Ode To Andi

Today is my Sister's birthday. She is older than me and is a very nice person. You really should know her. Of course, you may live a far way away from her, but that is beside the point, stalk her and get to know her. Just kidding, don't do that. That is creepy.

I met my sister 31 years ago. Okay so maybe a little more than 31 years ago. I was little; she was a little bigger. I am sure she took care of me even though she didn't like the fact that she had to be quiet when I was around. I guess I was a sickly runt. Anyway, we grew up in Wausau, Wisconsin. She was the boss of me for the majority of my childhood years. I did not like her to be my boss back then but now, when I am 31, she can be my boss anytime. She has good advice and much life wisdom. Pretty much she is an amazing woman, mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, etc. She has a tender heart and is willing to help people. I personally think the most amazing feat she has done has been adopting two kids and being patient with them as they grow.

Whenever I spend time with Andi, it is a good time. Whether it is making cards together, picking on our mother together, or doing fun things together, I know I will have fun. My sister has an amazing sense of humor and makes me laugh all the time. She is a great listener and always gives me good advice.

What an amazing woman! I am so glad to have you in my life sister. I hope this year is the best yet for you, because you deserve it. LOVE YOU! (Seester's birthday is August 13...you may be reading this on August 14 which is my nephew's birthday. He is nice too!)

Work, Work, Work...

Hi.  I am officially back at work this week.  Actually, I am officially at work right as I type this!  

Yesterday, we had a great opening meeting as a staff here at IHS.  I even got to lead an activity.  We did "If You Really Knew Me..." as a staff.  It was completely awesome.  I feel so connected to the people I work with, even the newest members of the team!  If you were to ask me a year ago to lead something for the whole school, I would not have done it.  I am really liking this new Alice.  I really was changed for the good back in July at Next Step training. (see previous blog about Challenge Day, if you are totally confused!)  I also am in charge of the Junior Advisor Team.  We call ourselves The Top Ten because our kids will graduate in 2010!  Today, I will get to see some of the kids in my Leadership class and I am pretty excited about that.  It really doesn't seem like we are back to school until I actually am able to interact with my students!  We got a lot of work done yesterday including planning an outing to a museum to learn about Da Vinci!  My team rocks!

I stayed at work until 6pm.  It is always humorous to me that I will stay and chat with other teachers until later in the evening.  We really don't have lives.  It is nice to be back with my friends!

Janette and I watched the Olympics on her HUGE flat screen TV last night.  I keep telling her that this TV really could be a man magnet.  She just needs to start picking up nice looking men and taking them to stand in front of her TV.  I am sure within about 5 seconds there would be a marriage proposal!  It still is so fun to watch Michael Phelps swim.  He is just amazing.  Talk about a fish!  I would marry him, if he asked!  It is good to have imaginary boyfriends to cheer on during the Olympics!

Well, I don't really have anything else.  Please remember to recycle and to smile, it keeps people wondering.  Not the recycling:  you will just be considered a green person.  Smiling, on the other hand, will make people wonder!

Back To Work.....Almost.

Today I had a meeting at school at 11:30. It was weird and nice to go back to work. Weird because it does not seem like it is time to go back(it never does at the end of summer) and nice because I really do work with AMAZING people.

I rode my bike to work today. That was very nice. It is definitely different than the new bike my mom bought me in Wisconsin but I will get used to it(the handle bars are much lower). I also rode my bike out to the lake. I love that place. Enjoy the picture of me pondering life at the lake!

I woke up today with very bad pain in my neck and shoulders. Bad, bad! I decided that it must be the pillow I am using. I do not know why all the sudden it is giving me problems, but let's hope that the new pillow I bought will do the trick(I was very excited to find pillows 50% off at Shopko...I didn't have to buy a cheap one!!!). I do not want to wake up tomorrow with the same issue. It was bad, did I mention that? It still hurts a little.

Tonight, I watched the Packers lose their first pre-season game. Oh well. I watched it via picture in picture so I could also watch Olympics. I am sure addicted this time around. It has been a while since I was addicted to the Olympics like this. I used to use countless VCR tapes when I was younger and watch everything. Now, I am finding myself using my DVR to tape a lot but I really do not have enough time to watch all of it. I think there is a lot more coverage these days.

Well, I am going to go back and watch the men's gymnastics. Good, good times!

One last thing: I also grilled some amazing chicken thighs tonight. I think it was either the first or second time I have actually cooked chicken. That was very surprising to my friend who ate with me. I guess I have been a little lazy when it comes to food preparation. I am going to be better at making good food because, I CAN do it!

Olympic Fun!

Had a fun time down in Lynndyl this past Friday night. My friend had an Opening Ceremony party. While the athletes were coming in, we would eat food from the country that was being represented(of course we did not have food for each country, but it was fun to anticipate the next treat!). It made watching the Opening Ceremony even more spectacular. Those Chinese sure did an amazing job, quite the show!

It is pretty cool to be able to have The Olympics readily available to me thanks to my Dish Network. I have been recording events and also watching them in real time. Both is good, but of course it is fun to be able to fast forward commercials again! Last night a couple friends came over and we had dinner together and then watched the games. We got to watch Michael Phelps get gold in the 400 Meter Medley. I like him. It is fun to watch swimming. Men's gymnastics were also on and I am so amazed by what they are able to do. They are so very strong! Dinner was excellent by the way. I grilled burgers and we also had fresh corn on the cob as well as fresh tomatoes(I love little side of the road veggie and fruit stands) and for dessert we had peach pie. Pie girl(MBC) makes wonderful pies and I am always so thankful when she shares with me!

It was my first night actually sleeping in my house since being back and it was kinda weird. I slept on the couch until about 5 a.m. and then headed to my bed. I do not know why it is weird. Maybe it is hard to come back to being alone when I spent two months with people. Do not get me wrong, I love this place. My house is awesome. So quiet and just cozy. I am a lucky girl. The only thing I am not excited about is the fact that my swamp cooler is not up and running and it is hot, hot, hot! Today it will be 90. Which means it will be 90 in my house. Hopefully, next week the cooler will be up and running. I do not like the hot! I think the a/c is the only thing I am missing from my last place. SIGH.

Not much happening today. Just going to Church and then eating fish. I am trying to eat a little healthier these days. I hope your day is fabulous. If you would like to see more pictures of Michael Phelps here is the address where I found the picture at the beginning of the post: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/olympics/bal-phelps-photogallery,0,4605337.photogallery

He is a dreamboat! :)

More Later....

Back in Utah. Off to meet friend for lunch. Enjoy the slide show of my crazy "nieces."