That's the way I like it

Me + Tyler + tent + beautiful Green Canyon (appropriately named) + tinfoil dinners + plenty of s'mores + talking by the fire + stars + movie on a laptop + falling asleep to the sound of rustling leaves in the cool night breeze + bacon and egg breakfast cooked over the fire + did I mention s'mores already?

I'd say a weekend just doesn't get any better than that.

Congratulations! Oh... Uh, to us...

Last summer I worked as a telemarketer for a company that sold air-purification systems/vacuums. It was a very interesting job and the turn over rate for the telemarketers was very high so I met a lot of interesting people. There was one girl in particular that I worked with longer than any other.

My job was to call lists of people and ask them to take a survey for the company... I asked them questions like, what kind of vacuum do you use? do you rent of own your home? what age group do you belong to? Things like that. Then I would tell them that as a thank you for taking our survey, we would put their name in a drawing. Well, it turns out that everyone wins the drawing. The job of the girl I worked with was to call these people back a few days later and congratulate them on winning the drawing. She would tell them that they could choose between a six-piece knife set or a vacation package. The catch was that in order to receive their prize, these people would have to agree to let us come deliver it personally and let us show them our product while we are there.

Now before I move on, I have to mention that this girl was very nice. But she wasn't.... quite all there. Nice, but extremely ditzy. In fact, I often entertained myself at this extremely boring job by writing down the funny things that she said on the phone. Here are a few examples:

"All this excitement is very exciting!"
And it sure was.
"Oh! Your name is still in the gas give away, but this is just an extra little.... BOOM!"
Yes, she yelled that word.
"The knife set comes in its own......packaging. Do you have some nice knife sets?"
I hope it doesn't come in someone else's packaging...
"You were selected to be our grand prize winner.... SOOOOO YAAAAY!!!"
More yelling.
"Do you guys love health and keeping healthy?"
Only the health. But not actually keeping it.
"The hotels are located in 58 different states."
Puerto Rico....?? And..?
"You get your choice between a vacation package or a six-piece gold-plated knife set."
Gold-plated meaning.... cheap knock-off of Cutco knives.

I could never figure out how she was able to book as many appointments as she did. I think she was able to confuse people enough into wondering whether she was for real or not that they just stayed on the line.

There was this one day where we only had one representative (the guys who deliver the prizes and show the product) available. As he was getting ready to go do this, someone called because they wanted to buy our actual product. This obviously took priority over the gift giving appointment so they asked the girl I work with to call and reschedule with the other customer. Well, I guess she was too much in the habit of giving things away and congratulating people because this is what she said:

"I am calling to reschedule our appointment with you. Our representative actually got called out to deliver (said product) so..... CONGRATULATIONS!!! Oh.... uh, I mean....to US! Anyway... what day would work best for you?"

Yep. It was a great job.

But now I'll get to the real reason why I was writing this post in the first place. I have some good news to share. I'm so excited about it that I just can't hold it in. Buuuuut.... by posting it I kind of feel like I'm writing, "CONGRATULATIONS! Oh...uh, to me." So forgive me for that. Okay, here we go.

Starting this fall, say hello to Logan City's newest FOURTH GRADE TEACHER!

All this excitement is very exciting!

I don't know what's more exciting... The fact that I got a teaching job, or that I won't have to work as a telemarketer anymore. But seriously, I feel so blessed to have this opportunity. I have been dreaming about it since I was a kid. So thank you for all those prayers in my behalf because I know they helped a ton. I can't wait for the adventures that await me!

Meet Scout

Tyler works in a biology lab where they research the fertility of pigs and part of his job is to go to a pig farm three evenings a week to see which of the female pigs are in heat (glamorous, right?) Every once and a while I like to go with him to see the piglets. They are so darn cute. And pink.

Anyway, one night while we were there, I met a little friend. There are a few cats that they keep around the barn to catch the mice. As we were leaving I noticed a little gray ball curled up in a dark corner of the barn. A kitten! It was all alone and not moving. At first I was afraid it was dead, but as I came closer it began to open it's little eyes. It was tiny and shivering and none of the cats seemed to want anything to do with it. It was then I decided I wanted to foster this little guy. So my very nice husband let me take him home.

We stopped at the pet store and bought some cat milk formula... yep, they sell that. And wow, I was in love with this little guy. We knew we couldn't keep him permanently , but we figured we could nurse him back to health. Tyler's little brother had also been dying for a pet. Not too long ago he had found and taken care of a runaway cat for about three months and was crushed when they found the real owner. So we called Tyler's mom and proposed the idea of seeing how this kitten did and then giving it to Tyler's brother the next time we see them.

So here is a tribute to our little pet of three weeks, Scout. AKA Scouty, Scouterpants, Little Boy Cat (First named after Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird" because we originally thought he was a girl. Turns out that at three to four weeks old, little boy parts don't show too well on kittens. Good thing we picked a pretty gender mutual name...)

Yes, he kind of looked like a little mouse. He was barely keeping his eyes open at this point. You could hold him in the palm of your hand.

Scout did NOT like being alone. The first night we put him in box (he quickly learned to climb out) and he just wasn't content unless we were by him. I turned around and saw him staring at us like this...

At first, all he did was sleep and eat. One of his favorite spots was in the soft green blanket (as long as you were sitting next to him). His other favorite spot... Curled up in between your shoulder and neck. Purring loudly. Man, I miss that little ball of fur.

For about the first week he really struggled in the walking department. He definitely waddled and I definitely loved it:

Little Scout provided us with hours of entertainment. Yes, we were totally lame. Worse than first-time parents I think.

He is now happily spending the rest of his days with Ty's family- enjoying all the playtime and attention he gets!

Still in Kansas

I love color.

As soon as we have a house, you can bet your bottom's dollar (yeah, that's a phrase we've somehow managed to ruin in our home) that most walls will have paint on them. Or wallpaper. I didn't think I would do wallpaper until I saw the picture on the top right. However, I hear it's a pain in the bottom... So maybe not.

For your enjoyment....

Yeah. I am never bored.

Lost and Found

So about three weeks ago, the strangest thing happened to me. Something that rarely ever happens to me. I lost..... my appetite. And it stayed lost for quite a few days. I blame it on that little thing we call PMS. Which was strange because usually during this time my little hormones cause me to eat every edible thing in our home. Anyway, one Saturday about a week later, I found my appetite! However, the appetite that I found was changed. It only wanted one thing:

Mac and Cheese.

I could not get this craving out of my mind!! But we didn't have any Kraft at our apartment and it was one of those Saturdays where, after cleaning up around the apartment, I never bothered to shower... or put on make-up... or change out of my pajamas. So I did not want to go out and burn the eyes of all the innocent shoppers at Smith's Marketplace. So I thought I would attempt to make my own. I remembered that some of the best mac and cheese I had ever had was at:

So I got online and searched for a recipe that would be similar and this is what I found:

1 lb. elbow noodles

1/4 cup of butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups half and half

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups Monterrey Jack (or Colby Jack)

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large sauce pan, melt butter. Stir in flour making a roux. Gradually stir in half and half whisking until thickened. Stir in salt. Remove from heat. Add cheese, stir in until cheese melts. Top with shredded mild cheddar cheese.

*All I had was skim milk so I just used that in place of the half and half. So if you want to do a bit healthier version, it tasted great with milk.

*Also, all I had was sharp cheddar cheese and that worked just fine too.

This definitely satisfied my craving and my hormones! It was very good. And SOOOO much better than Kraft would have been. That's for sure. It is possible that I had this meal for lunch AND dinner for about four to five more days after this. Tyler was starting to become a little concerned about me. Even today I wanted some... but I decided I need to overcome this strange new addiction. I thought maybe I could just blog about it and get all of you addicted to it instead.

You know you totally want some now...

Don't you....

Dear Eighth Grader...

1. You think this movie is boring? This is the SEVENTH time I have had to watch it. Don't bother complaining to me.
2. It takes three minutes to go to the bathroom (I know it's just around the corner). So either you need to get your bowels checked out or you better get your sluffing little bum back here.
3. I'm not the new student. I'm not eighteen. I am married. And no, I will not accept your "friend request" on Facebook.
4. If you walk into class and the first thing you do is ask me if I will be writing down names of kids that are bad, chances are I will be writing down your name before the end of class.
5. Justin Bieber-- You talk about how much you hate him, but you all dress like him and have the exact same haircut as him. Go figure...
6. Just because it's your three week mark of "going out" with the boy, does not mean you have to kiss him.
7. The more respectful you are, the more freedom you're going to get. If you want to know why I let 4th hour sit wherever they want, it's because they showed me they could handle it.
8. I understand you're in the most awkward stage of you life so I will cut you come slack. Life is all uphill from here. I promise.

Sincerely,
Your Substitute