I think that was the theme of the conference or something along those lines. The speakers were so great and the music was so heartfelt and it really touched me. I left Portland ready to make some changes in my life and at home and with our family. I was on the spiritual high and i was going to ride it as long as i could.

Well..... As you can guess it didn't last that long. Surprise, surprise. As much as wanted to find the good every day and in everything i do sometimes its just easier to find the bad. I know that isnt going to help make me a better person but sometimes a person needs to yell, scream and just flat out cry! I know there is good all around me. I see it, I feel it, and I think it but I guess just not enough.

One of the speakrs/musical performers Hilary Weeks talked about finding the good and being thankful for it no matter how big or small. She went out and bought a clicker and kept track of everything that was around her that was good or that she was thankful for or that was a positive thought and by the end of the 4 days she had over a 1,000 positive thoughts. She encouraged everyone to keep track of their positive thoughts and see how it will change their lives.

Of course there were clickers in the back of the room for sale and before I could get sucked in to buying one for $5.00 one was delivered to me by Paaga, who was late getting there Saturday morning and sitting all the way in the back right by the clickers. I was thankful for her and that she got one for me because if I had gone back there I wiuld have had to fight 2,000 crazy Mormon women who were buying those clickers by the dozens.

So coming home from my spiritual high I set out Monday morning with my clicker on my wrist ready to make a change. Day 1 was great! I was just clicking away at school having fun and being carefree. Even home was good! Day 2 was alright. Not as many clicks but I still got a few in. Day 3 completely forgot about the clicker. It was a half day, I had to finish grades and do comments, I had to make calls home to parents and then clean up the room because my job is almost done. Thursday was stressful and by Friday I was ready for the weekend. I tried doing things with the girls last night and ran some errands but it just wasnt going according to plan. Today wasn't any better. And now here I sit on a Saturday night having a breakdown.....again.

How is it that just a week ago I was feeling so good and ready to change and only 7 days later I'm sitting on the dark, blogging on the iPad  and just waiting for the tears to start rolling? I just dont get it! I guess somethings are just better left undiscovered.

So...Here's to the start of a new week. To starting over again and trying to find the good in the world around me. And more importantly, trying to find the good in ME. Because i believe deep down, somewhere, I am a good person.