hyo's challenge

i think jane may have challenged me to do this a bit ago but i never remembered long enough to get around to it. sorry jane! but now i have a 30 minute limit - here goes.

7 random things about me:
1) i recently learned that i'm a blue red personality and that many of my closest friends are blue white and other friends think i am white when really i'm not.
2) i have a bit of nerve damage so my right foot always feels funny - like it's asleep. sometimes the numbness spreads and i can feel it in my leg and bum. i'm feeling that way now. too much sitting at a computer that is not at the right height.
3) i have lived and traveled all over the place but truthfully i just enjoy a day of sleeping in (not that it goes very late but it's the fact that i can), reading, emailing, cooking, rose bush trimming, taking a walk, or just lounging outside. travel is good but even when in a cool place i'm content to sit and read or people watch.
4) i like food of all kinds. i like discovering new ways of eating it. cereal, cakes, pies, cookies, ice cream are all major weaknesses of mine.
5) i've always dreamed of being a tour guide somewhere. i like knowing stuff and and i think tour guides know stuff and get to share that info. this is why i teach - it's like a tour guide but with more responsibility and stress.
6) i could live in a library. i'm currently blogging from the city library. i came here to listen to a debate on school vouchers - go figure (read previous post).
7) i hate being scared. i believe in facing fears, though. i've done haunted houses - i hate them - and i'm done with facing that fear - it only makes me angry now.

okay, that's the best i could come up with and it only took me 6 minutes! i'm a fast thinker and typer. i'm also a fast talker, i'm told. one year at a teacher workshop i was presenting something to my faculty and writing on the board - the teachers all told me i was the fastest board writer they'd ever seen. there's the bonus number 8 random thing about me - i'm fast like wind!

Voucher debate

I'm attending a debate at the library. It's sadly under attended but fox13 seems to be doing a good job covering and mediating it. So far I really don't like the tone of voice of the guy on the left. It's enough to make me think he's slimey and represents a slimey argument.

update: i just finished attending said debate. kcpw was also helping moderate and broadcast. they took phone calls and emails besides live audience questions. i never got my question answered by the panel, but the woman sitting behind me who was pro-vouchers answered for me. i wanted to know where the money was coming from that was promoting their side of the issue. she said 85% comes from instate. i want to know who those instate donors are. as far as i know, much of the money donated to fight vouchers, whether from utah or the rest of the nation, comes from the poor pocket books of teachers who care about the nation's children. anyway, i found out the slimey sounding guy is richard eyre. i've respected him in the past for the work he's done with families. now that i think about it, though, he's always had a bit of a condescending salesman tone to what he has to say. i've not minded before because he says things i agree with. today i felt like he was oversimplifying the issues. i didn't like his analogies. he comes from a view that we should run schools like a business - market system - but since when has education for all (a socialistic ideal) been able to function with capitalist methods?

the highlight for me was getting interviewed by a tribune reporter afterward. i'll have to watch for the story!

Eater

I'm sure there's a technical name for this machine but today I call it the eater. Yesterday as I took a morning walk I came across one eating a tree. Later in the day I drove by and it was eating another tree. They may have been trash trees, but they were taller than any in my mother's neighborhood. The property they sat on was pretty scary. I'd often meant to photograph the abandoned house even before it was abandoned and had threatening signs on its windows and doors. It was the sort of place that was bound to be torn down. Still, it's sad - the trees never looked evil. Hopefully something cool will go up in its place. I often pass it on my walks to the park.

Tabitha's first visitors

Well, maybe not the very first but close to it. Plewe and I decided we had to come check out "the pumpkin" - so cute!

The discreet church photo

I doubt i'll ever become as adept at the sneaky church photo taking as cindy, but with plewe's encouragement I tried my hand at it today. I had to. I don't know when else i'll get the chance to see this mural again. One of my favorite memories of attending roosevelt ward was getting to stare at the joseph smith mural above the pulpit. I once thought it was simplistic, but with enough pondering I learned to appreciate it. I was attending roosevelt ward (westminster institute building) today because there was a change in the bishopric. In this photo bishop bain is beginning the meeting. One of my favorite lines today was when ed said, "i adore it," in reference to his baby's bodily excretions. I also loved the thought bishop bain shared about how the grandness and joy of god's blessings are greater than you can ever imagine. He's right.

past halloween glories

last night i finished sewing my cloak for my red riding hood costume. i hope it works out! i have to try the whole ensemble together. but in anticipation of my upcoming party, here are some photos from the last few years.


2006 - i was the flapper. there are better photos of me in costume, but this was my favorite because of all the action around me.
2005 i dressed up twice. here i am as bride of frankenstein at my friend sacha's place. it's my backup costume and has been used twice. at the party we went to i made a really good friend - i was glad i went. the other party i went to wasn't as fun and the corresponding costume is not pictured.

this was the first of my big parties - halloween 2004. here i am as elvira (wig isn't on properly) with my siblings and their significant others (now spouses). this was the first of the great halloween parties that have followed ever since.
here is a shot of many of my friends at that same great party.

2003 was an off year for me. i felt "blech" - it was the year i had some back problems and wasn't the happiest, so i didn't dress up or attend any parties. the good friends, though, were kind enough to gather at my house before heading off to parties so i got to take pictures of them all. it was a happy year despite my "blech."

this was a classic year. 2002 i went as "jami palmer, miss utah 2000." if you lived in utah at any point during 2001 or 2002 you may have noticed the jami palmer billboards. i couldn't miss them. i think i saw a total of 5 on my drive to work. i found them inspiring and began to use them as good omens. when it was time to think of a costume, well, jami was it. (i've been thrilled since then to hear even president monson reference her in a conference talk!)

this was also halloween that started it all - gave us our groove and set a high standard for costumes. here is the gang as the love boat. notice the picture of relief society presidents in the background - this was a ward party - good old roosevelt ward.

prior to that were a few other parties that were good but maybe not as memorable. 2001 i went as diana ross from "mahogany" - the movie about fashion design and loneliness. "success is nothing without anyone to share it with," or some similar quote, is the theme. she wore a beautiful yellow dress with a rainbow cape - it was her hit design that set her on the road to success. the rest of the gang is made up of my dear lake street neighbors, plewe, and a guy i knew back in high school that i tried to befriend again. it didn't take so well. too bad.


and that my friends is the last 6 years of halloween fun. if i had photos dating further back then maybe i'd remember them as well, but you know how it is. as one of the ny times editorials was trying to say today - we don't remember so much these days - we've outsourced our brains.

Way too soon!

last friday I hit kmart. This is what I saw. There were only a couple little signs for halloween stuff but all that you could buy was candy - the shelves were filled with christmas! What's a halloween lover to do? Be bitter I guess.

other nephews

this is the good brother with both his sons. i went to lagoon with them this summer and even though the boys are now about 5 years older, they still hang all over their dad.
i think this photo is a favorite of mine because i like beans too. i just don't often wear a tie when eating them.here the younger one is brushing his teeth. i'm assuming a parent put him there. i really like the night light behind his head - it looks like some sort of indian creature from outer space.

okay, at the last minute i decided to add one more. i'm not sure whose rear this is - probably the oldest - but it makes me laugh!

blogging - cabela's

last night i dreamed that i blogged like a thousand posts in one day and couldn't stop. funny. earlier in the evening i was at cabela's and reminiscing over the post i'd made of my first trip. i didn't have my phone on me to take pictures. i noticed there was a lot of pretzels for sale. something about being hunting season. hunters like beer, pretzels, and jerky. in one combination or another. i learned that moose are biggest, then elk, then antelope, and then deer. wait, caribou is in there somewhere - i think before or after antelope. sigh, i need another lesson. oh, i also learned a little about scoring. boon and crocket? or just b&c is the scale used when hunting with a gun. bow and arrow scoring is different but i can't remember what it's called.

more of "gramps"

another shot of "gramps" from my wednesday photo. i just couldn't resist posting the original "sauced" picture (as my good friend ed described it years ago).

and here's another of him a few years older. this nephew of mine is seriously the most photogenic. he's always making the best faces and putting the craziest things on.

spirit

today was spirit bowl at my high school. each class, plus the faculty, compete against each other in showing school spirit. i got to participate as a tug of war member and fight song singer. i'd never heard the fight song before and my hands still hurt from tugging, but i'm pleased to report the faculty took 2nd place - which is something since the whole thing is rigged to let seniors win. ah, one of the few highlights of being a high school teacher. some people like dainon get to go to ireland for their job, but i get to pull a rope and wear a gray t-shirt that says, "we might be old but we're still wild."

nearly missed wordless wednesday

more marktoberfest

I figured everyone would like to see more photos of the party - and since I used Dona's camera last night I have them to share! Unfortunately, we haven't figured out how to take the clearest photos still. These have a bit of blur to them, and the timing was hard since there's such a delay with digital cameras. Some of the faces may look a bit stiff.

First off we have Vanya and Simon - our token FBI agents. Every party needs at least one so that you can have stories when the other chit chat dries up. :) Actually they really did add some enjoyment to the festivities. Vanya introduced Simon as Sam thinking that was a natural nickname - he felt sheepish later when he was corrected. I think they had a good time as they were the last ones to leave.
Below is a rather festive cake the Plewe brought. It was beautiful and had a sentimental thought to warm our hearts. I think Mark was touched.

This is me trying to get in a picture. Plewe and Dona had endured endless attempts on my part to photograph them alone that I was impressed they allowed me one more while sticking my head into it. At least the background is the blurriest part.

In the center of this picture is the reason for the season. Mark! He and Lynn were our chief BBQers. They graciously allowed me to take this photo with Jann since I wanted an action shot. Lynn has improved his "posing skills" as he and Mark just returned from a trip to Europe where they had to be in lots of photos. I think the practice paid off.

Be sure to not miss next year's Marktoberfest!

Marktoberfest 2007

Another successful celebration has passed. This year we held it a bit late in the season so it wound up indoors to avoid the cold and rain. As usual, lynn made the beer. What a great group of friends we have!

Dan the chef

Dan baked these cupcakes for marktoberfest. Aren't they fancy? She also made a pumpkin roll that was delicious!

Which one?

First I must address the fact that this is my third random blog for the day. Well, the other two I intended to blog earlier, but didn't have time. Today was a bus riding day - my first in nearly a month. It felt good. Anyway, it gave me time to finally blog. This one is of the lotion options in the women's restroom at the district office. I always wonder who supplies the lotion - it's a different brand, flavor every time. Today's options intrigued me as they looked the same but apparently had different functions. I wish i'd read the ingredients to see if they really were different. In case you're wondering I opted for anti-aging, as you mostly surely know i'm not getting any younger. I guess i've finally hit the age where I think about aging. Odd.

True love

You know how there are people you see in passing that can capture your heart? Well maybe that's not true love, but it can sure stay with you surprisingly long. A guy named bert buying two pears did that for me once. One of my best water colors ever (it's currently on display at my school) was of him on his bike with a pear peeking out his pocket. Well places can also strike a chord in my heart. This is one of them. I once dreamed of buying it and making it a hostel. It was for sale about the time I entertained dreams of hostel ownership. Someone else bought it and fixed it up real nice. I feared they'd take down the sign - my favorite part. Luckily it still stands. I think it functions as an apartment complex. That makes me happy. I still wish it were mine at times but i've learned love doesn't mean ownership and we can't have everything we love - others deserve and can possibly honor their love better than me. I try to celebrate that connection rather than my loss. So anyway, that was a bit on the overly serious side. Mostly I just love gettig to walk by this place on my way to tax class. Maybe someday i'll get a photo of it with light shining the right direction.

Programmable

Dona, the roommate is the best. I said I wanted a programmable thermostat and so she installed it for me. You can see my walls used to be pink. We also detected some wall paper deep underneath. She added white stuff to match the bumpiness of the plaster. Just last night she painted it green to match the color of the walls. She even touched up other spots. Finally my walls look as good as new. Once we get the house dejunked I think it'll be ready to resell. If i'm up for it. In the mean time I love my house.

anniversary

today is my baptism anniversary. when i was 8 we were living in texas and attending church in a presbyterian meeting house. our chapel was being built so the nice presbyterians shared with us. i wanted to wait for my chapel to be built to get baptised. i also was waiting for my grandparents to come visit. anyway, my chapel didn't get built in time so i got baptised in the stake center. i think it had nice lime green carpet. my grandmother sang "i'm a child of god" as part of the service. that song was written by my grandfather's cousin so it's extra special to our family. my mom made my dress. it had a red plaid ribbon that went around the waist so i could wear it after my baptism. i wore it to church the next day when i got confirmed. it was a good day. today i read an article in the ensign about listening to holy promptings and having the spirit with you. good stuff! i liked the four tests you can give to be sure the prompting/feeling you're having is really a prompting. go read it if you haven't already. wait, i'm i'm smart i'll make a link to it in my blog! cindy is my inspiration. here it is!

trek revisited

i finally got some photos from trek. this is my favorite. it is me and "pa" with our fabulous family flag! the next one is of our trail boss - jeff. i like how you can see the group milling about in the background. and i really like how mark is right in the middle since he's not so big on having his photo taken.

have i told you?

.... lately that i love you.....
i can't remember exactly who sings that - but it's beautiful. and sort of stuck in my head. except i'm singing "that i hate you." not you. shakespeare. and not really shakespeare. he's a good guy. or something. i like his plays. mostly. i hate my shakespeare class. i can't remember the last time i struggled so much to do an assignment. poorly! yep, i'm doing a homework assignment very poorly and i'm miserable. probably because i'm doing such a bad job. going against your grain is painful. it makes you unhappy and irritable. why does my class have to be so annoyingly challenging and painful? i think i've only worked on it an hour so far. i don't know if that's a lot or not. but it's an hour too long and i'm not even done. one last response question. ugh. maybe i should post my assignments on here and have you guys do them for me. i know many of my readers are probably better writers than i am. what do you say? up for it?

for cindy

hey cindy! thanks for making me a weeeeeeeeeener! here is the poem i want you to use to inspire my scheren.... thing.

Another Sarah for Christopher Smart
by anne porter

When winter was half over
God sent three angels to the apple-tree
Who said to her
"Be glad, you little rack
Of empty sticks,
Because you have been chosen.

In May you will become
A wave of living sweetness
A nation of white petals
A dynatsy of apples."

thank you! and did you notice i made your name a link - just like you showed me - double thanks!

procrastination

i don't know about you all, but i often find myself reading and rereading friends' blogs hoping and whishing for something new with which to distract myself from the real duties at hand. this morning has become such a day. then i'm sad because there is little new. then i feel guilty because i realize i'm not doing my part in the world of blogging to provide distraction for the procrastinating people of the world. so... let me see what news i can generate from my life to write about. i went to the gym this morning. i went there yesterday too. i miss bus riding. i must get a bus pass. i have 2 bus tokens left. i'm a bit sad to use them. they were leftovers my dad never used. okay, new thoughts! um, i redecorated the "windows" in my room. hmmm, maybe i should really decorate them the way elementary school teachers do with seasonal decals. right now i have a couple of greek warriors in one, a vase in another, and a bust of pericles in the middle one. i'm done with mesopotamina literature and have moved on to greek and roman. the kids get a test today. i'm struggling over knwoing how much to make them read of the funeral speech of pericles - kind of long, but kind of cool. you could almost substitue "americans" for the word "athenians" and the speech would totally sound modern. over the weekend i tried out a whole wheat pumpkin muffin recipe. i like it fine, but somehow they need more flavor. would it be because there is little sweetener? i used a combination of honey and maple syrup - but i don't taste either really. maybe i should have stuck with one or the other. maybe it needs more pumpkin pie spice? any of you cooking sorts out there have a suggestion for me? this coming weekend is conference. i'm pretty darn excited about it too. i'm having my trek family over for breakfast on saturday and then the old gang is gathering for crepes on sunday between sessions. in the past i've tried to visit the family one of the days, but this year mother is spending the weekend in texas and the siblings in town never made plans to gather. luckily last sunday we had big family dinner and fhe. it was good. we discussed how we study the scriptures. we learned to do a little tap dancing - for activity. and we had the most delicious flourless chocolate cake for refreshments. family gatherings are good times. i miss hanging with them. okay, i think i may be out of stories. i probably should have spread them out over the next couple of days. i better do some lesson planning now. oh oh oh - one last exciting thing. our art teacher has a monthly art "open house" in a section of the library - featuring a couple artists each month. this month he's decided to feature the art of the faculty and staff. after finding out i like to water color when i go hiking or on trips, he insisted i bring some of my work for the show. ack! so i am actually, finally, having my art on display in a show. the open house is at lunch - punch and cookies will be served. funny i think. for those familiar with my work, you'll be sad to hear that my "trees" will not be on display. i opted to submit my san fran work instead. i think a piece i did at ed's cabin -the famed dasco cabin - was also submitted.