More reunioning!

Last week, I reunited with the girls I lived with during my first year in Millrace (my first year teaching).  This week, I reunited with the girls I lived with during my second year in Millrace! Krista, Kelsey, and Sylvia and I lived together and Shannon is our dear friend who lived in another Millrace apartment! I love these girls. There is something so wonderful about old friends. Though we change, everything feels the same when we're together again!  And by the way, I am pretty sold on going straight up traditional on cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory from now on. SO delicious. (I skipped the crust because I was being a good little GF girl...but not good enough not to order it despite the gluten content.)

In preparation for our band pre-show next week, Lane and I spend nearly 3 hours practicing all our music. I'm humbled to work with such a talented musician.  There is no one more dedicated to perfecting his art than Lane. And his homemade instruments are genius.  In the picture on the right, he is using a pill bottle for a shaker that he holds while he strums in even rhythm! And he apparently has one camera face.

I had the honor of spending Thursday evening with this handsome boy while his mom and dad went on a little date.  He is such a delight.  The picture on the bottom left is my favorite.  He has to make sure he gets all the food from his bib. The kid has a ravenous appetite. I love it!

This darling (brand new) outfit I insisted putting him in this morning lasted for about 30 minutes, after which is was stained with the blueberries that I fed him without a bib.  My sister is very patient with my learning curve.

This is my favorite thing Scotty currently does.  I call it, "Downward dog."

I about died when a friend of mine showed me this.  It's flat out hilarious.  It's not actually how I feel...but sometimes I wish I did!

A note from a 20 year old Katie

I am preparing (panicking!) to teach English next year and therefore have gotten out all my English teaching materials from college.  One thing I found was an "About Me" book.  Inside were displayed notes, poems, pictures, etc.  We were creating a model of the assignment to refer to in the future.  It was quite amusing to see what I loved then and compare it to what I love now.  It was also eye opening to read what my dreams were then and contemplate how many I have achieved, not achieved, or shifted in the 10 years since then.

This is a picture of one of the little assignments inside...

...and this is a review of how I did:

• The longest my hair ever got in the past 10 years (and in my life) was on my mission.  It was not quite halfway down my back, but it was very damaged from the sun and irregular hair cuts.  If I had donated it anyway, though, my hair would have been very, very short! My hair just doesn't grow fast. Period. Interestingly enough, before stumbling across, this I renewed my desire to grow my hair out as long as I could.  Long hair has always been a dream, ever since I watched Strawberry Shortcake's hair magically grow on TV once. I used to wear skirts on my head and pretend it was long hair. 
• Goal number 2 is done and done. But I was almost 25 when it happened.  Age was so important to me then. I felt so embarrassed that all my high school friends were already done with school. My attitude is very different now.
• I teach high school music...yee-haw! And it has lived up to my expectations!
• Going to New Zealand is still a dream.  But I have two things on my "savings" list that have precedence over that vacation: 1) a first time trip to Hawaii (I am going to go when I graduate) and 2) a house.
• I was a bridesmaid seven times!
• Being a bride is still a cherished dream.
• Okay, with the dancing goal. I tried, believe me I did. At BYU, I took two Latin ballroom classes, two tap classes, I went country dancing many times, and even went salsa dancing a time or two.  While my love for dancing has remained, I got to a point where I realized being excellent at it was just not in the cards for me.  Maybe in the eternities!
• I served a mission in Brasil.  Little did I know at that time what kind of a life-changing experience that would be for me. I had no idea how much I would struggle, how much I would cry, yet how much I would grow and learn to depend on my Savior. I couldn't have guessed I would form precious, eternal friendships.  I was so young!
• I love this goal about losing "ten more pounds" because that remains (and will remain) a consistent goal throughout my entire life.  It never ends.  It's not always ten pounds...sometimes it's twenty or even thirty...but it seems like women are very rarely satisfied with the body they have when they have it. Sad, right? I should fix that.
• Have many children...well, it may not end up being as many as I anticipated...but who knows.  Again, it's a dream I still cherish!
• This dream of being a supporting/lead role in a musical is quite persistent in my little heart. I never can quite give it up.  Since I wrote this list, I was a wife in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (an ensemble role), and the queen in Doo Wop Wed Widing Hood (a bit of a bigger role, but the show was a short one act).  I haven't yet gotten to sing my own song, which is really what I secretly want when it comes down to it.  I think I may need to move out of Utah to accomplish this goal...the competition is so fierce here! I've gone to many callbacks for leading roles but never quite made the cut.  But you know what? The luster of that dream has faded a lot over the past ten years. I made a discovery about myself during that time. I prefer being the teacher over being the performer.  I had no idea at age twenty that I would ever feel that way.  Being in a band, however, has been a REALLY fun way to tap in to that performer in me.  We have our first gig in August!

What a Life! Day 11

1. The first thing to bring me genuine joy this morning was a Bruno Mars song.  I was driving along, minding my own business, when I started paying attention to the lyrics of a song I have heard several times:

If you ever leave me baby,
Leave some morphine at my door
‘Cause it would take a whole lot of medication
To realize what we used to have,
We don’t have it anymore.

I think I actually laughed out loud by myself in the car. What? So funny! Why did I never notice the hilarity of those lyrics before?

2. I went to the gas station this morning and all of a sudden I heard, "Good morning!" called out to me from some faceless voice inside the gas pump.  I bet the gas station employees get a kick out of freaking people out by greeting them unexpectedly over those speakers!  It's kind of creepy because they can see you, but you can't see them.  When I finished, the voice said, "Thank you!" and I replied, "You're welcome" to the voice.  I wonder if it could hear me from wherever it is.

3. Before heading back to Provo, I stopped by to say goodbye to Scotty and his mommy (and brought doughnuts as a peace offering for waking them up).  There is nothing cuter than this child when he first wakes up.  I couldn't get enough of him!  He is looking like a red head...I wonder if that will last...?

4. I went up to south Weber today to get head shots done for my auditions next week.  Getting pictures taken of myself felt sooooo awkward- I would make a horrible model! That was not a joyful moment for me.  But the photographer is my friend Phaidra's sister, and she does awesome work!  She was also very sweet and watched Phaidra's kids for an hour before the shoot so Phaid and I could get lunch and catch up.  I miss Phaidra- we always find a lot to laugh about and I'm so grateful for her compassionate heart and friendship.  And, another joyful moment was eating a teriyaki steak rice bowl at Rumbi's. 

5. Today was my final conducting class with Dr. Bradford.  It was joyful for two reasons. First, it has been an excellent class. My eyes were opened and my perspective widened.  Dr. Bradford has a passion for music that is exciting to witness- it is ingrained in his soul.  Second, the last day of this class means I am just that much closer to graduation! It will take me a year to finish everything with my project, but I only have two classes left, which is exciting.  


6.  I was in charge of refreshments for a stake YW leadership training meeting tonight and I came across this strawberry. How cool is that?

7. For the refreshments, we did bread (Great Harvest), water, and fruit.  This scripture, Alma 5:34, was a perfect fit!

8. I had a couple embarrassing "teacher" moments tonight as I participated in the training (I think spring break is not going to be long enough!). I was assigned to talk about loving the girls we teach.  We were reading in Moroni 7 and I referred to "measures" 45-48 in front of everyone.  Then, when the training was over, I had to fill out a reimbursement sheet for the refreshments.  Look what I inadvertently put for the organization! I'm so used to filling out reimbursement papers at work. Opa.

9.  I feel so blessed to work with Janeen, Traci, and Gilary in my church calling.  These women are amazing. They are strong and they are faithful.  They are excellent leaders.  They are devoted wives and mothers.  I am so grateful for their examples of righteousness, dedication, and love.

10. I found myself feeling joyful about the atonement today.  I have struggled this week making bad choices about food.  I have eaten a lot of wheat, which I know is harmful to my body.  I have also eaten much more junk food than I should.  As a result, I haven't been feeling well.  I've had headaches, uneasy stomach, etc.  When I felt tempted to get down on myself today for my lack of self-control and poor decisions, I remembered that the atonement can help me forgive myself and move forward.  Feeling remorse for our wrong choices is good, but dwelling on them is not.  I am so grateful that because of Jesus Christ, I can start fresh tomorrow and be better tomorrow than I was today. 

What a Life! Day 10

1. This morning before heading over Tina's, I decided to pick up some breakfast treats. I googled "gluten-free bakery" in Provo and an address popped up very close to my parents' condo.  When I went there, however, it was a regular house with no store front.  I called the number listed and received no answer, but it went to a woman's voice mail.  I left a message and departed.  Later, I got a call back.  It turns out the owner turned her basement into a gluten free bakery! You pre-order items the day before.  Anything leftover after 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. you can purchase the same day.  I meant to go back to check it out after 3:00- it slipped my mind- but I will soon. I'm just filled with joy at the prospect!

2. When I got to Tina's house, she was watching "The Voice." I had never seen this show until the last time I visited her.  I am totally getting hooked! I think it's WAY more interesting than American Idol.  I love the duet battling and the coaching.  It was really fun to watch a couple episodes together and discuss who we liked best. 

3. Believe it or not, today was the first time I flew solo babysitting Scotty. I don't get very many opportunities- sometimes Salt Lake City feels so far away! Because I'm on spring break, I wanted my turn to watch him while Tina got some things done for their new house.  He is at such a fun stage where he is discovering and playing and grabbing and laughing...I love it.  He has recently discovered his little feet!

4. When Tina got back from her errands, we walked to Maverick for Slurpees. It was fun to toss back and forth ideas for her recently renovated blog. Someday, we're going to start a business.

5.  On our walk, we got adopted by a dog.  She didn't have a collar.  She walked along with us for probably fifteen minutes.  Even though I have an irrational fear of dogs and was a little jumpy the whole time, I thought it was kind of cute.  She followed us all the way to Tina's house and even up on the porch.  We had to hurry inside or else she would have followed us there, too! About five minutes later, I wanted to show Tina the motorcycle game I play with Scotty.  She was recording us when, twenty-five seconds in, the dog burst through the front door and started running about the living room! Apparently the door hadn't latched!  I laughed so hard.

Fast-forward the video below to the last five seconds.

6. Right as I was leaving, I randomly decided to take a pic of Scotty and his mommy on my phone because they looked so darling together. How can this picture not fill everyone with joy?

7. Many and I drove up to Park City together to meet Kate and her family for dinner.  The car ride was a joy! Our conversations always bring me strength.  We share very similar experiences because of our careers and the directions our lives have taken us. 

8. We love Kate's family! Kate's husband and parents met us at the Red Rock restaurant in Park City.  We hadn't seen Jan and Al since Kate's wedding almost four years ago! Melissa and I both commented on the way home how valued her parents make us feel.  They ask thoughtful questions about our careers, even seeking counsel from us regarding our professions.  For example, Kate's dad asked how to visually and aurally differentiate between a professional and a novice conductor.  It was a question that not many people care about, but Melissa and I both have experience in that area and it made us feel like what we do matters.  They show genuine concern for the trials we face and sincere joy at our achievements.  It's no wonder Kate is the incredible friend that she is. 

9. I got a bowl of French onion soup before my dinner.  Little known fact: I LOVE French onion soup.  For all you French Onion soup fans out there, you know how it seems there is never enough cheese? Well, that was NOT the case this evening, my friends.  This bowl of soup was half cheese.  It was amazing.

10. One of my favorite shake shops of all time is the Dairy Keen in Heber City, which we conveniently passed by on the way to and from Park City. Melissa and I made a little stop there on our way home.  They load in the toppings and the fruit is fresh.  Incredible!

What a Life! Day 9

1. My (very pregnant with twins) friend's daughter and I went to the Dinosaur Museum so her mom could get some rest.  It was so fun-and eye opening- to step in to the roll of "mom" for a few hours! I learned many important things about motherhood.

First, it might be okay when you're by yourself to park really close to the car next to you because you found a great parking spot. When you have a kiddo in a car seat to get out, it's the dumbest idea ever.

Second, consolidate.  I brought my own purse and the diaper bag and by the end of the afternoon was juggling holding baby doll, dinosaur egg, and the picture we colored.  I shoved my purse in the diaper bag, along with the picture, and even tried fitting baby doll in there (to no avail).  And I had my sweatshirt tied around my waist, people.  That's right- my need to be hip was overcome by more pressing matters.

 I also realized I was trying to micromanage.  I wanted to make sure we saw everything and had the best time ever.  I finally stopped and reminded myself that this child is two and she will have a lot more fun doing whatever it is she thinks is most exciting at this stage of her life. That was a turning point for me.  We didn't end up seeing the whole museum, but neither of us cared.  We went through the star room many times, though.  That was a favorite!

There was a love/hate relationship with this dinosaur turned bunny.  She wanted to be about five feet from him.  No more, no less.  If I got too close, she started panicking.  If I walked away, she pointed back to him until we were close again.But not too close.  It was so funny! In his little basket (or maybe he's a her....) s/he had eggs with baby dinosaurs in them (yep, definitely a female dinosaur).  That was a huge hit with the little one!

 2. My dear friend Emily lives a couple blocks from Thanksgiving point, so we stopped by her house for lunch afterward! There are fewer people on earth who are kinder than Emily.  She is just a good person through and through.  Definitely someone to aspire to.  And look at her newest addition (Scotty's future wife) in the top right corner below! How darling is that child?!  As I was leaving, I just looked at her with her little ones all around her and said, "How are you a mother of three now?"  It really feels like yesterday we were passing around our quotes notebook at BYU, collecting hilarious bits of wisdom from our peers, each other, and our teachers.  Her children are very, VERY lucky to have her. 

 3. On my way from class at the U to Provo, I decided to pump up the jam in my '97 Ford Taurus (it has the radio and a tape deck, so I chose the first) and roll down the windows.  I felt as cool as I could feel in a Ford Taurus with the windows rolled down. Wind in my hair, on spring break on the open highway...freedom.  Independence.  I tried running my fingers through my hair several hours later and was like...oh yeah...I did that.  And I don't regret it.

4. I love the view from Tina and Jer's house.  It reminds me of my beloved alma mater, BYU. 

5. I got to see my nephew in various forms of darling, all in the space of an hour.

6. Tina always says to him, "Scotty, you're my best friend."  That's pretty much how I feel about him, so I guess he has two best friends now. 

7. There is no experience quite like baby kisses. 

8. My sisters and I have been trying for weeks to coordinate our schedules and see Divergent.  We share books, and this was a series we all took turns reading (except yours truly hasn't read number three because a busy mom in the trio has had it for months).  I love nights out with my sisters.  We find each other so funny, which makes being together a party every time.

9.  We threw caution to the wind and ate all the movie treats we could handle. 

10.  I was inwardly complaining about all the driving I did yesterday but at the end of the day, I realized how grateful I am for my reliable old car.  I can count on Marguerite to take me from Salt Lake to Lehi to the U of U down to Provo and around town all in one day.  I can't believe what cars make possible.  I feel very blessed to have one that has served me so well for the past 10 years or so.  

Potty Humor

This was a shoulder shaking, suppressed laughter for at least thirty solid seconds moment in piano class today. Two of my students were giving a presentation on Liszt, a very well known pianist from the 19th century. It became increasingly clear that these students had done some copying and pasting for "research." My first clue was the phrase that said Liszt's parents "recognized his precocity." First of all, they could not pronounce the word; second, they didn't know what it meant. I gave them a little lecture about knowing the material in their presentations, shook my head, and we moved on. Then came the slide talking about one of Liszt's compositions being a "noteworthy even in the annals of music history." The presenter read it out loud, but pronounced it in all seriousness as "the anals of music history." I decided not to make any more comments about their lack of understanding of the words on their PowerPoint but instead laughed and laughed and laughed some more. When the slide was over, a smart-alec student sitting near me said, "Wait, what are the anals of music history again?"

Valentine's Week 2014

New Beginnings

Because there are so few young women in each of the wards in my stake, we do New Beginnings on a stake level.  It was two days before Valentine's Day.  This was our first activity as a new stake young women's presidency.  We went with a crossword design for the theme this year, "Come Unto Christ."

We each spoke about one of these things. I was assigned to talk about how attending the temple has helped me draw closer to God.  We had YW help us in our talks. 

On each table were these crossword puzzles with questions about YW.

Whoever finished the puzzle first got to take home the flowers in the middle of the table, wrapped in cellophane and a bow.

Traci did all the BEAUTIFUL flower arrangements!

 

Janeen coordinated all the food efforts. She is an amazing president. 

 

The chocolate fountain was an ENORMOUS hit!

My Valentine

  

He just keeps getting cuter and cuter.  All the non-delicate lipstick marks are mine. I couldn't figure out how to make them look cute like Tina's.

 

Valentine's Day

I'm all about making Valentines from things I find in my house.  This year, the only thing I went out and bought were the little chocolates. I used scrapbook paper I've collected over the years, heart paperclips my mom sent me in a Valentine's Day package one year, and musical note ribbon given to me by my grandma a few years ago. Focusing on making Valentine's for people I loved really helped me to have a great day instead of feeling wistful.  I wish I could have given one to every single person I love.  Please know how much I love you!

My students did singing Valentines to several classes around school this year and handed out handmade Valentines with funny pickup lines. One of my favorites was, "People say Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. They have obviously never been in your arms."  My favorite song performed by my choirs was "You're the Inspiration", sung by my Ladies Ensemble. I adore Chicago.  We then came back to the classroom and shared romantic stories of things students had received or given on Valentine's Day.  I have always LOVED this day of LOVE.

Coconut Almonds

Katie, spending the night in Provo with her parents, wakes up at 6:30 in the morning.  She can't get the Costco coconut almonds from the night before out of her head.  She goes in to her parents room and starts looking around for the bag.  Her mom wakes up from the sound of her daughter rummaging around.

Mom: Katie?
Katie: Mom, where are the coconut almonds?
Mom: I don't know, I was looking for them at midnight!  I think they are all gone.
Katie: No! I want some so bad!!

After looking in the trash for evidence of the consumed delicacies and finding none, Katie goes back to bed, stumped but empty handed.  She wakes again at 8:30 a.m. and goes on a second search for the bag of chocolate covered treats.

Mom: Did you find the coconut almonds?
Katie: No, but there is no empty bag in the trash so they can't be all gone.
Mom: I think they got eaten last night when Jer and Tina were over.

Katie begins suspecting that maybe her sister and brother-in-law took off with the bag, but quickly dismisses the thought, ashamed of the suspicion.  Again disappointed, she goes back to her room to start preparing a talk.  Later, her mother comes in, singing a little song she wrote herself. 

Mom: I have a surprise for Katie, the sweetest I could find! I think they are mostly eaten, I hope that you won't mind!
Katie: Oh my gosh, where were they?!
Mom: Your dad HID them last night in his bedside table!
Katie: What?!
Mom: He said to me, "Well, I ate one. And then I ate another.  And then I couldn't stop.  So I had to get them out of my sight." I told him, "I have to go take these to Katie!" He immediately countered, "No!"  I asked him why not and he replied, "What about us?"

Indoor Voice

 So this one is a doozy.

Today, I had to get a prescription renewed and I met with a healthcare professional for this purpose.  I've been feeling great and was excited to report it to the doc.  Just before I was about to happily leave with my new prescription, she said to me the following:

"So I have to ask you this...how are things going with your volume?"

My volume? What? I was confused.  At my dumbfounded stammers, she explained that my voice was louder than most people and she was concerned that it affected me socially.  She said, "I assume as a teacher having a loud voice really helps you, but I just wanted to make sure it isn't interfering with your day to day life, because I know you're dating and all of that..."

That moment pretty much defined the word humiliation.

I think she could tell I was taken off guard, because she kind of stumbled around an explanation, saying, "I'm sure it's fine, but I talk to you softer than other clients because your voice is so loud. For example, I have a deaf client and I have to yell when I talk to her. I think I can just tell in this room more because the sound bounces off the walls.  It's my responsibility as a doctor to let patients know of anything that's a little different.  Sometimes it turns out they have hearing loss and I neglected to mention it for a year and a half."  I assured her my hearing was tested recently and it was a-ok. Thanks for the concern. 

Now, I know all of you who know me know that I am a louder individual.  But is this really a cause for medical concern?

You know your wardrobe needs updating when...

...an 8 year old little boy from the play you're in comes up to you at rehearsal and says, "You wear that shirt like every day." 

In my defense, I always wear workout clothes to rehearsal and I only have so many workout shirts.  Looks like I may need to expand my t-shirt collection. 

Oopsies

I inadvertently made a bunch of students mad at me today on the last day of school!

Last week, one of my students asked if he could interview me for the final assembly.  He was asking teachers what they were doing over the summer. I was going to say something normal until he told me right before filming that other teachers were saying funny things.  So, of course I feel all kinds of pressure to be clever and not be outdone in coolness by the other teachers.  The camera starts rolling and he says, "What are you doing this summer?"  I respond, "I'm getting married!"  I wait just a second and say, "Just kidding."

Well I didn't realize what kind of creative license my student was going to take with the video.  At the assembly today, he showed me saying, "I'm getting married" on the big screen and then flashed a slide saying, "Wait, what? Let's hear that again!" and then showed me saying it for a SECOND time.  Then, he flashed a slide that said, "Congrats, Ms. Houston!"  Everyone was cheering until he showed me saying, "Just kidding!" and then flashed one last slide that said, "oh..."  Apparently ALL of my students were totally fooled.  I had kids coming up to me all day saying how mean I was.  I really thought he would just show the whole two second clip at once so people wouldn't be tricked for more than a half a second.

Oh well.

Students kept saying things like, "You got my hopes up so high!"  I wasn't sure whether or not to take that as a compliment or an insult...

Sorry, kiddos.  I pledge to do my best to make it happen for real someday!

Mirror, Mirror

Have you ever met someone who thought they were really awesome at something, but you secretly knew that they weren't?

I have.

And it was me.

So I'm at Zumba last night, shaking it for all I'm worth.  I'm watching my friend Celeste, who is giving the class, and mirroring her every move.  In my head, I'm swiveling my hips like it's nobody's business.  When she flicks her hands with sass, I am not a beat behind her.  In fact, I'm a (very pale) goddess of Latin dancing.  Shoot, I could just get up there and give the class with her.  

And then I shifted my eyes to my own reflection.

I was shocked to discover that my arms weren't straightening like hers. What? How could this be?  When I did squats, my knees didn't bend down as far as hers did.  Is that possible?  As she's doing body rolls and around the worlds with her hips, my body is doing convulsive jerking.  But I could have sworn...

Nope.

I spent a lot of time watching myself last night in disbelief.  It was a moment of sheer revelation.  Memories came flooding back.  I never could figure out why I got a B in Latin Ballroom dancing years ago at BYU.  I thought for sure I was one of the leaders in the class.  Now I was finally starting to get it.  I remembered the phone call from the director of Doo Wop Wed Riding Hood last week.  He said he would love to have me in his show, but the director of the musical review following our one act (which is basically all dancing) couldn't use me because not enough boys auditioned.  Wait...I thought I was one of the best girls there.  Didn't I show them exactly "what I got" at that audition?

Yes. Yes I did.

Celeste, my hats off to you.  You make it look so easy. 

Labor Pains

We're in class doing favorite song presentations. One of my students presents a song about a person who is isolated. 

Me: I think there is no pain greater than loneliness.  In the song, he talks about how no one is listening but he doesn't care. I don't believe him. I think he does care.  I think everyone cares.

Male Student:What about giving birth on the sun?

Me: [Blankly staring at the student.] What?

Male Student: Giving birth on the sun. That would be way more painful.

Me: I just was not expecting that.

2 Vignettes: "The Eternal Pessimist" and "Roses are Red, Songs about them Bring Doom..."

I have a student who is a born pessimist.  I laugh at things he says all the time.  The funniest part is that he truly doesn't mean to be that way the majority of the time.  He says a lot of things without realizing how negative they come across.

Case in point:

Today in class, we were discussing our recent choir festival. Knowing how unforgiving high school students can be of their own mistakes and the mistakes of others, I prefaced the conversation like this: "Please be positive.  It's okay to critique things about the festival, but let's do it in a positive way." 

At one point during the conversation, this student raised his hand and said, "I would like to know how we really sound.  Because we think we sound good, but we really have no idea.  We could be just as bad...er........as un-good...as [name of another choir at the festival]!"

I just about died laughing on the spot.  I thought it was hilarious that his way of turning "bad" in to a positive critique was by saying"un-good" instead.  What makes it even funnier is that he was truly making a sincere effort to turn his comment into something constructive, especially since his reputation as a pessimist is widely known among my students!

Same choir class, different sequence of events:

We went to a choral workshop in NYC and sang one of our pieces, "Dirait-on."  The professional who was working with us asked if we knew the translation of each and every word.  I realized that while we had talked about the overall meaning, we hadn't memorized the meaning of each word. I came back with a firm resolve to work on the translation with me students.

We started with reading the translation (written in the front cover of the music) of the first line:

Abandon surrounding abandon
Tenderness touching tenderness...

The whole song is about a rose, so I drew a picture of the circular nature of the rose and how the petals tenderly touch one another. My students were being rowdy as usual, so I firmly said something about how they needed to settle down and really listen and internalize the meaning of the words. Without reading ahead, I continued where I left off:

Your oneness endlessly
caresses itself, so they say;

self caressing
through its own clear reflection.

YOU try getting room full of juniors to "really internalize" those words and see how much decorum you can keep in the classroom.  It was truly disastrous. 

Congratulations to...

1) My mother for being the first to challenge my April Fool's Day post with the following email last night:

"April Fool!  There is no way you could fool ME on this one.  A large stretch of land where you can breed dogs?  Ha!  You would rather clean toilets for a career!"

2) My little sister, Anna, with whom I had this text conversation early this morning:

Anna: What is with the puppy post?!? Did Jer do that? Or was it April Fools?
Katie: Why is it so hard to believe that I love puppies? I'm a loving individual.
Anna: You hate animals.
Katie: Oh my gosh!
Anna: Well! We had just talked about this!
Katie: Hate is such an ugly word.
Anna: Indifferent perhaps.

3) Holly, who was the first to leave a comment (and, might I add, first non-family member to catch the bluff):

"Okay, this is April Fools, right? Right?"

4) And Beamer, who didn't even have to ask:

"You jokester."

It is clear who knows me the best in this world.  For the record, puppies ARE cute.  I am simply the (only) one in my family who fails to view them as one and the same with infant children.  I know, there is something wrong with me. I just don't have that innate connection that many have.  It makes me feel like a horrible individual, but there it is. 

So happy April Fool's Day everyone.  I can't let it go by without at least giving it a shot every year.

Did you know...

It's time I revealed the truth.

I LOVE puppies.  

 I could just hug them and kiss them all day long.

Look at their sweet little faces!

 

It's my dream to one day own a huge stretch of land so I can breed dogs.

You know what they say...

A dog is a woman's best friend.

Now who can argue with that?

Estrelinhas

In Brazil, they call cartwheels "estrelinhas" which means little stars.  Isn't that cute?

Don't ask me how this came up, but somehow my ladies ensemble and I were discussing cartwheels the other day.  And somehow, on an impulse,  I volunteered to attempt one for the first time in who knows how many years right there in front of the class.  With the encouragement of my girls, I stood there for several seconds, trying to muster up the courage to put my hands on the ground.  I had a few false starts until finally, I was lunging my body around in a circle like motion that in some small way hopefully resembled an estrelinha. 

It was the sorriest cartwheel anyone has ever seen. Mrs. Lenaburg from tap and tumbling in 5th grade would have been very disappointed in what my cartwheels have become 20 years later.  It is a humbling experience to realize that those cartwheel days of yesteryear are forever in my past.  The good news is I walked by one of my students at lunch who was just telling her friend about how Ms. Houston did a cartwheel in choir.  (Does that make me cool...or just weird?)

But on to more embarrassing news.  The other day for in-class performances, I put my chair in the back of the room to listen.  The choir room has three steps so the kids can see over the heads of the kids in front of them when they sing.  I put my music stand one step below where I was sitting so I could use it to write while I graded the kids on their performance.  It turns out my chair was a little too close to the edge because all of a sudden, I was on the floor with a resounding crash and 44 (make that 88) eyes were on me, as well as the eyes of three parents who came to watch their kids perform that day.  The music stand must have fallen with me, all though I was up like a shot so as not to prolong the moment.  Needless to say, I don't really remember specific details.  It was awesome.  The best part is that stuff like that doesn't phase me anymore.  Being a teacher will do that to you!

That's not all, folks.  The person normally in charge of the faculty lip sync during spirit week has had some health issues this year and begged me to take it over.  Choreography is not my thing, and it has been seriously stressing me out.  But I've gotten lots of help from students and teachers and I think it might be kind of funny.  Hopefully I can get a recording of it to post after we've performed, but here is a teaser: it will feature "Gangnam Style" dance moves mixed with a little Katy Perry.  How can I not feature the singer who was in choir with me my junior year of high school?  So far we have 17 teachers participating. We will have a total of two (brief) rehearsals and then it's showtime. 

Never, ever a dull moment...

Lovely to Meet You

The Cast:

Martha*- a 60ish woman, a little quirky, in the family ward
Katie- In her thirtieth year, probably also a little quirky

 Scene 1:

(Martha, right after Sacrament meeting starts, ostentatiously gets up from the middle of the pew behind Katie and moves right behind her. She begins whispering loudly)

Martha: I don't think I've met you before.
Me: I'm Katie.
Martha: I'm Martha.
Me: Nice to meet you.
Martha: Nice to meet you too.  So, are you married? Kids?
Me: No, it's just me.  (Looks around a little to see if people are being distracted by this conversation)
Martha: Just you? My word.  One of those career women, eh?
Me: (Um...excuse me?) Well, not really by choice...
Martha: Oh yes, of course, not by choice.  Let me write down your name and address.
Me: (Why could you possibly need my address?) Oh, okay. (Writes it down on the paper Martha provides. Martha goes back to her seat.)
Martha: (Gets back up, moves behind Katie again, all while the meeting is continuing).  You forgot to put your name. Is it Katie?
Me: Yes that's it. (Can this be over now?)

Gotta looooove the assumptions people make with older singles!  I'm starting to feel 'em! I'm sure there well be more scenes to this little one act. So stay tuned...

*Name has been changed to protect the blunderful

P.S.

I knew I should have knocked on wood about me being past the hard stuff this year. I just knew it!

My 4:00 a.m. blog posting surely did come back to haunt me, just as I expected.  I woke up this morning at 7:45 a.m. exactly.  That happens to be the starting time of my first period class.  I called the office and told them to unlock my door and tell the kids I was coming. That part about me being on my way never got communicated. When I showed up at 8:02 (driving to work takes at least 10 minutes), 6 students had left, citing a non-existent rule about being allowed to leave if the teacher doesn't show up after fifteen minutes.

Really, life? Really? REALLY?

I fear I ageth not well

Student: Ms. Houston, would you mind answering some questions for one of my classes? I have to survey some people. It's just a few questions.

Ms. Houston: Sure, no problem.

Student: Okay, please say agree or disagree to each of the following statements.

Ms. Houston: Alright.

Student: "Use every man after his desert, and who should 'scape whipping?"

Ms. Houston: Wait, what?  Is this Shakespeare?

Student: Yeah.

Ms. Houston: Is this for your English class?

Student: Yeah.

Ms. Houston: Oh, okay. Well, I don't really understand that statement. Can I read it again?

Student: Sure. [He hands me the paper.]

Ms. Houston: [I glance at the paper and notice three columns indicating the three different kinds of people he is supposed to survey.  The first column says, "you," the second column says, "someone your age," and the third column says, "someone your parents' age." The first two columns are completely filled in.] Wait a second, am I the person you are interviewing for "someone your parents' age"?!!

Student: Uh...well...uh...yeah.

Ms. Houston: I'm only 29 years old! I'm not old enough to be your mother!!!

Student: Oh I know, I know...I just...

Yeah. I read you loud and clear!