Season Ticket Holders!

I am pretty excited because I have bought season tickets to the Utah Blaze.  They are the arena football team here in Utah.   My friend Anjai and I have talked about buying season tickets for a few months and we finally decided to bite the bullet and actually bought our tickets this last week.  Saturday was the first game and it was so much fun.  We started the evening off by going to my favorite restaurant, Su Casa.  After that, we took the Trax into downtown Salt Lake City.  Riding Trax was so convenient because it was snowing and the last stop is actually The Energy Solutions Arena, where the games are played. (it also proved to be entertaining as we got to interact with a few drunk guys on the way back from the game!) I had a blast with Anjai, even if the Blaze lost by one point.  The kicker pretty much screwed up two times to allow the loss.  Dang it!  It will be fun to be able to go to all the home games!

On Friday, I went to a co-workers and watched a movie with a bunch of people from work.  It was pretty much a blast.  I really am getting older, if I am totally okay with hanging out with a bunch of people who are pretty much old enough to be my parents!  :)

My friend, Moo, was in town and we did the usually shopping on Saturday.  Didn't buy much but, as usual,  we still had fun looking.  We also stayed up real late on Friday talking.  It was nice to hear all about her adventures in Rome.  She bought me some cool souvenirs.  One is a Rome t-shirt and the other is a priest calender.  Man, those Italian priests are pretty good looking.(I added a photo for your viewing pleasure.)

Well, that is it.  Nothing too exciting.  I hope you are all doing the March Dance.  I sure am!

Ah.....Pre-season Baseball!!

Picture of me watching pre-season baseball in pure bliss.  I love spring training.  I love baseball.  Lots of people just find baseball boring and slow.  For me baseball means so much.  First off, when baseball starts to be on TV it means that spring training has started and that indeed there is hope that the winter will someday end.  It also means the joy of summer where you can get an all beef, foot long hotdog and walk to your seat and enjoy the sun and the boys of summer.  There is just something about that well groomed field and the grass that seems to be the greenest thing on the planet.  So green, in fact, that you feel like your eyes may just turn green from the radiation of it all.  Baseball to me just isn't a sport, it is a frame of mind.  It is a place in my mind where it is always sunny and warm.  A place where shorts, flip-flops and a cap are always appropriate attire.  Baseball to me encompasses all that is summer.  I know I can get through the winter now and that I will be okay!

One of my students has been pretty funny.  A few weeks ago, I was complaining(as I often do) about how long February is and that this is my worst month of the year.  I pretty much blamed my moodiness on the month.  Well, she has brought this up often and has said things like:  "I can't wait until March because then you won't be moody."  Well, at the end of class today she came up to me and said:  "It has finally come, tomorrow you will feel much better.  I can't wait to see how you are on Monday!"  I got a kick out of that.  I guess the way I was talking totally made it sound like magically, on March 1st, I would be a completely different person.  It is like magic just happens at midnight tonight!  I sure hope it does.  Actually, today was awesome and my attitude has been much better the latter part of this week.  I am feeling like I can be a good teacher and still have a life.  Very good feelings!  March is a good month.  My birth month, March Madness, my brother's birthday and baseball.  Lots of things to look forward to.

Tonight a bunch of the teachers from school gathered at one of our computer teacher's houses for a BBQ and a movie.  It was fun, as it always is, to actually interact with everybody outside of our work.  I sure do like the people I work with; I am very lucky to work with awesome people and to like going to work everyday.  IHS is a cool place!

Well, I think that is it for February.  Let us have a great March!  

Maybe this one WILL be QUICK!

Imagine, if you will, a person in shorts and a hooded sweatshirt riding a bike down a chilly bike path. The path curves alongside a tranquil river. There isn't much snow on the ground around the path, but the sun is slowly going down and it is getting colder by the minute. This person soon realizes that their legs are very cold and, in fact, that if they were to lick their bike, their tongue would get stuck. Thoughts of hypothermia set in and the person takes a shortcut back to their car!

Yeah, that was me today. I decided to enjoy the warmer weather and the sun by taking a bike ride. Maybe it wasn't the smartest idea I have had this week but I couldn't resist. Don't worry; I did not get frostbite. Utah Lake was actually quite beautiful with all of the ice on top of it. I enjoyed my ride, even though it was cold! Maybe next time I will wear more clothes!

Quick Blog!

Build-A-Bear Workshop is a pretty cool place. Yesterday, I made a new teddy bear for my friend.  (This should not be confused with the Tiddy Bear as seen on TV and The Ellen Show!)  Sometimes we do not have the words to say, or even the courage to say some words sometimes, I feel that a Build-A-Bear can communicate for you.  The only problem I had with the experience was that I wanted to keep Faith for myself.  Don't you think she is a cute teddy bear?  Anyway, I also dressed Faith kinda like me and realized that sometimes I am not as feminine as I could be.  I guess this is who I am but in our society it is sometimes hard to be a female who is not very feminine.  I imagine that it is easier than being a man who is not masculine though.  Silly gender rolls.  And I will just mention also that I am SO not gay.  Whenever I talk about my lack of femininity, I feel like people start to question my sexuality.  It doesn't help that I am also a Physical Education teacher.  For some reason, there is a stereotype that makes people think that female PE teachers are automatically gay.

Wow!  I didn't know this post would turn into a discussion on my sexuality.  I apologize for that!  Just thinking about all of this reminds me of a conversation I had on the phone with my mom a few years ago.  Mother, I apologize for this addition, if it offends you in any way.  I have told this story many times over the years and decided just now that my blog readers might find a little humor in it.  I was talking to my mom about a relationship with a man that was really frustrating me at the time.  Here is how the conversation went:

Alice:  I am just so sick of boys they really irritate me!

Mom:  Well, are you sure that you don't like girls?

Alice:  Um...I really am sure that I like men.  Girls just don't do it for me.

Mom:  Well...how would you know if you haven't tried?  

I quickly changed the subject because the next question I had in my mind to ask her was:  Well, how would you know if you haven't tried?  And I really didn't want to get into that awkward conversation seeing the conversation was already awkward enough!  Silly Sue.  Anyway, I thought that would be an entertaining discussion to share.  I wonder if my mom even remembers having that conversation.  It was a very long time ago, back in the college days, but it is a conversation I will never forget.

I recently read the StoryCorps book entitled:  Listening is an Act of Love   This is a great book and I highly reccommend it.  Basically, it is a collection of people's retelling of their their life experiences.  There are booths located around the country where people can go and be interview by a family member, friend or even a facilitator.  Anyway, you should check out the website at:  http://www.storycorps.net/

Unfortunately, the story I just shared with you all about the conversation with my mother would not be one of my top choices for what I would want to talk about given the chance to tell a piece of my life to the world.  I guess for today it will do though! :)

Crying is an Evolutionary Tool!

I hate crying in front of other people. I just feel stupid and weak when I do. I was reminded of this again on Friday. It has been an emotional few days. On Thursday, I got a text from a friend who told me that they had gotten some bad news about her mother. Her mom has cancer and the news is that pretty much the cancer is everywhere in her body. This friend didn't want to talk about the news and that was both hard and relieving. Hard because I really wanted to know what the news was(she didn't even want to tell anybody the news.) and relieving because I really didn't want to have to talk about it because I knew it was bad. Anyway, that day, whenever I saw her, I wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be okay. I couldn't do that because I knew both of us would lose it and that is not a good thing to do in front of teenagers.

It is hard to go through the death of a loved one, but it is also hard to be a friend who has to see a good friend go through the death of a loved one. I feel like I never know what to say or do, but I feel so much sorrow. From past experience, I have realized that you can't just not say anything and avoid the person, because it doesn't help them or you. I am slowly realizing that just crying for and being there for a person is so important.

One of my wise friends, MBC, told me that crying is a good thing. People need to cry. Basically it is an evolutionary tool which signifies to other humans that you are hurting and need to be comforted. I had never thought of that before but it is pretty much true! I am trying to be okay with crying.

The weekend has gone too fast. I really would just like to go to Hawaii instead of work tomorrow. Too bad that is not an option. I am kinda burnt out right now. February does that to people. I have probably mentioned all of this already.

I was able to go to Enchanted again at the dollar theater. Love that movie. I sure do like movies. Last night, I went up to Salt Lake and spent some time with the adopted family. The Bills always have a way of calming me, even when they are sick and tired. Kent, Anne and I had a good hour long conversation last night. They are so supportive of me and so very nice. Erin and Isaac went to dinner with me. We were supposed to go to a movie as well but they were very tired.

Today was just another Sunday. I made some good pork chops.

Well, here is to a good week for everybody. Chins up; Spring is just around the corner! :)