How long has it been since you went to the mall??

I lived in Rexburg, Idaho for approximately, a long time. It is 30 minutes to the nearest mall! And its a tiny mall at that. So I almost never really felt a need to go there. Ever since I moved, I've been poor. Well, I live in San Antonio now where there are apparently several of them. I went tonight to help a friend shop for a summer dress she could wear to church. Well goodness gracious great balls of fire! I had this horrible flash forward to someday having a teenage daughter who wants to go shopping at the mall. How can I tell her no way! Well the answer came as I was talking to my friend. Her and her boyfriend were somewhere, I can't remember where or when and I'm sure the details are unimportant, but a few paces behind them was a little family walking. The conversation went something like this:

Little girl: "but Mom, why can't I have 5 inch plastic platform heels? 'So and so' has them!"
Mom: "Because you're not a hooker!"

Ha! how can you argue with that right? Not that 5 inch plastic platform heels necessarily make you a hooker of course. I know plenty of girls that can pull that off in a classy way, but that will be my answer to my little dears if any of my girls ever get the idea in their heads of wanting to dress like...well, like that. Holy cow when did "fashion" get so trashy? So I haven't been to the mall in a while, but I also don't think I've been living in a hole this whole time. Have you seen the movie 13 Going On 30? The part where the 2 girls both have to present their big ideas for the new direction of the magazine? I know they were trying to show the 2 extremes, but I like the first, slightly scary, supposed best friend's presentation is exactly what I saw in one of the stores I went in to. Frightening indeed.

Anyway, I freaked out for a moment, terrified about one day having to try and help my girls understand why that is not cool, and I know it's only going to get worse. I applaud all of the mothers who have taught my generation of daughters well, the mothers now who face teaching their little ones, and the little ones that will someday become the future mothers and will have to teach their daughters amidst the scarriness that will only continue to get worse.

Thank goodness for a living prophet and the truthfulness of the gospel restored right? It makes the job of motherhood seem almost do-able.

"Do you need a man in your life?"

So I stopped at the gas station on my way home to fill up. The guy at the pump next to mine smiles at me from across the way, asks how I'm doing tonight and then asks " So, do you need a man in your life?" Ha. Do I ever! I figure it is either painfully obvious that I'm lacking in that department, or he thought I was hot stuff. Obviously the latter is the truer of the two. Did I respond in the affirmative you ask? Well he was of the older and slightly creepy variety so I respectfully declined. But it definitely made my night.

As for other fantastic happenings in the life that is mine, I am house sitting for only one more week. Then I can fully move in to my apartment! I'm working on a list of goals, one of which is to make a real home cooked meal for my roommates once a week. I feel like I need to be more domestic, that and if I want to eventually have meals as a family, I should start learning how to prepare them. Thing is, its super hard to cook for one. So I'll start with 4. We'll see how it goes. Another lofty goal I have is to use the available fitness room. I'm going for 3 times a week. And there, since I wrote it down, I will be held accountable.

One last thought before I head to the land of dreams (or in my case deep sleep where I may or may not be dreaming, but definitely don't remember any by the time I am jerked into half consciousness by the dog who needs to pee at 3:30 or by my alarm at 5:30, both of which are disgusting hours to be awake), wow how's this for a long sentence? Anyway, I work with a bunch of dudes... Henry, Roy, Ram, Robert, and Art or Kook, and my supervisor Shawn. I have a great appreciation for these guys. They keep me laughing all day and every day. We mostly joke around, but in the joking we talk about life a little, and we've had some good serious conversations. I love being "a peculiar people". I know that we are supposed to stand out, to be different, and not be afraid of that. I am so grateful for what the gospel teaches, that none of us are perfect now, but we are all working at it, therefore we can't judge, rather we've got to love, see the potential in others, treat 'em like the Sons and Daughters of God that they are. It feels so good to be a part of that. Hmmm not sure if any of that made sense, but I'm grateful to be where I am.

Well, as you can see, its official. I'm a Texan! Ok that's not totally true, the day I went to get these beauties, a guy came into work and asked who had Oregon plates. That would be me. So together we gushed for about 10 minutes about how much we love Oregon. Its true Oregon will always hold a special place in my heart and I want to have a home there someday, but oh how I have come to love Texas in 6 short months.

I can't believe it has already been 6 months! This week I registered my car here, and signed a year lease with an apartment, so I guess Texas really is my home for now. When it reaches 86 degrees the first week of March, I know I made a good decision. I have never in my entire life signed a lease for a whole year. I think this is a good step for me. Moving forward, growing up, and all that jazz. I'll be living with 3 other rather lovely girls. A year is a long time, and while I wonder what changes will come, I know they'll be great ones and I look forward to every minute.

A good friend inspired me to again begin blogging, so this will be the first of many I'm sure. I have all kinds of adventures, like locking my keys in my car, housitting a ginormous dog, playing with my little adorable niece, working an interestingly fun job, attending a small branch of about 25, road trips, dates, dancing, and the list goes on. So stay tuned. (PS Dafni I love how I'm writing this like its addressed to lots of people, when I'm fairly certain you will be the only one to read it. A fact I'm very ok with. )

Remember when TV didn't suck?

TV today is just no good. I suppose that's why I don't have one nor do I want one. However, I was thinking back today on a much simpler time...Remember the TGIF Friday line up? One of our favorite things to do on Friday night was hang out with the Winslow Family from Family Matters, or Corey and Topanga from Boy Meets World. A-Team provided us with hours of entertainment as we took turns being Mr. T. Who could forget our rock concerts with headbands over our eyes inspired by Star Trek The Next Generation's Geordi La Forge? The Cosby Show, I watch it today and am seriously considering bringing back their sense of fashion. All that color and fabric was truly an art. Growing Pains, with guest appearances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Kirk cameron and all of his shenanagins....oh and one of my all time favorites was of course Charles In Charge. This kind of TV takes me back to the days when life was much simpler. Back when my whole family lived under the same roof, when I spent my summers playing outside with my brothers and eating fresh peaches while mom canned. Back when we had skinned knees and made mud pies. Back when we would play everything from explorers to G.I. Joes to tag, hide and seek, cards, cars, dress up, school, office, and everything in between. We had no worries or cares in the world other than who's turn it was to have a friend spend the night. I miss those days. I miss the families on TV that consisted of Dad, Mom, and kids, with much simpler problems than today's world. I can't go back, but luckily you can find almost all of these shows on DVD :) I'm filled with warm fuzzies and reminded of my brothers so this post is dedicated to them (although they will probably never read it).

Humility...comin right up... served on a VERY LARGE platter

So my conclusion is this, I needed to be humbled. I am currently being very humbled. Not that I'm humble, just being HUMBLED. Who knew student teaching would be so hard? I sure didnt. Who knew 19 little 1st graders would send me so close to my death bed or the insane asylum... whichever comes first? Just when I start to think I'm getting the hang of it, an oversized needle comes speeding my way to deflate my balloon faster than I can say "pop". It's ok though right? I mean, these evaluations will only follow me for the rest of my life, and lets see, those looking to hire me will feel real comforted by my complete lack of classroom management skills. Ha.

On a happier note, I sure do love my kids no matter how crazy they make me. One little boy, has a smile to die for. I don't know how to not smile back, especially when he is getting in trouble. And today, after studying insects, one little girl was so fascinated with walking sticks and how they can camoflauge themselves so they won't be eaten by their enemies. She was amazed by these little critters! How can you not love a girl who loves bugs!

Well, that's all for now. I'm prayin reeeeeal hard that I can survive this student teaching experience and find someone who wants to pay me to be this crazy everyday. But I never forget that "Life Is Good!"
Ms. Spradlin... over and out.

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore...

Well, I have been in Las Vegas 2 weeks now. Not gonna lie, the first one was a bit rough. I missed Rexburg, and the homey feel it provided. I missed Birch Plaza and the nasty carpet, not to mention the vacuums that didn't work, the leaky sink, and tempermental toilets. I mostly missed the people, my roommates, the ward that was kinda like family, and the same comfortable thing semester after semester. I even missed Melaleuca. I missed Nat and I's sleepovers, our pretty much constant laughter, I missed last semester real bad, as well as all of the other wonderful semesters I spent there.
Nevertheless, here I am in Vegas, and its coming...slowly but surely. I have 3 new roommates who I have never lived with (don't worry they are great, just takes some getting used to). I have a totally new ward with only 1 familiar face. It has been ridiculously cold and uber windy here. Go ahead and ask if I brought a jacket or anything long-sleeved to LAS VEGAS where "it is going to be so miserably hot". Of course not! I must count my blessings though that it is not snowing.
Im teaching 1st grade, and I have 19 of the little anke biters. They sure do love to talk.... constantly... as in they never stop even when I'm teaching. So that is a brand new challenge for me. I never really have had classroom management issues, however this is a whole nother (and I know that's not really a word) ball game! My teacher says I HAVE to be mean. I have to yell and be firm ...ok, can I yell at 1st graders? Not gonna happen... so this is going to require smart brains, lots of patience, and some creativity.
Well, And now, since I'm falling to sleep as I write this, I eralize it much be time for bed. Maybe I'' finish later, mabe I won't...
'Night!

GRADUATION

So it has been approximately 8 years since I graduated High School and I finally graduated College! Well, technically. I won't get my diploma until after student teaching, but still...I walked and I'm done with Rexburg. Of course its a little bittersweet.... I sure did love that place and the school while I was there, but I'm excited to move on to new things. I'll be in Las Vegas on Saturday or Sunday and I start Student Teaching on Monday. I still don't know the grade or school but hopefully I'll get that info soon. These are just some of the people I love and will miss....

Blake Keyser... and Nat (I'll come back to her). We were on a bowling team this semester. There were 6 of us on the team but they only took 4 scores each week. I helped the team by being one of the scores they didn't take :) Team Roadkill actually ended up 2nd out of the whole school! I guess I did my job really well.

Heather Jones...My first roommate at BYU-Idaho and one of my best friends. Well, her last name is actually Scott now. She married Elder Brandon Scott from my mission. There just aren't enough words to describe this lady and how amazing she is. I loved that we got to graduate together! We plan to go back to Rexburg for Education Week every year. I sure do love her!