I promise I'm not dead!

Helloooooooo Friends! I really am not dead. I didn't get my hands cut off, either. I have just been extremely busy/lazy (you can be both!) lately and haven't gotten to much blogging! It's been a very eventful 2 months since my birthday so let's recap, shall we?? I'll throw up a bunch of pictures and you will just have to guess which ones go where.

Vegas and St. George: For Tricia's b-day a few of us ladies headed down south for the weekend. Much shopping, much playing, a little unsuccessful gambling, some plastic grillz, and an intense game of Bingo. We had a great time.

BBQ: Most of the high school girls got together for some good times at Ashley's house! We ended up busting out Ashley's box of pictures from elementary, jr. high, and high school and it was probably one of the single most embarassing moments of my life! I was not cool until I hit about 22. I'm STILL not that cool, but a lot cooler than I was!

End of School: (Yea, these are pure out of order) I ended my first year of teaching with an all-out dance party with my third graders. We had a few days of cleaning, moving my boxes (I'm teaching first grade next year), field day, and assemblies. I played my kids a slide show and at the end of the day I played them the part of High School Musical 3 where they sing the song about Summer at the very beginning and we had a big dance party to end the year! Yea, I'm the best teacher ever. I know. It was really kinda sad to see those kids go. I had a BLAST this year and probably had the hardest year of my life at the same time. Some of those kids came a long way this year and I had a lot of mixed emotions about the end of the year!

Taylorsville Days: Is the bomb. Every year. No battle. And this year was no exception. The Neil Diamond cover band was the perfect addition to this year's festivities!

4th of July: I went with my fam to the cabin and can I tell you I have the best family ever? We have a blast. I love being around them and it was just fantastic.

Other: (Real creative category name!) I've been to a few Bees games, a few other BBQ's (and worn the yellow BBQ shirt a lot!), saw Kanye West and LeAnn Rimes in concert (not together, that would be weird) and they were both AWESOME, seen a few movies (Hancock = thumbs down), even made the obligatory yearly fantastic trip to the Drive-in!

Summer has been great. I am loving having a profession that provides the summers off! FANTASTIC! I don't know why everyone doesn't do this whole "summer vacation" idea.

Well, my friends, I take off on Monday for a month in Europe. Right now I'm a little stressed, a little terrified, and EXTREMELY excited. I'm spending a few days here and there in Madrid, a few days in Barcelona, a few days in Pamplona to see the Running of the Bulls, a week in Rome, and ending with the yearly Romania trip, which is only a week this year! So stay with me, I promise this blog is going to be KICKIN as soon as I get there. I've been Boring McBoringster lately, but I'm back like y'all have never seen!

Happy Birthday to ME!

So this week was my birthday. And yes, I do celebrate for a full week. Longer, if I can get people to go along with it! So, here's the recap of my birthday celebration! Get ready for lots of pictures (if I can figure out how to get them on here without ridiculous amounts of cuss-words.)

It all started last Friday when Tricia had the AWESOME idea to hit up the Fun Bus to Wendover. We had a few of us going, but pretty sure it turned into JUST me and Tricia. It was romantic. So we caught the bus at Valley Fair Mall (I told y'all I was ghetto fab) with about 6 other passengers (none were under 50 or spoke English. Not that there's anything wrong with that...) and started on the road to our middle-aged bus driver making lame jokes about lap dancing. We both made the mistake of loading in the Diet Coke by the truckload before leaving and both had to pee by the time we hit down town SLC. At the next stop, the bus loaded up and Tricia recognized a bunch of guys a few rows in front of us who had gone to Utah State with her (they'll be important later) and we spend the bus ride playing Bingo and having to pee real bad.

When we got there we jumped (literally) off at the first casino and then headed off to the buffet. We looked pretty awesome with just us two and kept trying to talk the couple across from us into giving us their tickets to Wayne Newton. After that we hit the slots and lost. I was shocked and ticked. The billboard promised me more wins! The flashing lights are decieving... We met up with Tricia's friends and headed to the Red Garter (yes, I realize this post is doing NOTHING for my reputation and character) and played roulette and Black Jack. Okay... Why didn't anyone tell me about black jack! Cards? Quick addition with small numbers? That game was MADE for me. I played for like 2 hours. Once again, didn't win anything, but didn't lose anything either so I count it as a victory!

The bus picked us up and we started home at about 2 am. The ride home? Well... Ask me if you want the FULL story... But it was a good time.

Then on SATURDAY Laura and I went to the Dierks Bently concert. Okay. LOVE him. We were like 10 feet away from the stage and I swear we had a moment. He's incredible. And you know how sometimes people SUCK live? He is not one of those. He was awesome start to finish. And hot. Bucky Covington on the other hand? Scares the crap out of me. He reminds me of the over-eager female squirrel on the old Disney Sword in the Stone movie. Super jumpy and really creepy. But the concert was amazing and the cuisine at Arby's before? Phenomenal. I went on lots of romantic dates with girls this weekend.

Sunday I slept. LOTS. To make up for the 5 a.m. bed time after the Fun Bus excursion.

Monday started CRT's for my class. Arg. I'm skipping that day.

Tuesday my fantastic parents took me to Tepanyaki (heaven on earth) for dinner. LOVE that place. Teriyaki Salmon? Oh yea. Load it in by the truck load. Our chef was awesome, although our "table sharers" were incredibly dull. I did pretty awesome when he started flinging shrimp, although I suggested this game that Emily (my sis) and I used to play at dinner called "Cleavage-Ball" but he didn't seem interested in playing. After that my mom and I went and bought new cell phones (okay SHE bought. Thanks to AT&T's Mother's Day deal. I got the free one!) and I've only dropped mine ONCE since then! This one might last me longer than 6 months if I'm lucky!

Wednesday was ACTUALLY my birthday! I got a great midnight text (exactly on the dot. Good timing, friend!) and a 1 a.m. phone call (not so great timing, friend!) and then I slept in until about 7 (big oops!) and got to school kinda late AND my hair was looking a little bit like Bucky Covington's so it was not off to a great start! My good friend Miss Larson and her 6th graders had made a kickin poster to hang on my door that had adjectives that described me all over it. Hotness was my favorite. And the most truthful. So my class was super good for me and we started our day with a nice session of CRT's (arg) and then pretty much that was the most productive thing we did all day. We read the last two chapters of Charlotte's Web and had recess and read about 15 minutes of our reading book and then my dad came and read to my class.

After lunch my good friend Ben brought pizza to my class. They earned their pizza party a few weeks ago and I talked them into holding out to have it on the day we got to watch Charlotte's Web (after finishing the book) so we could have one big day of laziness. And then we did it on my birthday. The best part was the room set up. We just got a new projector in my room and I think every boy in my class was spooning each other during the movie. Then I had little pockets of girls here and there. But nope, one big boy spoon. Loved it! Presents from my kids were the bomb. Bath and Body lotion, Easter pencils, a box of strawberries, a Hawaiian necklace, a Marshallese Marriage Necklace (from a 6th grade boy... uh... yikes), and a cube. Yes, a cube. Danial made 6 different sides of poems, stories, and pictures, taped them into a cube, and stuffed it with newspaper. It. Is. AWESOME.

That night all of my friends came over! (not all, but lots!) I had college friends, high school friends, elementary friends, new friends, and people I didn't even know! It was so fun. I LOVED it and I LOVED seeing everyone. We played some MAD Mario Kart, told some AWESOMELY AWKWARD kissing stories, and made birthday cards for me (mine has a picture of Spence's bum!), Abe, and Jason. I seriously have the best friends ever. No battle.

Tonight has been my crash night. I took a bath and a nap on my couch! I need like a week to recover!

Okay, here goes the picture attempt. Pray for Mojo.

Eating at the Peppermill!

My lucky Black Jack Glasses.

Row 7 of the Dierks Concert!

Have mercy.

The class spoon-fest!

Happy Birthday Miss J!

The Romantic Cake Cutting.

Birthday threesome!

YAY! PICTURES! AND NO CUSSING!

Happy Earth Day!

So this morning I'm standing in the hallway talking to Mr. B and Ms. Post when one of my students (who is an absolute space cadet) says she has a gift for me. She hands me....

A stick.

Yes, that was her gift. A stick. So we get a good laugh about it because this girl's crazy anyways (she's the SexMaker one) and teachers are used to getting weird stuff from their students. She's friends with a group of girls who has found some tree by the playground that has some sort of fuzzy bark, which leads to lots of comments on fuzzy sticks. (Which I giggle at like a 12 year old.)

So the stick thing was funny.

After last recess, one of my other spacey girls hands me a gift from recess.

A stick.

What is with these girls? I have gotten more flora and fauna and foliage from these kids than I think any other teacher in the world! (As soon as I figure out how to get pictures off my cell phone I'll post a picture of the owl-head-planter I got for Christmas. It's phenomenal.)

So this story is NOT that funny, but the only thing we could attribute these gifts to Earth Day. And I sadly got to thinking it's a little bit of a worthless holiday. My class celebrated it by mindlessly shredding paper to make a "tear- art" sombrero to decorate the Taste of Kearns festival (no, I'm not kidding) and apparently ripping Fuzzy Sticks off trees to give to Miss J as a gift.

Happy Earth Day everybody! Do something this week that was a LITTLE more worthwhile than what Room 8 did today.

Sign on my head...

Okay, friends. It's brainstorming time. I taught a lesson this week about brainstorming and how it's great for organizing your thoughts so we're going to do a group brainstorm and here is our topic:

What is wrong with Amanda Jackson??

Okay, before you start listing rude things like "she has a big nose," "she lacks simple knowledge of personal hygene," or "she's not even close to as funny as she thinks she is," let me narrow this down for you...

Apparently, there is something wrong with me when it comes to the opposite sex. I do NOT attract normal boys. I think the last normal boy that was attracted to me... was... probaby Devin Jones in 2nd grade. I just don't get the normal ones.

Let's further explore our Background Knowledge so we can come up with a great way to answer this question...

I had someone write a poem about various body parts of mine... refering to some of them as "young roes, who are twins"

I had an on-again, off-again Booty Call for 2 years. Seriously. 2.

I've had boys send me really... strange... pictures from cell phones.

I had a date with this sequential order. First: Argue about politics. Next: Tips our waiter $1. Then: Asks me if I want to make out (I said no). Finally: He started nibbling my ear.

I had a date that, from start to finish, was 54 minutes. We ate dinner in his bedroom.

I had a fellow teacher ask me out in front of his entire class.

Okay, I think that's some pretty substancial background info. So... what's the deal? Is it a sign on my head that says "Only Crazies May Apply?" Do I emit a pheremone that repels normal, emotionally sane, relatively attractive males? Am I uglier than I think? Is my secret fear that I'm really socially awkward a true statement? You are all fairly close people to me and I think with the help of all of us we can get to the bottom of this! Or else my 4 month dating sabbatical could become permanent!

Makeout Music

So last night on the way home from a shopping excursion in Park City, a few girls and I were listing to "Songs that make us Hot." Songs that make you want to get some action. So last night I made a playlist (correctly titled "This song makes me hot") of those types of songs. Some are nasty rap songs, some are sexy love songs, it just depends on the mood. Some songs made the list due to personal experience. Here's the playlist:

1-Come On Get Higher- Matt Nathanson (If you've never heard it, find it and get some. You can thank me later.)
2- Damn Girl- Justin Timberlake
3- Your L.O.V.E- Wyclef Jean and Eve (50 First Dates soundtrack)
4- Fantasy- Ludacris (the one super naughty song!)
5- Let Me Love You- Tim McGraw
6- Rock With You- Michael Jackson
7- I Need You- Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
8- Dani California- Red Hot Chili Peppers
9- Love Song- 311
10- You Can Do It- Ice Cube
11- Get Naked- Britney Spears
12- FutureSex/LoveSounds- Justin Timberlake
13- Oh- Ciara
14- Touch My Body- Mariah Carey
15- Ayo Technology- 50 Cent
16- Your Body Is A Wonderland- John Mayer
17- Hypnotize- Notorious BIG
18- Raining on Sunday- Keith Urban
19- Sexy Can I- Ray J
20- Criminal- Fiona Apple
21- Unpredictable- Jamie Foxx
22- Addiction- Kanye West
23- Brass Bed- Josh Gracin

Apparently I'm planning on quite a long makeout!

My question to you all, blog readers, is what am I leaving out?? Are there any songs that make you want to just get lots of action? What's missing on this list? I know some of you are EXPERTS on this subject, so I want your input...

TAGGED AGAIN! (Shaking my fist at Ashley this time!)

7 Facts about ME!

1. I teach 3rd grade. Big surprise! It's probably the funniest job in the world. I sincerely doubt my kids are learning much, but I love them. We have a great time.

2. I absolutely LOVE french fries. I could eat them all day, every day. The best fries are definitely from B & D Burgers (by the U of U campus) or Crown Burger. Add lots of Fry Sauce and I am a happy girl!

3. I think I'm closer to my family than a lot of people. I absolutely love them and might die without them! I think my nieces and nephews are FAR cooler than anyone else.

4. I am a little bit obsessed with College sports. Bowl Season and March Madness are about 2 of my favorite times and I go NUTS. I scream and yell at my TV regardless of which team is playing. However, if it's my UTES that are playing?? It's over for me and anyone else in the house.

5. I secretly think I'm one of the most awkward people in the world. I will say or do things around other people and be shocked that they still want to socialize with me. I think I'm seriously socially retarded.

6. If I went on America's Next Top Model, I would win. I think I've seen more episodes than Tyra herself and I can rock the Fierce-ness like it's nobody's business.

7. As much as I hate living out of a suitcase, I could travel for the rest of my life. If I were independently wealthy, I'd be outta here and going everywhere and anywhere I can. Road trips, flying, weekends at Bear Lake, you name it and I'd rather be doing that.

Now I taggggggg..... Greg, The Beth, and Meredith.

TAGGED! (Shaking my fist at Greg)

Another Tag. This time it's a movie survey, here goes...

Favorite movies you have to be "in the mood" for in order to enjoy:

(Ooh! What kind of "mood"??)

1. Tommy Boy

2. West Side Story

Favorite movies that make you laugh out loud no matter how many times you have watched them

1. Mean Girls

2. Orange County

Your favorite "Guilty Pleasures"

1. John Tucker Must Die

2. 2 Fast 2 Furious (I only wish I were kidding.)

Favorite movies you have seen so many times, you can recite all the lines

1. Shag

2. West Side Story

Movies that "Opened your eyes."

1. Life is Beautiful

2. ... Apparently I don't watch enough "Eye-opening" movies...

Most Overrated

1. Across The Universe

2.

What were the last 2 movies you watched

1. X-Men: The Last Stand

2. Across The Universe (that was weird)

Favorite "smart" movies

1. Thomas Crown Affair

2. Bourne Trilogy

Your spouse's/significant other's favorites

1. Yea, rub it in.

2.

Your all time favorites:

How can you pick just one?? I'll go with genres.

1. Superhero movies

2. Sports movies (Remember the Titans, Invincible, etc)

I tag the married couples! Ash and Chad, Meg and Mitch, and Erika and Just.