I am bad at blogging

So let's just face it. I am a horrible blogger. I try to take inspiration from other people, but I just can't seem to keep up with this thing. So while I continue to keep posting blogs, I make no promised of how frequent. Part of the reason is that I have been crazy busy as of late. I have started teaching 5th grade and it has sure kept me on my toes. About 2 1/2 weeks ago I showed up to work and the office told me that the teacher I am long term subbing for was going into labor. Luckily she had prepared me pretty well so I was able to just pick up and take over the class. Really it is going well, but there is just this weird transition phase where I am trying to get all the grading that she left caught up (something I did over the weekend with the help of wonderful Sam). Also she didn't really leave me lesson plans, which is totally ok, but I have never taught 5th grade before so sometimes I just feel like, what the heck is going on? It's not my ideal teaching situation, but I am beginning to think there is no such thing. So I have been busy, and to top it all off we have end of level testing this week. I just hope I don't totally ruin the kid's test scores with my lack of preparing them. So far we have one test down with no major headaches.

I feel like since I have taken over this class life has gone by way to fast! Every day cruises by and it is 5 pm before I know it and I still have mountains of things to do. When I get home I make dinner and after that it feels like it is time for bed already. The thing is that even though I am tired and busy and I feel like I never get to see Sam anymore, who also just started going full-time at his work, I am not that stressed out. I am trying to learn to just relax and not get worked up over every little thing that happens at school. That does not mean I don't get worked up over things... just not school things. This experience has taught me a lot about how to be a teacher and is so so so much better than student teaching. So life is busy, but life is good. Sam is done with school for the semester, my sister Bethany is coming to visit for 2 weeks today, my neice Leah  gets baptised on Saturday, the weather is warm, my garden is weeded, I have a husband that does dishes and takes out the trash (with some reminding). My life is good.

Spring Break was mostly a success

Well it is good old Monday, which means that Spring Break is unfortunately over. I am not going to lie, it was hard to wake up at 6 am and go to work today. But it also wasn't too bad. It is nice to get back into a routine and to be making money again instead of sitting at home worrying about it. So I am sure you are all wondering, how did I do on my Spring Break goals (okay, okay, you probably forgot all about it). Well there were some things I did not get to. The desk is not cleared off. But to my defense I organized a ton of stuff and completely organized all our files. Also, half of the stuff on the desk is Sam's and I have no control over his organization. So the desk was not a success but I organized my things on it. I also did not finish my menu plan, but I realized that it was a pretty huge undertaking and I feel good about it because I have a menu for this month and it has been a pretty good success so far. So it's not finished but a work in progress. The one thing I truly did not touch was the wedding thank yous. So they remain a nagging little thought in my mind.

Despite not completing those things, I still got a lot done. For instance, look at this sparkling dresser, I bet you don't even recognize it!

Remember how it used to look like this? Well no more!

And remember how I said I was going to plant all my seeds? Well I did. And here they are. I had to bring them inside because of the looming wind storm.

I had all sorts of things from onions to tomatoes to flowers. I also planted some seeds directly into our garden. I can't wait to see the little plants poke up from the soil!

Look at my tiny little lobelia starts!

And my lonely little jalepeno plant. Isn't it so cute? I think so.
Also, I worked out (for reals) three times this week, plus Sam and I went on numerous walks. Now I just need to keep it up this week. I also just did a ton of organizing off all my craft stuff and old papers that needed going through. I spent a lot of time with family and watched wonderful General Conference. The week was great and it was the relaxation I needed before my taking on a class of 5th graders. It could be any day now that Mrs. Eddy (the teacher I am substituting for) has her baby. For sure I will start next week, but she is not sure if she will make it until then. It kind of freaks me out that I could just start any day now. I kept thinking what if she went into labor at school? I sure hope not for both our sakes.

Spring Break!

Well people I am officially on Spring Break. It is about 90% good, and about 10% bad. It is mostly good because let's face it, a week off a work is always a good thing. But there is a down side because I don't get paid for a whole week and because Sam is still in school and has work so it is just me hanging out by myself all week. I don't really like being home alone all day. I am already home alone all afternoon until Sam gets home from work, but I like that because it gives me time to do whatever I want. But all day? That is a little too much. I am sure people with crazier lives than me or with a bazillion kids are puking right now because my big problem is too much free time. But I don't feel bad. I realize my life is not really that hard and I am totally living it up. One day I will be working full time and then we will have kids and I won't have time to breath, so I totally am enjoying this life of mine with zero guilt. However I don't want to waste my life away sleeping or watching TV so I have set a few goals for myself and I will let you know how I do at the end of the week.
#1 Organize my dresser
This is how my dresser looks right now. Yes it is a little embarrassing but I am hoping that making it public will give me more incentive to clean it.

#2 Organize out desk
This is how our desk looks like right now and this is actually after we "organized" it so we had room to set up our printer.

#3 Work out, I mean really work out, at least three times this week. People, I am at an all time low in laziness. Both Sam and I are. It is sad. We picked up leaves all over our yard on Saturday and both of us have super sore hamstrings from all the bending down. It's pathetic really. There is no excuse this week!

#4 Finish planting all my seeds. I am trying to start a garden from seeds and it is halfway working out. I think this deserves its own post but it is still part of my goals this week.

#5 Finish my menu planning for the month. This also deserves its own post and when I am done I will post all about it because I am super excited about it.

#6 Mail out the last of my wedding thank-yous. There are seriously only like 15 more that I don't have addresses for. And I finished the bulk of them months ago, but there is just that little stack that I know is sitting in a box, on the desk, just waiting to be mailed. They need to go, and this is the week.

Okay, there you go. My six goals this week. You are probably thinking, really? Come on Kayla you are home all day, these things should be easy to finish. But think about it. Some of these things I have been putting off for months. You know those things that you have in the back of your mind all the time but you seem to always have something more important to do instead. I am giving myself until Saturday to finish all of these. So far I have not done much, but it is only Monday right? (says the voice of a procrastinator) So on Saturday you will get the final update. Wish me luck!

Oh and isn't this the cutest thing? They are brother and sister and they like to snuggle (when they are not trying to swat each other in the face) and it is adorable. Yes I keep posting pictures of cats, yes I realize that is lame, but wait until you have a pet and then you will understand.

Tax Return Woes

So Sam and I got our tax return already and we were so excited about it. I had these little hopes (okay really big hopes) that we would be able to use the money to go on a trip, or pay off a bunch of debt, or maybe even save it. Well, those hopes were dashed to pieces when my lovely 1994 Corsica decided to need two different repairs in one week. The first was a problem that I will admit I have been ignoring for months (your car is not supposed to shake when you turn the wheel left while going between 55-65 mph right?) yeah I didn't think so. It finally got to the point that it could not be ignored so grudgingly we took it in to get repaired. Then yesterday I was on my way to my sister's when that little light that tells you something is definitely wrong with your car came on again, yes after already being "fixed." Turns out that this time I had a flat tire, how I do not know. So two  new tires later I am driving home from Big-O Tires and what comes on again? That stupid little light! We called the car place and they said that unless it keeps staying on my life is not in danger so just keep driving. I think it is official that the Corsica is becoming unrepairable (I know that is not a real word). I wish I could just get a new car but it is just not possible for us right now. So that is where half of our lovely tax return went. And even though it is not my fault, I feel guilty that it was my car that needed repairs. Life is awesome right?

I should really just be grateful that I still have a car that runs. Anyone who knows of the Corsica knows how old that thing is. And besides, we did do one thing we vowed to use the money for, which was to buy a printer. So yes, we are the owners of a real printer. It is so sad how excited we were about getting this thing. I feel like I am on the road to true adulthood. I don't have to go to my parent's to print things anymore and I can finally print off the bazillion Joanne's coupons I get. So there are good things in life.

Here it is people. The HP Deskjet 3150 in all it's glory.

And this is how happy we were about it.

 Happy Friday Eve!

Happy Spring!

Happy first real, official, legitimate day of spring. Although it is cold and rainy outside, it feels like spring rain, not a winter storm, so I am okay with it. Well Sam and I went to Moab for his spring break, and although it was not the most exciting Moab trip I have ever had it was still worth it. It was just nice to get away from Bountiful even if it only meant slightly warmer and slightly less windy weather. We really only went on one hike to a place called Negro Bill Canyon (yes that is the real name). The hike is a lot prettier when all the plants are green, but it was still fun. One advantage to going to Moab so early is that no one is there. We pretty much had any pick of camp site, and while we were hiking we only ran into about 5 other groups. I think there was a time when we were the only ones on the trail for a while. While we were hiking we saw these really cool sheets of ice that looked like frozen waterfalls. Sam said it reminded him of Zelda.... which made reminded me of why we needed to get out more. Here are some pictures. They don't do it justice at all because I have zero photography skills, but just imagine being in the desert and seeing frozen waterfalls. Awesome right?

Even though we did have a good time, we both decided we should probably start camping when the weather is a little warmer, it just makes things easier.

So I am in the process of looking for a full time teaching job right now. As I was updating all my documents and resume and stuff, I came across my student teaching evaluations and was flooded with many interesting memories. Let's just say I am so glad to be done with that phase in my life. Oh how far I have come in just a year. Isn't it funny how in the moment you think that things will last forever, but then, bam, a year has gone by and it is like, really? Where did time go? But in the case of student teaching I am glad that is far gone. So I am about to embark on a new teaching adventure. One of the teacher's I TA for is going on maternity leave and she has asked me to long term sub for her class. This is a 5th grade class people. I am very nervous and excited all at the same time. I know all the kids and it is a great class, but I feel a little out of my element. I am looking forward to the change though, and hey, if it is horrible, then it's fine because its only temporary. Well, I hope you are enjoying this first day of spring as much as I am :)

Same Old Same Old

Can you believe it is March already? I would like to say I can't believe it is already here and yet I sort of can. I have been craving spring for so long. I think it's because I have to work outside for part of the day and I am just tired of being stuck in the cold layered in way to many coats. I don't know why I even bother to do my hair for work anymore. Anyways...

So I have had a hard time getting back into blogging since our computer died and I had a forced break for a while. I guess it is mostly because I don't think our lives are exciting enough to write about and hope that random people in the cyber world would find it interesting. I wish I could write about some great recipe I am using, but honestly I don't think I am good enough of a cook to give anyone advice. Or I wish we lived these super interesting lives where we traveled to awesome places and had interesting jobs, but the truth is that we really don't. I guess you can say that we are in a bit of a rut. The problem is that Sam and I can be completely content watching tv all night (our latest obsession is Downton Abbey) or play Zelda (our new video game obsession). We need to start getting out more, hanging out with other people (and babysitting my nieces does not count). Maybe it is just the winter blues, but I think I need something new in my life. What have you done when life starts to get a little too repetitive? Also, any advice on how to spice up a boring blog? Because this thing needs a face lift.

In good news Sam and I are off to Moab tomorrow. We seriously need a vacation. The bad news is that it is supposed to rain. But we don't care, we are still going. We figure if it is miserable then we can just pack up and go home. It is Sam's spring break and this is kind of our only chance to go somewhere for longer than a short weekend. So this trip might be a little interesting.

By the way, aren't my nieces cute? Izzy was a monkey in her school play The Jungle Book. It was adorable. Oh and don't mind the random foot in the picture... Well blogging world, until next time.

The Week of Birthdays

This past week has been crazy with birthdays, which is a good thing, but still very busy. My Mom's birthday was on Tuesday and being the good daughter that I am I offered to make dinner for my Mom. I also thought it would be nice to invite the rest of the family over for dessert. Well even though we are in a house now it is still pretty cramped and crazy when you have 8 adults and 7 kids in one room. I was glad to do something for my Mom but by the end of the night I was exhausted. It was also my brother in law's birthday on Tuesday so the next day Sam and I went to visit him and his cute little family, so that is day 2 of birthday week. Then on Thursday (also Valentine's Day) was my Dad's birthday. We decided to do a surprise birthday party for him, which worked out pretty well. Even though it was a great day and a great Valentine's Day, it was also exhausting. By the time Friday came I was so ready for the week to be over with all the party planning, and errand running, and family time, as well as our everyday things we do normally.

But there was still one more birthday to go, yes the Mr. himself, Sam. He turned 24 yesterday and you know what? I think it was a pretty good day. I had no idea what to do for his birthday because he honestly had no clue what he wanted. We got so spoiled for Christmas that he didn't really need anything or have any ideas for gifts so it was extra hard to think of what to do. I like to made a big deal out of birthdays. They should be special and wonderful right? After such a busy week I just tried to make the day as fun and relaxing as possible. It started out by having some delicious breakfast burritos and then played a little Zelda. We was the movie Beautiful Creatures, which was interesting, but not that bad, and then went home and played a little more Zelda :) Sam's parents took us out for a delicious dinner and I, being such wonderful wife, had our friends Torrie Matt, and Richard and Haley waiting out our house to surprise him with a little party. After eating some delicious chocolate cake, and opening presents, we went bowling where I realized I am still a terrible bowler. It was a pretty great day and the fact that this is a 3 day weekend makes this whole weekend pretty amazing.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who is also my best friend. One of my favorite things about Sam is when we just laugh together. We are so weird, but we have a lot of fun. I love him so much and I am so happy he is the man I get to spend my life with. Happy Birthday sweet Sammy! I love you!

Isn't he handsome? I think so.