it's Christmas time in the city

Ho ho ho!! It feels so good to be in the Christmas spirit!! it's been easy these past few days. tons and tons of snow has literally been DUMPED onto the Pacific Northwest! Friday at work we didn't have to show up until 10(our center normally opens at 6, i usually have to work at 8:30). Saturday and Sunday i was pretty much snowed in! then on monday work was CANCELLED altogether! not only was our center closed, but we still got paid for a whole days work! i definately was not complaining about that! i took the day to lounge around the house and cook things i've never made before! last night i mixed bisquick, salt, pepper,and italian seasoning,coated some chicken in it,and then baked it. Best. Chicken. Ever. i amaze myself sometimes.

so i think i've found a place to live. the girl that i babysit for has an extra bedroom in her house in downtown tacoma. she's gonna take care of all the utilities,cable,and internet, and rent is pretty cheap...in exchange for me helping out with her boys a couple times a week. i really don't mind that, since i'll probably just be lounging around the house anyway. i just don't want to be a crutch or for her to just assume i'm gonna watch her her kids some night. so we'll talk about that before i move in...but she's pretty easy going and i'm sure we'll work something out.

today is the last day of work before winter break! i have Dec 24th-Jan 1st off. this is the first year i haven't worked retail and i'm looooving it! I'm not doing much on Christmas...just going to my parents house and hanging out, opening presents,eating delicious food,and petting the dog. can't wait!


Merry Christmas everyone!! Have a fun and safe holiday!!

baby,it's cold outside

i haven't been able to write blogs as often as i would like because i have had not had internet connection for a couple of weeks now! so, i will write them whenever i can.

my sister and connor left back home to texas on tuesday. i was soooo sad to see them go! i spent the last night before they left just hanging out with connor and holding him and playing with him. he's such a fun guy and he has the CUTEST smile. here's a couple pics i took while we were hanging:

sleepy teddy bear:


happy baby:


i kept thinking about how the next time i see him(whenever that is!) he's going to be SO much bigger! i wish babies didn't grow so fast!

other then that, things have pretty much been the same ole. i've been baby sitting for my friend for a few weeks now in order to get some "extra" cash. i was supposed to babysit for her 7-5 saturday and sunday but somehow on saturday night i ended up getting SUPER sick ( i won't go into details, but i was praying to the porcelin(sp?) gods until 3:30 am)so i had to cancel babysitting on sunday. i'm PRETTY sure i got food poisoning from some Papa Johns pizza me and my friends boys had for lunch(something i will NOT be eating for a very long time...)but neither of them got sick, so who knows. i was even more bummed to be sick because there was a show saturday night that i had been looking forward to for a very long time that i had to leave after the first act! oh well, i'm sure i'll see them again sometime soon...now it's monday and i'm still feeling a little bit dizzy and nauseous but i am finally able to drink stuff and i could eat A hot dog yesterday...so hopefully i'll be 100 percent here in the next couple of days.

it's been SNOWING here the past couple of days. i'm not a huge fan of being cold. as long as i'm warm in my house or i'm bundled up properly to be out in the snow, i have no problem with it!

i'm getting ready to start looking for a new place to live. i haven't had time lately, but once my nine day vacation kicks in (our center is closed Dec 24th-Jan 1st)i will definitely be looking as much as i can! i'm hoping to live in the renton area, so that i am a lot closer to work. but i'm willing to live as far south as downtown tacoma.

my car has been acting funny lately...whenever i would have to press on my brakes extra hard the emergency brake light would come on. i thought maybe it was just something wrong with my emergency brake light until i was driving to work this morning and i swear i had to push my brake pedal WAY more further down than i usually do in order to stop...if that makes any sense. anyway,i might leave work early today in order to have that checked out because that kind of freaks me out...


anyway,that's about it for now...i'll talk to you all soon!!

it's christmas

all i want for christmas your best champagne on ice. nice.



ya like puddin?

"do something good every day"

i've been inspired. by starbucks, nonetheless. i recieved a warm beverage from them a few days ago, and on the protective sleeve it said "do something good every day". i dunno why, but it got me thinking that i really SHOULD make a conscious effort every day to do something good for someone. Now, i don't think that i,by any means am a mean person or that i never do good things, because i'm not and i do, but i,just like most people i feel, could do more. i don't want my "good somethings" to just be like "oh soandso did this for me today and it totally made my day!". I want that person that i helped out to be inspired to also do good things for someone else...a "pay it forward" if you will. this morning i started that by purchasing the beverages of the car behind me at the Starbucks drive thru, hoping that they'd take the money they saved on their drinks, and maybe use it on the person behind them. i have no idea what actually happened, but it's still nice to think i could have made their day.

Other then that things have been pretty a-ok. I still have the best, most rewarding job in the world. My grandparents and my sister,brother in law, and nephew came to visit for Thanksgiving. My grandparents left the Friday after and my brother in law stayed until the Tuesday after, my sister is here with Connor until this coming Tuesdday...so it's been SO nice spending time with all of them. I especially am loving playing with little Connor. He just turned two months old and he is the happiest baby in the world. I have no problem just sitting for hours in a chair holding him, playing with him,listening to him "talk", or even just watching him sleep. He is the most adorable baby ever i love him so MUCH! and it's amazing because i know i'm not the only person who feels this way about this little baby boy...so many others love him as much as i do! what a lucky little guy!

i leave you with a few pictures of me in action at work with my kids, pics from Thanksgiving coming as soon as i recieve them!

ring around a rosey...



making our own chex mix



watching wall-e(NOT recommended for 3 year olds...)



i was soooo boring, she fell asleep!

you MUST know this!

The wedding episode of The Rachael Ray Show airs THIS FRIDAY, November 21st!
Check your local listings for times and channels!

Here's a short commercial about it, you can see my sister kissing my dad on the cheek in the end!

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/rachs-wedding-rescue2/

when grey skies turn blue...

You say you want me to say "I'm sorry."
But I don't have to and I don't want to say it
'Cause I'm not sorry

I play the game and I can't really say that I like it
Can't really say that I hate it
Can't really say that I paid attention

When grey skies turn blue
I'll come back for you
My mind can't change my heart there's nothing I can do

When grey skies turn blue
When dreams do come true
Will you be the way that I remember you

You say that life with me is driving you crazy
But I don't see it and I don't want see
So I, I must be crazy

I didn't mean a thing when I said "Nothing is fleeting."
Or worth repeating (worth repeating)
Or worth repeating (worth repeating)

When grey skies turn blue
I'll come back for you
My mind can't change my heart there's nothing I can do

When grey skies turn blue
When dreams do come true
Will you be the way that I remember you

The cold wind on my face
Is the only thing I felt
In such a long time
In such a long time
It's been a long time
Yeah, yeah

Yeah

When grey skies turn blue
I'll come back for you
My mind can't change my heart there's nothing I can do

When grey skies turn blue
When dreams do come true
Will you be the way that I remember you

Will you be the way that I remember you

my laminated list

(for those of you who don't know what a laminated list is: let's say i was married or in a serious relationship. the dudes on my laminated list would be the only dudes acceptable to cheat on my significant other with, should the occasion arise. my significant other is not allowed to have a laminated list,obviously.)

in no particular order:

1.PAUL WALKER


2.JENSEN ACKLES


3.JIMMY FALLON


4.RYAN REYNOLDS



ummm i feel like i need to have a fifth to round out the top five, but can't think of anyone. if you have any suggestions,feel free to send them my way!

back where i belong

(downtown tacoma=my favorite)

well, this may come as a shock to everyone, but i've moved. again. this is probably my...8th? move in almost 3 years. in other words, i move a lot. seattle wasn't working out. for me it's one of those places i LOVE to visit, but i don't wanna live there.it was too tall. i didn't like the fact that in order to see the skyline i had to be standing on the 19th floor of a building. it was also too hoity toity. i had 3 coach stores within walking distance, but the closest target was a 20 minute drive! riiiidiculous! i still love it with all my heart and all my soul, but it wasn't "me".

i'm back in the tacoma area! spanaway,to be exact. I have a friend who i've known for about ten years who had a room available in her house, so i moved in! her brother and some other dude who i have yet to meet live here so it's an interesting combination. i'm only here through december, mid january at the very latest...hopefully then i'll find someplace closer to work(right now it's about a 40 min morning commute and a probably 1.5 hr afternoon commute that i have yet to experience).

i learned today at work that if i take the Sounder(the name of some fancy train)it's included in our benefits package at work! so i'll definitely have to get more info on that! go green and save money at the same time! sounds good to me!

these are mine and roomies plans for tomorrow:
sleep in til 11
laaazily get presentable for public viewing
make it to the movie theatre before 6 in order to get matinée price

that's it.

life is good.

I'll make this short...(I think)

I'm at the Southcenter Mall right now and I am literally shocked that there is Christmas music playing overhead. Now, I worked in retail for a long time,I understand that they start decorating malls in Christmas gear starting the day after the 4th of July...but actual Christmas MUSIC?? At least wait til the day after Thanksgiving when the actual Christmas season kicks off! A month of the same 10 Christmas songs playing over and over and over again isn't enough? Do we really need TWO?? Geeze louise.

While we're on the topic of Christmas,it is also the season for my-most-favorite-coffee-beverage-that-i-only-get-to-enjoy-a-couple-months-outta-the-year...Starbucks Peppermint Mocha! I basically only drink this between Halloween and New Years Day. It's strictly a holiday drink! Anyway, I digress...this year they changed it! Instead of the traditional peppermint mocha with whipped cream and red sprinkles(my favorite part!), it is now peppermint mocha TWIST. The twist being instead of red sprinkles there is peppermint flavored whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top. Pure heaven. If you're not a coffee lover, their white chocolate hot chocolate is delish as well.

Today is officially day 4 of no back medication. It feels better more and more every day. Even times when it hurts a little I'm still super grateful because I remember how bad it hurt before, when I couldn't even WALK. I'm just hoping it doesn't slip again before I'm able to have surgery on it. My disability at work kicks in April 1st and I will be able to get the surgery sometime after then, insurance willing.

That's about it for me...told ya I'd keep it "short"!!!(haha)

where to begin??

I guess the beginning is a good start...heeeere i go!!

[sidenote:the lack of pictures can be attributed to my camera deciding to malfuntion at the exact time i decided to buy a new memory card for it, and contractually not being able to post pics of the wedding til the episode of The Rachael Ray airs. But believe me, there are plenty coming!]



So i arrived in Houston on Friday night. Future bro in law and my dad were there to pick me up and take me back to Justin and Sams house. Within minutes of arriving there i was greeted by....CONNOR!!! It was truly love at first site for both of us. He is the most beautiful, sweet, easy going baby in the universe. I didn't hear him cry at all until i had been there for 3 days! I can't wait to work my way into his heart and becoming his favorite aunt. ;)

On Saturday me, my sister, and my mom all ran last minute errands in preperation for the wedding(!!!!) the next day. We started off by getting our nails done(which, btw, has not made typing this any easier), then off to The Galleria for some shopping! I'd never been to this place before. Lemme tell ya, it's HUGE. There are TWO Macys in this "mall"! It's also super expensive. The average cost of a pair of jeans was probably $200. In otherwords, not a place i would frequent if i was a resident of Houston,TX. We had to cut our shopping short(short meaning after 3 hrs)because my back was aching so bad, i couldn't stand walking at all. After The Galleria we headed to Davids Bridal to pick up Samanthas dress,jewelry, and garter for The Big Day. I was very excited for this event because I was previously super bummed that I wouldn't be able to do these special things with her, living so far away and all. But here I was,helping my sister decide whether to get the bracelet that twisted, or the one with the pearls. By this time, the two Vicotin I had taken at the second Macys we visited had kicked in, so i was feeling much better.

Sunday was THE BIG DAY!!! Justins side of the family came over and we all got ready to go to Minute Maid Stadium, where the wedding was to be held. Samantha, my mom, dad, and Justin all had to be at the venue by 3. The rest of us (Justins parents, brother,sister,their significant others, and Justins BFF Cary) all got there about 330. We went through security and were brought to a waiting area where we were greeted by yummy "to hold us over until dinner" appitizers including fondue, some fancy meat and cheeses, hummus, and an assortment of beverages. After about an hour of waiting we were taken by groups down to the field. The wedding was held in the middle of the field at Minute Maid stadium. How effing cool. There's no way i can really explain the decorations. We walked down an aisle that had rows of trees and lights that reminded me of a winter wonderland! We were escorted to our table where we waited for the ceremony to start. A few minutes later, Rachael Ray(!!) walked by us as she and her husband were escorted to their table close to the stage,where priests/rabbis/pastors/any religious affiliated person you could think of was standing, with perfect view of all the action.

At about 7 o'clock the brides and their escorts/fathers walked down the same winter wonderland our party previously did to meet their grooms at the end. All 44 brides looked AMAZING. They really were provided with a great team of hair and make up artists. Each religious affiliate said a piece and after a couple minutes,and vows everyone was married!

TIME TO EAT!!

It was great having all that down time with justins family because i learned that they are a great group of people, and we share a similar sense of humor! which made the night that much more fun. Anyways, back to the food...we were served a goat cheese tart appitizer, with our choice of white or red wine, AND champagne, a main course of beef tenderloin, some fancy chicken, delicious pork,roast potatos, green beans...and that's it...i think...it was all great!

After eating, the Rachael Ray provided photographer came to our table and announced it was picture time! If you know one thing about our family, it's that we loved to be photographed, so of couse, this was welcome.

Pictures were fun, Rachael even jumped in for a few of ours and now it was time to eat cake! Each couple got their own half chocolate/half vanilla cake. THEN it was time for the special musical guest!!!

WYNONA JUDD!

Now, I'm gonna be honest when i say i was a tad bit disappointed. I know she's a big deal, and it's amazing to be able to say Wynona Judd sang at your wedding. But I was just kinda like...eh. She sang 3 songs, all covers...the only one i can remember is At Last...

So Wynona got off the stage and the couples were surprised even more!! Everyone was given a flip video camera thing i don't remember the name of, and a trip to an all inclusive resort in Mexico for their honeymoon!! So YEA, everyone was excited for that, fireworks ensued, and people resumed dancing on the dance floor. My sister and Justin are quite the dancers and drew quite a bit of attention, I'd be surprised if they didn't make it to the final cut. Justins best friend even grabbed Rachael Ray and danced with her!!

The whole night ended at about 1130. It's really something i, and i'm sure everyone involved will never forget. Rachael, many times, expressed how she was so happy to provide these couples with the special wedding night they had dreamed of. I'm sure the couples reciprocated her happiness!! After everyone got home that night, we were all so wore out...we fell asleep insantly!

Monday I flew home and blah. it's back to normal, every day life.

The wedding is going to take up the whole hr of Rachael Rays show when it airs sometime at the end of this month. When I find out an exact date, i'll let you know for sure!

Anyways, sorry this is so long, thanks for reading it!! Pictures to come soon!!!

kinda creepy...kinda cool...

Apparently my blogs are so interesting, other bloggers are blogging about me!

http://community.livejournal.com/boardoutmind/143705.html


Hi, livejournal readers!

Faaaaantastic!(EVOO)

So, as excited i was/am for alllll the things going on this weekend(Halloween RPA/Buckwheat/Ruxton Towers show, Mxpx AND Robs bday/RPA show) I'm not going to be able to attend any of that...becauuuuuuse..

I'm going to HOUSTON!

On Sunday my sister recieved a call from The Rachael Ray Show informing her that they had heard about the venue her wedding was going to be at closed, due to bankrupsy because of Hurricane Ike and that a week from that day (Sunday, Nov 2) they are going to throw hers, as well as other peoples wedding! The Rachael Ray Show is paying for everything! Wedding gowns, tuxes, flowers, hair, make up, catering, etc. MMMMmmmmm catering....I canNOT wait to try all the delicious food! Each couple is only able to invite 10 guests so I'm totally honored that I'm getting this opportunity to go! Rachael Ray is going to be there, so I get to meet her too!

I found a SUPER cute outfit to wear for my national television debut. I can't wait to wear it. I'm going to take tons of pictures and I can't wait to share with you guys everything that happened!! I'm SUPPOSED to be gone Sat -Tues, but I'm probably gonna change it to Fri-Mon since work NEEDS me on Tuesday..hopefully that works out!

In other news, the pain in my back got so bad last night I ended up going to the Emergency Room. The doctor said she suspected that i had a slipped disk and sent me in to get an MRI...which confirmed, I have not one, but TWO protruding disks. OWWWWWW! She precribed me some pain killers (that WORK! i'm so greatful, cause the over the counter stuff i was taking did NOT work) and physical therapy. I'm supposed to talk to an orthopedic surgeon this week and see if he thinks i need surgery or not. I'M hoping there's a way to just pop them back into place(so i've heard). BUT I suppose that may be just a temporary fix, and i would like a final resolution.

That's about it for now...4 more days til Rachael Ray!!!!

Good Luck Chuck

Are you a dude between the ages of 24-45 who wants to get married in the relative near future? Then date me! I promise within 4-6 months of us breaking up you will find AND MARRY your soul mate. It works, every time, guaranteed.

Trust.

pressing forward

I've been a big fan of Post Secret for quite some time now (for those of you who don't know who/what that is, click the link that says "Post Secret" under my favorite bloggers)...anyways, i found one today that i totally could have sent in:


just kidding, it was actually this one (and it's from Seattle!):



Moving on...

Have I mentioned lately how much i LOVE my job as a preschool teacher? As aggrivating as the 3 year olds can be, with all the potty "accidents",the not listening/doing anything us teachers tell them,the yelling,screaming, and hitting of each other...basically being normal 3 year olds, i love these kids a LOT! all 20 of them! I've also been thinking about my future more since starting this job, and I haven't even been there a month! The amount we make is based on education,experience, and position. So, basically, in order to make more i need to go back to school. I have been SO opposed to this for so long, because I have had absolutely no desire to go back to school...and even if i did..what would i go back for??

Well, since starting at BFC the longing to go back to school has returned to me...I have several coworkers who are taking classes and are working at the same time, and it's been very inspiring to me. I don't have to take a full course load all at once, i can just do a class at a time. And going back would be very beneficial to me, even if i just get my associates, it's better than what i have now! Another bonus is that BFC will pay back 50 percent of your tuition for any class related to child care that you complete and pass. Bright Horizons (the name of the actual people i work for) is truly a great company!

My back has been hurting soooooOOOOoooo bad these past couple of days, i canNOT wait til my health insurance kicks in next month so i can figure out what's wrong with me! I suspect,with my years and years of medical training, it's a slipped/herniated disk that's pinching a nerve. Sounds pleasant,right?

And,finally, for the road, new pictures of Connor looking adorable:

you talkin to me?


ready to go!


Connors first smile!



sleepy baby!

you never know who you'll meet

...when you're walking down the street.



Ok, so i didn't actually "meet" him, but i did happen to walk by David Archuleta(2nd place to David Cook on American Idol last season) a couple days ago on my way to Starbucks at 7 o'clock in the morning. He was leaving his hotel as i was walking by. I didn't say anything to him because, #1 I didn't have a camera, and wanted proof of the meeting. and #2 i really didn't have much to say and, most importantly #3, i was on my way to get coffee!

Other then that, things have been relatively booooring and normal. I found out I'm getting New Kids On the Block tix for when they're at the Tacoma Dome on Nov 22nd. Me and Amanda are gonna have the BEST time ever! It's been my dream to see NKOTB, as i affectionately call them, since i was like 7 years old. So I will probably die after the show. It was nice knowing you all!

best thanksgiving EVER!

I JUST found out my sister and Justin and CONNOR are gonna be here for Thanksgiving!! I now know when i get to meet the little guy! this is sooooo exciting for me, i feel like i've been waiting to meet connor for YEARS! anyways, here's more pics of him looking adorable...


a rare one, with eyes open!



sleeping on grandpas lap

At the show

So, little tiny update, finished up week 3 at the new job and i still love it! I mentioned this before, but i have my first week of where i pick the curriculum i'm teaching the kids next week...it's occupations...Mon-Fri they're gonna learn about the letter j(for jobs!),being a doctor, dentist(a dentist is coming in to talk to the kids),a chef(we're making chex mix!),a teacher (kids are gonna be teacher helpers throughout the day), and i think a singer, where i'll have the kids make microphones or something...i'm really excited to see how everything turns out...

OK! so now details on my free Plain White T's show! It was last Tuesday and i went with my new co-worker/friend Suzanne. The show was in Everett so we both got off work early and she drove us to Everett(which i'm so greatful for!). We ended up getting there pretty early so we went across the street to a bar and ate/drank some super expensive food/drinks!


The day before the show i had read a bulletin on myspace about a meet and greet with the plain white t's at 630. of course i'd never pass up an opportunity to meet one of my favorite bands! so me and Suzanne waited about 3 minutes in line to meet the Plain White T's!! They signed promo posters and took a couple pics with us. The line wasn't too long...and we wanted more pics,so we went through line again!



(i totally want to marry the dude in the stripes...pretty sure he wanted to marry me too)

The show itself was pretty good. The first band was called The Cab and they weren't terrible, i'd listen to more of their tunes...PWT's were also an opener,so they played for only a half hr,but they packed a bunch of my favorites in! their new single 1,2,3,4, Our Time Now, Hate(I really don't like you)(!!!!!), and, of course, Hey There Delilah. Loved every minute of it. Dashboard Confessional was next, I'm not a huge fan, but I didn't totally tune them out, and the last band of the night was Panic At the Disco. I'm realllllly not a fan of these dudes so i was a little bored. But, whatever, it was free! Here's a view from our seats:


I got home that night at about 11 and was totally tired the next morning, but for a free night out I had SO much fun!

MxPx is playing at Key Arena which isn't too far from my apt on Nov 1st. Can't WAIT!

MickeyD's:Plain White T's:cute kiddies

Lemme tell ya, things have been going preeeetty good for me lately. It seems ever since i quit my job at Boys and Girls Club things have been going up up uuuuup! I got a nephew, i LOVE my new job, and now..i've had the luckiest 24 hrs ever...

Yesterday I went to Federal Way to get my hair colored by Future Stylist to the Stars,Tiffany. After my appt i was a tad bit hungry and had a long drive home, so i stopped at a local McDonalds. The drive through line was long so i went inside. While inside, the rudest McDonalds order taker that ever existed took my order. I won't go into detail, but let's just say i wanted to punch her in the face when my transaction was done. Anyway, so i handed her a $20 to pay for my meal. As i turned and walked away after she gave me change i noticed i had exactly $22 in my hand. Dumb rude girl had given me a 10 instead of a 5 with my change. Now, on normal circumstances, i would have pointed out the mistake. But since I had to deal with Rudy McRuderson i figured this was Gods way of rewarding me for being the most amazing customer ever.

So I'm driving home and I'm listening to the radio, KISS 106.1 to be exact. I hear something about a "grab bag of tickets" and being caller 106. Of course, being the compulsive radio contest caller-inner i just had to call in...and i WON! I got to choose between qualifying for a couple of trips, tix to the Rock Band tour(Dashboard Confessional, Panic! At the Disco, and Plain White T's), Secondhand Serenade, or Frightfest tix. Realistically, i was secretly hoping they had NKOTB tix available...but since that wasn't an option i chose the Rock Band tour cause i loooooooove PWT's!!! YEA me!!

THEN! today i go into work and one of the head honchos, Darline, is talking to the other teachers in my classroom(there's 4 others, total)about me, and asking what they thought about me and my place in the classroom. Well, apparetly they all LOVE me and she said she'd heard the kids talking about how much they love me, so i was officially offered the Lead Teaching Position for the preschool!!! This makes me sooOOoooo extremely happy! All us teachers get along so well, the girls are so nice and welcoming, and willing to help me learn how to do my job correctly. Our curriculum is based off of the kids and thier interests and i already have SO many ideas on what to teach the kids!!

Well, that's my latest batch of good news. Hopefully I'll have a lot more to come soon!!

Connor Bruce Reynolds

is sooooooooo cute! These are some of my favorites, if you REALLY want to see more you can go here (you will have to register):

the happy family:



sleeping all star:



it's never too early to start good tanning habits!:


kisses from mommy:


baby burrito:

unlucky

i just looked on my dashboard and saw my last post was my lucky number 13...so i made one more so it's not 13 anymore!


that is all.

my future's so bright, i gotta wear (stunna)shades

I've officially completed four days at my new job and I have learned more these past four days than i did working 7 months at Boys and Girls Club...first off, I actually got TRAINED. I never even got that at "the Club", just kinda thrown in and I suppose I was just supposed to guess how things worked and what i was supposed to do. Another thing i love is how people communicate with each other. That's a HUGE thing that was lacking when i was at the Club. I felt like I never knew what was going on, or when i did know, it was always last minute.

My first two days were typical training days. They were my "observation" days where i basically spent an hour or two with a certain age group, observing the teachers and their interactions with the kids. Boeing Family Center has a few age groups..they are infants, toddlers, preschool, and pre-K..i think i'm missing an age group...anyway...

Yesterday, Wednesday, I shadowed one of the Pre-K teachers, Theresa. She is going to be my mentor while I'm working at BFC. Theresa has been working in the field since she was 14(she's 35 now) and is very good at what she does, the way she talks to the kids, and interacts with them. The company actually paid for us to have lunch together so we can get to know each other a little better. We chose SushiLand in Renton, and it was soooOOOooo good!(even better that it was FREE!). I feel really comfortable with Theresa and am so glad i have someone to talk to if i have any questions/concerns who actually KNOWS what they're doing and has wisdom and advice to share.

Today I worked in classroom with the preschoolers that i will be teaching, assuming i choose to accept the postion (i'm getting paid like i'm in the position, and it's pretty much mine if i want it, they just wanna make sure I'M really sure i want it). There are several other girls who work in the same suite as me(that's what we call our classrooms,it's one big room, split in two, for the two different classes) and they all seem really nice and are about my age. I'm having a good time getting to know the kids and their different personalities. There are 20 kids in the classroom, but 10 will be specifically my OWN group. I'm glad i'm getting this trial period because it gives me a chance to know the kids and get their respect while learning their routines and how the classroom is set up before jumping in and teaching them...from 12-3 is naptime, and i can already tell that is going to be my FAVORITE time of the day.

p.s. i google image searched Boeing Family Center to find a pic of the building and the pic above came up. It's from the Seattle Times and it's a pic of my mentor(!!!) and a child from about a year ago when they wrote a story on her. That pretty much makes her a celebrity.

Good things come to those who wait...

OK! first off, a continuation of my last post...i'm an AUNTIE!!! Connor Bruce Reynolds was born this morning, Sept 29th at 9:34 AM. He weighed 7lbs 10 oz and is 20 inches long! Mommy and daddy and baby are doing FINE! my sister even had an amazingly easy labor..only pushed for 15 minutes! Here's the handsome fellow:

(awwwwww!)

in other GREAT news...i started my new job at Boeing Family Center today. Initially i applied as a Lead Teacher, but they filled the position w/ someone who had more experience than me. However, they still LOVED me and wanted me to work for them so they hired me as a Center Float meaning i'd just fill in when/wherever i was needed...but would be promoted to Lead Teacher at a later date...well, my first day, and i got promoted to lead already! When i got there this morning i was told i would be learning lead responsibilities this week, for the future...but by the time i was done with lunch they had decided to just start me in the Lead position instead!

I get a mentor who the company PAYS for me to go out with sometime during lunch this week and discuss my new job, benefits are AMAZING, i get vacation time AND paid holidays (during Christmas time we're closed for something like nine days straight and i get paid for 7 of those!)...this may be hohum to most of you...but to me, who's never really had a job that offered really good vacation/benefits i'm STOKED!

ummm...after i left work my day pretty much went downhill..but pretty sure the good stuff cancels out the bad stuff today!!!!

for my special "I had an amazing day" treat, i'm making myself breakfast for dinner...who wants some???

September 29th,2008

"Baby is coming! At the hospital, he'll most likely be here by tomorrow morning. Please pray for us!" -Samantha-

I just got that exact text message from my sister a few minutes ago! My nephew is almost here! I've never been so excited for someone to be born in my whole entire life. I can't WAIT to meet him!


p.s. the above image is of my sisters belly at about 6 months...husband got a little bored...

Day Zero

Today is my last day at Boys and Girls Club!! I'm sooooo excited! I'm so over working there. I've been over working there for the past few months, but it's been especially bad these past couple of weeks. In honor of my last day I wore our grey summer tee instead of the required blue polo. I'm so rebellious.

Every time I get on or off a bus this morning I keep thinking,"This is the last time I'm gonna get on/off this bus!" When the bus driver said "Have a good weekend, see you next week!" I thought "Noooo you won't!" I'm sure I'm gonna be thinking like that all day. I'm so weird.

P.S. Does anyone have any good band/singer recommendations? I feel like I listen to the same 5 bands...it's gotten so bad I've resorted to listening to the radio! Help!

I drank a mocha today...

for the first time in probably 4 years.
It was gross.

My weekend, however, was not!


On Friday night after I got off of work I went shopping for myself(quite possibly my most favorite activity in the world). There was an RPA show that night and I was in the mood to look super cute. Found something to wear, mission accomplished, on to dinner.
Me and Tiff ate at a delicious teriyaki restaurant in Tacoma. I dunno what it is lately, but I've been craving teriyaki chicken and gyoza like a mofo. That was probably my 3rd or 4th time eating it in 2 weeks. (Sidenote:one of those times was at the Cheesecake Factory...teriyaki NOT recommended. Totally disgusting, I couldn't even eat it. However, their potstickers=best EVER.)
After dinner was on to the show! Rocky Point kicked ass,which I'm pretty sure is ALL they know how to do, and a boy who I think is hot thought I looked hot that night...so that's always a nice bonus! All around a fun night!
Saturday I didn't wake up until ONE!!! I don't even remember the last time I slept in past 9! Especially since I've started waking up at 430, it's been really hard to sleep in late. Needless to say, my waking up extremely late was the start to the laaaaaziest day EVER. Which was welcome. I think I needed it to catch up on sleep lost during the week and to just take some time to breathe...which even that I've been having trouble finding time for.
Sunday I did the Puyallup, again! I'm not even exaggerating when I say I could go to the fair every day that it runs and never get bored and always find something I've never seen/done before.
There's this guy there who makes marbles with names on them. Well, with my name(Andraya,Andi) being so unique he did not have my name last year. I requested it for this year, he wrote it in his little book, and he actually made it!!! So now I have marbles with my name on it. Which sounds totally lame...but when you bring into account that
#1 I have NOTHING with my full name on it
And
#2 it's pretty much customized cause he wouldn't of had it if I didn't ask for it...I was pretty stoked.
This is my last week at Boys and Girls Club. I thought I'd be sad leaving all my kids...and I am...but I'm more sad leaving (most) of my fellow coworkers. They're so much fun and I enjoy talking to them and exchanging weekend stories with them. I'm sure I'll meet new ones at my new job,though. I go to my new job tomorrow morning to start filling out paperwork! I'm actually really excited about this!!!! Ok time to go back to work...

1 2 3 4

as most of you know, i'm a big fan of song lyrics and relating them to my life...these lyrics don't relate to my life as of right now...but i can't wait til they do...

1,2 - 1 2 3 4
give me more lovin then i've ever had.
make it all better when i'm feelin sad.
tell me that i'm special even when i know i'm not.
make me feel good when i hurt so bad.
barely gettin mad,im so glad i found you.
i love bein around you.
you make it easy,as easy as 1 2,(1 2 3 4.)

theres only one thing two do three words four you.i love you.(i love you)
theres only one way two say those three words and that's what i'll do.i love you.(i love you)

give me more lovin from the very start.
piece me back together when i fall apart.
tell me things you never even tell your closest friends.
make me feel good when i hurt so bad.
best that i've had.
im so glad that i found you.
i love bein around you.
you make it easy as easy as 1 2,(1 2 3 4.)

theres only one thing two do three words four you.i love you.(i love you)
theres only one way two say those three words and that's what i'll do.i love you.i love you(i love you)

you make it easy, its easy as 1234

theres only one thing two do three words four you i love you(i love you)
theres only one way two say those three words thats what ill do i love you(i love you)
i love you
i love you.one two three four i love you.(iloveyou)i love you(i love you)


(i'm sure this song came out 53287 years ago and i'm just now hearing it but for those of you who don't know this song it's by Plain White T's and it's a really nice acoustic song...check it out!)

highlights

i'm not gonna lie, today was a pretty crappy day at work..and it was all because of two 11 year olds. they are the most disrespectful kids and it irritates the hell outta me. anytime you ask either of them to do anything i am questioned as to why they have to do it, or they make some argument on as to why they shouldn't have to do it, or they just pretend they don't hear you. at one point today, i was called rude because i didn't let one girl wait to stack chairs when every single other kid, including the FIVE year olds, did it without questions. anyways, i digress...

earlier that day, before the dumb 11 year old kids started making me homicidal i was helping one kid, Daniel, with his reading homework. Daniel is a bright kid and usually has a breeze with reading, it's math(particularly division)that kicks his butt. However, for some reason today he was having a tough time with reading. I was doing my best trying to explain, and breaking the problems down to make it easier for him but he was just not understanding it, no matter what. When he found out all the other kids were going outside to the playground that just made it worse and he broke down and started crying. I once again tried to break the reading problem down even MORE when Daniel says to me, "it's just not fair, my teacher assigned SO much work on a Friday!"(when you're in elem school, usually Fridays are homework free). I then said "Daniel, it's Monday." he replied with "...oh yeah..." It was then he stopped crying and we were both laughing our heads off and he became less frustrated and got his homework done pretty soon after that.

It's stories like that that make me realize how much i love my job and why i love working with kids so much...even though the 11 year olds were irritating as hell, i just have to remember that moment i shared with Daniel today and all my feelings of resentment and irritation and anger towards the other kids go away. I feel that working with kids is where I'm supposed to be..i just haven't found my EXACT place in working with children yet...this is why i'm so excited to start my new job, maybe this is the place i'm supposed to be, as a preschool teacher. i know i'm for certain wanting to work mainly with the younger kids because they are at the age before they become so defiant and blatantly disrespectful and rude. that's about it as far as that goes...

now i'm just sitting here wondering...isn't americas got talent usually on ABC on mondays? some Christian bale movie is on right now and i'm incredibly dissapointed...

inspired

care:hair:fair

well i am super duper extremely amazingly excited to announce that i have a new job! i have been pretty unhappy at the boys and girls club for quite a while now...it's a mix of my supervisor walking around with a stick up her ass, to not feeling like i am ever gonna be able to move up in the company,to the crappy school year split shift, to it being SO far away from where i live right now that made me DESPERATE to find a new job. my new job is at Boeing Family Center which is a preschool for infant age to 5 year old children. i applied for a lead teacher position for 3 year olds. I did not get the position i applied for (that went to some lady who had taught preschool for 18 years) but they still REALLY liked me and wanted me to work for them, so they offered me a position as a floater, which,basically, i will fill in for other teachers who call in sick or have emergencies or whatever. it's a full time position, i get paid more than at B&GC, there's benefits and i get first dibs at the next lead teacher position that opens up(or so i'm told). my first day is september 29th and i can't wait. i love moving on and learning new things and i think this position will be perfect for me for now while i'm learning about all the different age groups of kids so i will be an even better canidate when a lead teacher position does open up. sooooo,that's my best news for now!

other then that i've been keeping myself pretty busy and running myself ragged. i have to get up at 430 in order to catch my bus to work so i can be there at 7...i'm no morning person so that alone wears me out...on friday night i went and saw Rocky Point All Stars play at Brewskis. Their energy was great, their playing was great and the crowd was AMAZING! i've seen RPA play about 4 million times and that was one of my top 3 favorite shows.

Saturday i went and got my hair did by future up and coming hair stylist to the stars, Tiffany. She put some blonde and red highlights in my hair and made it pretty much kick ass(thanks tiff!). After that i rushed home, got cute looking and went to some random bar in Enumclaw called The Crystal. At first i was skeptical because,well, it was a random bar in Enumclaw but it was actually a pretty good time! the bar itself looked somewhat new and the guys in there were pretty HOT...and with their girlfriends. it has a restuarant in the bar that's kinda pricy but the food is deeeelish!

Today, Sunday, i went to the Puyallup Fair with my mom and a friend of hers from work. i LOVE when the fair rolls around...every year, no matter how many times you've been, you experience or see something you never have before. Today was the ultimate new experience day. I started off by 1. Eating an elephant ear...after years and years and years of people telling me how good they were (THEY ARE!) 2. seeing the hypnotist...after years and years and years of people telling me how funny the show is(IT IS!) and 3.managing to walk out of the fair spending less than 20 dollars, which i'm pretty proud of myself...

my mom is making sesame chicken wings and they smell like heaven so i'm gonna scarf some down...til next time!

babies:mamas:dramas

I just flew in from Houston and boy, are my arms tired!

I arrived in Houston at around 2 pm and was instantly greeted by the 90 degree weather. It was so welcome considering it had been chilly these past couple weeks here in Seattle. I don't remember much about my flight there since it left at 510 AM and I had gotten NO sleep the night before, I slept the whooooole way! I don't even remember the take off or landing...

The whole purpose of me being in Houston was to help my sister, who is 8 months pregnant and my mom prep for my sisters baby shower the next day(Saturday), so the whole rest of my Friday was spent running to various places picking out the best appitizers, finger sandwiches, decorations, and ironing boards for the ocassion(ok, maybe my sister just needed an ironing board). I was literally amazed at how my sister, being 5'2 and carrying a big ole baby in her stomache could run from place to place in four inch heels without tipping over. Oh, the wonders of science.

Saturday we woke up early to finish the food and decorating the house for the baby shower. At about noon people (when I say people, I mean mostly NFL cheerleaders who I'm pretty sure are superhuman robots) started showing up. I haven't been to many baby showers, but this was one of the best ones ever. There was never a dull moment, the food was DElish, and my sister received SO many nice gifts, and most of what she needed for the baby when it gets here. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice all the girls were and was not surprised at all that the combined weight of all of them equaled the weight of my left leg.

I could only stay the weekend because I have to work on Mon so I left Sunday night. I was/am so sad, I wasn't ready to go! I miss my sister so much and feel like I am missing out on so much by not living near each other. I'm jealous of her friends and her husbands side of the family because they get to experience and see everything before I do. For instance, when baby Connor is born they get to be one of the first to hold him, where I have no idea the next time I'll be able to get to Houston, when my sister is shopping for bridesmaid dresses her friends get to be the ones to help her pick them out...I dunno, it just got me thinking about why I'm still in Seattle. Not that I would pack up and move to Texas tomorrow, but it does get me wanting to get out "there"more...once this whole living in Seattle/straightening shit out period is over I think it's time for a change...a big one...

tattoos:weekends:blackberries

I was soooooo fortunate where a lot of people had a three day weekend, i got a FIVE day weekend! holler! since i'm too poor to take advantage of these days off and go somewhere exotic like eastern washington or oregon, i hung around my area and occupied my time with some normal(and some not normal) things...

pretty much everyone who's known me these past 6 or 7 years has heard me complain about how i would like a tattoo, but never knew what to get or had the funds to do it(both key components to getting a tattoo)...well, on thurs i actually stopped talking and DID it! i took a trip to lucky boys and super hot Chris inked a couple of sparrows on my shoulders. they turned out wonderful! i only winced a little! i'm already planning my next two...ooops, i think i got addicted already...

that night i went to Winterland to watch kw and jack play for the first time in like, a month. it was same ole same ole but nice to see everyone and catch up.

Friday Saturday and Sunday i did a whole lotta nada...nothing worth mentioning anyway...

Today, Monday i took the hour long ferry ride to Bremerton and experienced the Blackberry Festival. This may come as a shock to EVERYone, but i mainly was interested in the food...i spent about 4 million dollars and had some coffee(absolutely necessary)roasted corn, blackberry "slug"(blackberry donut w/ powdered sugar on top),2 slices of cheese pizza that tasted like lasagna,and pink lemonade. OH and i tried some blackberry wine which was goooood! i don't even like wine! all in all it was a fun time seeing people i hadn't seen in a while and getting to chat w/ some others i had...thanks tiff for the suggestion,it was fun!

tomorrow...it's back to work...blah. school starts on wed so i gotta start showing up to work at 730! EW! i don't even wanna think what time i'll have to wake up in order to catch the bus to work...i'm supposed to know whether or not i got the preschool job by midweek...wish me luck!!

i'm watching deal or no deal and the girl on here is possibly the cutest pregnant lady i've ever seen in my life...i hope she's the million dollar winner!...ok bye

deal or no deal

(i have no party affiliation btw)



The democratic convention has officially taken over channels 4,5,7 and 9...not having cable sucks.

I saw a dude on the bus ride home who had a mullet. His party in the back went down to his ass and was dyed purple. I'm not sure who's hotter, him or the 6'5/145 lb guy i saw on Broadway in Seattle wearing velvet purple leopard print bicycle shorts.

It was officially cold today...not the kind of cold where you put on a light jacket or a hoodie and forget about it..but cold where you start thinking about where you last hung up your winter coat,scarf, hat and gloves and when you breathe you can see your breath in the air and start you drinking your coffee hot instead of iced. Good bye "summer", I'll miss you...