Hallmark Movies Should Have a Warning Lable

                                                                                                      

Confession, I LOVE Hallmark movies. The picture above is one of my favorites. I love the simplicity, the innocence, the happy endings and the cheese (the cheesier the better). A few months ago the Hallmark channel stopped working at my house and you better believe that I called the direct TV repair man that day. Today as I was folding my laundry I turned on the Hallmark channel to a movie that went a little like this. A good looking widower and his daughter live in a small town. A beautiful woman moves into the town and the daughter plots to get the woman and her dad together. I know, I know, it sounds sappy, but it was pretty much the best thing ever. The problem is that Hallmark movies are, well, how do I say this....not real! Maybe these stories are real for some people, but definitely not for me.  Let me explain. Today at the grocery store I was looking for fajita mix.  I was standing next to a man with three boys looking for something on the same shelf. We made short conversation about not being able to find the fajita mix and how it was a coincidence that we were looking for the same thing. I eventually found it, handed him one and left the isle. As I walked around the store these were my thoughts (don’t judge). He was a good looking guy, I bet he is a widower, how sweet of him to take his boys grocery shopping with him, I bet those boys could really use a mom, maybe I could be thier mom. As embarrassed as I am to admit this, I walked around the store trying to track this guy down and prove my theory. I saw him at the checkout stand, checked out his left hand and then reality hit....HE WAS MARRIED! Of course he was, life is NOT a Hallmark movie. This my friends is exactly why I am going to send a letter to the Hallmark channel and demand that they put a warning label on every Hallmark movie.

Well, maybe I won’t, but I'm definitely going to take a break from the Hallmark channel. I'll just stick with reality TV. That stuff is for real right?

Layton High School Officers

My cute friend Cristy and I are the advisors for the officers at Layton high.  It is one of my favorite parts of my job.  These kids CRACK ME UP!  They give me dating advice, tease me, and make me feel like the most important and capable person ever.  I LOVE them.

The SBO officers

 

All of the officers (Senior, Junior, Sophomore and SBO)

Lesson Learned:  I am 100% sure that the Lord knows exactly what I need and want.  He wants to give me  those things, but because He is all knowing, He waits for the right time.  When I was in Junior high I wanted so badly to be a student officer.  I tried twice and didn't make it either time.  I remember being so disappointed that I wasn't going to get to wear the coveted officer sweater.  Ten years later I finally get to wear one.  Life is all about timing.

The Day in the Life of a Teacher

This video pretty much sums up my job.  I laugh every time I watch it.   ENJOY!

http://www.schooltube.com/video/30747e2e060f4e4efc5b/Seinfeld-Teaches-History

Sugar Glider

Have you ever heard of a sugar glider before?  Did you know it was one of these?

Today I took my art class to the park to do a value drawing. It was wonderful. I love drawing at the park! Anyway, as I was walking around checking on all of my students one of the girls said, "It's a little cold outside," and then the boy next to her said, "yeah my sugar glider is cold." Sugar Glider? I quickly sorted through the high school slang that I have picked up over the last 5 years to help me out, you know things like sick, ight, bad, etc. A sugar glider, yeah, I had no idea. After swearing not to tell the  principal, my student pulled a black sock out of his pocket, rolled the cuff down, and out poked a cute little flying squirrel. He went on to tell me that they are all the rage. According to this website, they are nicknamed pocket pets. For only $100 you can have one of your very own ;) Wow, if focusing in school wasn't hard enough lets just add a flying squirrel.

I'm going to work on bringing the tomagotchi pets back. They were pretty cool right? ;) Remember those?

Gardening with Dallin

This week is my spring break. It has been wonderful! My mom had to work today, which meant that I got to spend the day with this kid. Man I love him!

We decided to plant part of my garden. I planted beans, peas, onions and lettuce. Dallin planted sticks, rocks, and bark. Dont worry he even used Miracle Grow. Given my lack of success with a garden last year, I'm a little nervous that Dallin's garden will put mine to shame. ;)

Lesson Learned:

There is happiness is simplicity. Any of you who know Dallin know that the small things make him happy. You make the kid a cheese sandwich and he gives you a hug while saying "thank you, this makes me SOOO happy." As Dallin and I were driving in my car today singing along at the top of our lungs to Sieze the Day from the movie Newsies, I thought to myself "this is what happiness is."

I love this quote by Joseph Smith, "Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if will pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God."

Happiness comes from the simplicity of obedience. We are meant to be happy! I'm so glad Dallin is here to remind me.

27, My Favorite Year So Far

Today I read an article that said that old age begins at 27. Read it here. My first thought was "Man, I misplace my keys at least twice a day, it must be true." My second thought however was "Are you kidding me?" followed by a few eye rolls. I loved (a very sarcastic love) that the picture they used for this article was one of Beyonce with a caption saying the she is "past her mental peak." Maybe I'm being rediculous, but did Beyonce have an amazing mental capablilty before she was 27? That was rude, sorry...but come on, they chose to use Beyonce!?! Anyway, my point is that I love being 27! I am happier, more confident, and am learning more about life than ever before. If this is what "old" age is, then BRING IT ON.

Here are just a few reasons why I have loved being 27.

1. I became an aunt! My little brother Neal and his wife, Becca, had a little girl named Lydia. Being an aunt is wonderful! Sure, I would love to be married and have my own little girl, but until that happens, bring on the nieces and nephews!

2. I'm realizing more and more every day that I dont want to be "normal," I want to be myself. I want to be quirky, a little nerdy, and even obnoxiously optimistic. Hey, if Flo can do it, so can I.

3. My friend Kami and I went back to El Salvador (that's where I served my mission) for the dedication of the temple. We also went to Costa Rica and Nicaragua to visit some of our friends. It was wonderful. It was exactly what I needed spiritually, mentally and emotionally.

4. I bought this little beauty! A 2012 Ford Focus. Candy-apple RED. Buying it was very unlike me. I'm usually very frugal and logical about big purchases....but then I thought WHY NOT? I bought it, and love everything about it. I'll just blame "old age" for effecting my sense of reason.

Recently I have thought a lot about the quote by Joseph B Wirthlin, "Come what may and LOVE IT." Believing/following that has made all the difference for me this year.

Joseph B Wirthlin said that when he was 91 years old...."27 is the peak of a persons mental capacity"....?.... I don't believe a word of it.

Bad date stories to tell my kids one day

Good times #1

My good friend set me up a few months ago with one of his friends. After an awkward dinner he invited me to play games at his house. While driving to his house he explained to me that he is a night security guard, so he would need to change into his uniform because he was going straight to work after dropping me off at the end of the date. He then said, "Although I'm sure you wont mind because girls like a guy in uniform ;)" GAG ME. We got to his house where he gave me a complete tour of his house including his alphabetized dvd collection and food storage. My favorite part was the excessive amount of vinal lettering all over the house. When I asked about it, he told me that his former girlfriend had taught him how to do it. Odd? Maybe it's just me. After playing games, he changed into his "uniform" and said "don't worry I'm not wearing my gun belt, I didn't want to scare you." I smiled and secretly rolled my eyes.

Good times #2

I happened to sit next to this guy in sacrament meeting one Sunday. The next Sunday he walked up as I was talking to a friend and gave me a note. The note had his name and number and said "maybe we can get together sometime." I decided what the heck and sent him a text. He ended up asking me out for the next Friday. He picked me up, and between my house and the restaurant he told me his entire life story. It went a little like this. "So, I went on a mission, but came home to Flordia early because I was sick. While living at home I got in a really bad car accident where the person in the other car died. I decided to go to school at BYU but because I was so depressed about the accident I gained 300 pounds, stopped going to school and became inactive. I moved back to Flordia, had gastric bipass surgery and lost the weight. Loosing the weight gave me more confidence so I started sleeping around with girls. But don't worry I'm active in the church now." I pretty much wanted to open the door and jump out. The icing on the cake came while we were at dinner. I mentioned that I had five younger brothers who happened to be taller than me. He looked at me for a second and then said, "wow they must be tall because you're a big girl." I was drinking water when he said that and started choking. He then said, "Oh, sorry was that offensive?" HELLO! The rest of the date was thankfully uneventful, and I wasn't sad to see it end.

He got hitched!!!

My little brother Neal got married yesterday. He married a wonderful girl (Rebecca), someone perfect for him. The wedding was perfect and the reception was a PARTY. What a wonderful day.

Camp Cherry Valley

I spent the last three months on Catalina Island in CA working at Camp Cherry Valley.

Meeting new Friends + Beautiful Weather + the Ocean + Hundreds of Boy Scouts + the chance to Laugh every day = HAPPINESS

Just a picture

Here is the picture of me with Fisher and Peggy (from 106.5) at the teacher awards dinner. The dinner was at Archibalds (such good food!) in Gardner Villiage. It was a wonderful experience. Thanks Mikey for coming with me!

It's official, I must be an adult

I remember the days when my seemingly large, although realistically small tax return came in the mail. I bought "childish" things like clothes, or shoes, I may have even payed full price for a movie. This year I am an adult. How do I know this you ask, well. . . I spent my tax return on extreemly boring (yet useful) things like a new printer, fixing my sprinkle system, a garden hose and most importantly a lawnmower. Check out this little beauty. It is the Torro 20300T self-propelled lawnmover and it is guaranteed to start on the first pull (That was adult talk in case you were wondering). I wonder what fun things I will get to buy next year. ;)

Tender Mercies of the Lord

Tender Mercy #1

Last Monday as I was preparing my students for the end of level test that they have to take, I became extremely frustrated. I felt that they hadn't retained any of the information that we had worked so hard on the whole year, and I was sure that I had done nothing to help them learn. The next day I received a phone call from the radio station 106.5. They told me that they had recently had a contest to recognize "teacher heroes." Hundreds of people had submitted nominations and out of all the nominations they chose 20 to receive the award. The man from the radio station told me that I had been nominated and chosen to be one of the 20. At that moment the Lord was telling me that I was doing okay, that I was making an impact on my students (as small as it was).

Tender Mercy #2

During the same week, I had a "pity party moment" where I let the thoughts that Satan tries to put into my head get to me. I was upset about not being married and having three children, about not being pretty enough, smart enough or good enough. I'm not sure why I let Satan get to me, but I sometimes do. During one of my classes, the principal and vice principal came into my classroom. They congratulated me for receiving the award and then proceeded to tell me that the art teacher was retiring and that they wanted me to take his place. They told me that they were worried that the art program was dying and that they were confident that I would be able to inspire students to love art and build the program. Long story short, next year I will be teaching math on A days, and art on B days. This has been something that I have wanted since I took my first art class in college. Something that I didn't think I would ever be good enough to do, but that I really wanted. After they left, I sat at my desk and listen to the Lord tell me that I was good enough, and talented enough and that even though I wasn't married with three children that it was okay. He told me that it is all about timing and learning/growing along the way.

Out of the mouth of a high school student

Today during class I tood a quick break to show my students this funny blog post. I thought is was funny, but two boys in my class thought that it was lame. They said, and I quote "Ms. Johnson where did you find this website? (said very sarcastically) Maybe this is why you aren't married. Instead of looking at stupid blogs shouldn't you be spending your time on E-Harmony?"

I fell back in my chair laughing.

Diaries of a High School Math Teacher

I know I've said this before, but I love my job. Here are just a few of this weeks highlights.

1) Layton high school just got a new principal which means new policies and programs. One of the new policies is that student are not to be in the hall for any reason without a hall pass. I usually let my students have a drink break half way through the class, but because of the new policy I've had to stop. Three of my students (all boys) came to me with a diagram mapping out exactly how they were going to get to the drinking fountain without being caught. The diagram included ninja rolls, secret spy moves and a plan B (just in case). With a plan like that I had to let them go. Three minutes later, two of the three boys came running into the classroom. "Ms. Johnson we're so sorry, but we got caught. Mr. Gochberg (the assistant principal)said that we are going to get truencies, and that he is going to come talk to you about following the hall pass policy." "Where is Chris (the third boy)?" I asked, "Oh, he ran and hid in the bathroom." Are you kidding me...it was a drink break for heavens sake...doesn't the assistant principal have better things to do them get mad at students for getting a drink...ahhh! Five minutes passes, Chris comes back, but no Mr. Gochberg. 10 min...15 min...no Mr Gochberg. By this time I have figured out in my head exactly how I'm going to convince Mr. Gochberg not to give these boys truencies. 20 min...and then the bell rings. As these three boys leave one says, "Ms. Johnson, we were just kidding." ... Man I am gullible.

2) Today I gave a test on probability. The symbol "!" in math is called a factoral which means that you multiply a number by every number less than it until you get to zero. For example 5! is 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1. As I was sitting at my desk one boy came up to me and said, "Ms. Johnson, I think there is a typo on number 5. All it says is forteen!!!!!(said with an excited inflection of his voice). I looked at him and thought "is he kidding...he must be kidding...wow, I think he's serious." All I could say is "no, it's not a typo, retake test will be available after spring break"...Oh, goodness :)

Two of my favorite people

One of my favorite people, Ben Denzer, just had his 24th birthday. He is one of those friends that I'm certain the Lord put in my life to help me. It's funny how he knows exactly what to say to help me keep things in perspective and make me smile. Man I love that guy!!!! To celebrate we went to the Michael Buble concert. It was amazing! He is honestly better live then on CD. The best part of the whole night was seeing all of the 40 year old women standing in the front row screaming "I love you Michael." One day that will be me :)

I love this quote!

"Make up your mind to be happy, even when you don’t have money, even when you don’t have a clear complexion, even when you don’t have the Nobel Prize. Some of the happiest people that I know have none of these things the world insists are necessary for satisfaction and joy. Why are they happy? I suppose it’s because they don’t listen very well. Or they listen too well to the things their hearts tell them. They glory in the beauty of the earth. They glory in the rivers & the canyons & the call of the meadowlark. They glory in the love of their families, the stumbling steps of a toddler, the wise and tender smile of the elderly. They glory in honest labor. One thing I know for certain: the time we have here goes by far too quickly. Don’t waist any more time.”

-Elder Joseph B Worthlin

Sweethearts dance

I'm the sophomore officer adviser and in charge of the Sweethearts dance. This year the dance, decorations and turnout was bigger than ever. Thanks to help from so many people everything turned out wonderfully!!! These are my Sophomore officers. They're wonderful!!!!


Dancing like its 1999. I have no idea what I'm doing.


Morgan, me and Shaun.

My family

Here is the most recent family picture. It was taken about a month ago right before Kevin left for his mission to Chicago. I pretty much LOVE my family! They were taken by Adrian.

This is a picture of my and the boys (minus Dallin). This is after winning the dodge ball silver metal at a dodge ball tournament. The other teams didn't stand a chance (all except that winning team that is)

This one is for Mickelle

My list of pet peaves is pretty short. When I say short, I mean it, I think there are 2 things on the list. Most things don't really bother me. Yesterday after a very insightful converstation with my friend Mickelle (okay it really wasn't insightful) I decided that what I am about to mention was worthy of being added to the list.

Just in case you care, or more for the sake of me remembering what the other two pet peaves were let me tell you.

1. Boys that wear white socks with black pants and black dress shoes. ( I actually remind my students before a dance that this is not acceptable. I have been known to do sock checks when chaperoning. Don't judge me)

2. When two lanes murge into one on the freeway during construction and some "too good to follow the rules" car drives all the way to the front and them expects someone to let him in. (Yes I know this was a run on sentence, which is probably one of your pet peaves. Sorry)


Okay, here it is. . .#3 . . .Facebook PDA. You know what I'm talking about. Here are a few status examples:


"I love my husband sooooo much xoxoxoxoxox"

"Today I spent the best day ever with my Bobby Bo Bo"

"I miss my hunny buns so much. I can't wait to see him tonight"

How does someone coment to something like that? ...uh.......I miss your hunny buns too.... Who the heck is Bobby Bo Bo? Is it rude to just write "gag" (probably huh?)


Okay maybe it's just me. Maybe one day I will secretly love that someone is telling the world that he loves his Stephy weffy (FYI if anyone ever called me that, I might throw up).

What are your thoughts? Is facebook PDA okay? Do I just not understand how great it is and am missing out? Let me know.

P.S. Mom, I promise that I'm not bitter ;)

I love this kid!!!

Here is a random picture of me and Dallin. He's the greatest!!!!!