Stalkers

This weekend was pretty much amazing; I really can’t begin to explain it! The prophet came into town for the temple rededication and my friends and I stalked him until we were able to meet him. Its an experience I’ll never forget and of course a crazy adventure, but then again every time we go somewhere we end up on a crazy adventure. I’m so glad that I am able to be a part of all the awesome stuff that is going on right now at BYUH, I feel like this is why I needed to come. Here are a few pictures for our stalking adventure this weekend!

This is Lizzie and me in front of the pool we helped scrub to get ready for the temple open house. It was a lot of hard work in the hot sun, but we got to do it while sitting in a pool so it wasn’t so bad. And playing in a reflection pool was always something I wanted to do but my mom would never let me!

Today my kindergarteners surprised me with hilarious quote after quote. I try so hard not to laugh in their face because they don’t mean to be funny but sometimes it’s really hard. I’m having a really difficult time thinking of the moment of the day because there are so many to choose from, but I think I’ll go with this one…

Me: “You need to get started on your work.”
Boy: “I can’t I’m itchy!”
Me: “Way are you itchy?”
Boy: “Because little misquotes keep landing on me and sucking my blood.”
Girl: “Like tiny little vampires, like Edward?”

I don’t know why a kindergartener knows who Edward is but I think it’s hilarious to compare him to an annoying mosquito!

PS. I have some friends who love to leave me anonymous comments. They think it’s so funny because they know it drives me crazy not knowing for sure who wrote it, or trying to guess which one of them it come from. All I have to say to you people who think you are so clever, you guys all know I’m really good at scheming and getting my revenge.

WOW!

Yesterday I was talking to one of my friends about how ridiculous I am because even though I hate Peanut Butter, almost everyday I eat a PB&J because it’s fast, cheap and easy (please refrain from comments about how those 3 words also describe me!) Today I get a text, “Dinner tonight is on me!” and a few hours later I was introduced to Nutella.

I haven’t wanted to try Nutella because I’m against anything that millions of people are overly obsessed with (i.e. Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek). But since my friend was so sweet I felt obligated to try it and WOW!! I now understand why a lady I know named her child Nutella! I am eating it from the Jar right now! Something that I’m also totally against! Do you know how many germs I’m putting straight into the jar right now? All those germs are multiplying at a million times a second and by tomorrow will become Super Melissa Killing Germs! But you know what’s even better, I don’t really care! Nutella is like Chocolate that I actually like!

So I’m giving up on the 30 days on thanks thing, I got bored with it and I don’t think it was very interesting to read about. But I will continue with my kindergarten moment of the day, speaking of which here you go:

The teacher was talking about words to describe things. She used the word “curvy” and then asked the children if they could think of anything on their body that is curvy. As most of the children started to call out; head, knee, bottom etc. one little boy yelled, “Your bobbies!”

I'm thankful!!!

I have a lot to be thankful for today and I would love to write all about them but I am so exhausted! I’ll save the wonderful detail for some other time but quickly before I pass out… the number one thing for today is working in the temple. Today was the last day of the open house for the Laie Hawaii Temple and I got to work right outside the Celestial Room. All I have to say is that it was pretty darn AMAZING!!! I’ll have to remember to post about how I manipulated the system and got the perfect spot.

Another thing I’m thankful for today is that I got the PRAXIS-II test over with. At least I hope so. It was the most difficult test I have ever taken and I’m sure will ever take. I really hope I passed so I don’t have to do it again. I still have to take the one for my Special Education major but I don’t think that one will be as bad. Or at least I hope not.

Anyway, I’m whole body is cramped from staring at a test all morning and then standing for 5 hours straight. I need to go to sleep right now or something horrible could happen! Enjoy this pic of the temple!

30 Days of Thanks #12

Kindergartener moment of the day:
Today we had a special visitor, Fredrick the pig. While Fredrick’s owner was telling the kids all about how Fredrick likes to take bubble baths one of the little boys raised his hand and asked, “Does Fredrick pee in the bathtub? I like pee in the water!”

A little later the owner was telling the kids that Fredrick will live to be about 20 years old. One of the little girls turned to me and asked, “Does that mean he will die when he turns 20?” I explained to her that we don’t know how long Fredrick will live but most pigs live till they are about 20 years old. She replies, “Ms. Tyler, when are YOU going to die?”

If I hadn't mentioned this already, I LOVE Christmas! This week they stared to put Christmas decorations up around the school. It makes me so happy to see them! So that’s what I’m thankful for today!

Not what I wanted to hear

Its official, I will not be done with student teaching in May like I thought I would be. It looks like I’ll be able to go home for the summer, but then I’ll have to come back for a whole new student teaching for special education. I am not too happy about this but I don’t really have another choice.

I’m sure when I look back the extra time wont be a big deal. But for right now it’s one of the most disappointing things that could happen. I’m pretty overwhelmed with everything going on and what was keeping me going was the count down till May when it will all be over. I guess now my count down is just until I can have a break.

I’m really sorry if my complaining about this has offended anybody. I know there are worse things in the world that could happen. I don’t mean to act like a total brat. It’s just not the news I needed to hear yesterday after I had been working nonstop for 12 hours and am so completely homesick. Just because I may have said I would rather quit then stay here in Hawaii doesn’t mean I’m not a team player or that I’m not committed to the program. I love teaching and I love the school of education program here. I’m sorry if my emotions and stress made it seem like I was a brat. I really didn’t mean it. I was just overwhelmed and freaked out to have my plans just change so fast knowing there was nothing I could do.

Anyway for my day of thanks today I am thankful for cell phones. I don’t know what I would do without mine. I think being able to call and text my friends and family may be the only thing that is keeping me half way rational

Little rant and then Thankful

I’m kind of stressing out right now although I know I should just calm down and wait to see what happens. But that just isn’t my style. I’m a stress-er! I found out today that there is a very good possibility that I won’t be done with school in May like I thought I would, thanks to new changes in the definition of a “highly qualified teacher” in No Child Left Behind. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, you are lucky, it means you are not an education major!

Basically part of the No Child Left Behind Act that was passed in 2001 requires teachers to be “highly qualified” and they are changing the definition of a highly qualified special education teacher. It looks like my choices are to either stay in Hawaii an extra semester (they say "semester" but it's really a lot longer then that) to do a whole other student teacher, or drop the special education part of my major. Everybody keeps asking, “How can they do that to you?” Well, the school really doesn’t have a choice, if they keep it the way it is right now I can graduate and everything like I had planned but I won’t be able to find a job do to the new requirements.

Part of me wants to just say forget it, I’ll just go back to a single major and get my degree and certification as an elementary teacher, but I hate to give up when I’m so close to the finish line. It just seems that they keep moving the finish line farther and farther away. I was so excited to be going home in May and starting my life, it seemed so close and I could finally see the light at the end that motivated me to continue through all the hard times. Now I feel like the light is gone and its kind of hard to find the motivation to keep on going.

I don’t want to drop my special education degree, I really do love it! But I hate the idea of going home for the summer and then coming back at the end of July for more student teaching. That’s more time of me not working and living on my own. Plus I won’t be able to find a job right away after I am certified because it will be in the middle of a school year. My mom says to just suck it up and do the extra time. She says when I look back the extra time won’t be so bad. I’m pretty sure that’s what I’ll end up doing and that it will all work out but for right now when I’m super homesick this is the worst news!

Anyway, that was my rant for today! I need to post about something I’m thankful for. I know that despite all my frustrations right now with school I do have a ton to be thankful for. After all I am going to school in Hawaii. How many people can say that? All of my friends at BYU Provo and dealing with the snow right now and here in Hawaii we are having perfect beach weather, not that I have time to go to the beach. So I’m going to be thankful for that today, being here in Hawaii where there is no snow EVER!

BYU-Provo:
BYU-Hawaii:
BYU-Idaho:


Where would you rather be?

30 Days of Thanks #9

Today I’m thankful for great teachers!!

Throughout my 20 years as a student I have had some really amazing teachers. I know that my life would be completely different if it wasn’t for them going the extra mile to help me. Now that I’m teaching I try really hard to live up to the great example these teachers have shown me. I can only hope that one day I can help a child in the same way.

While I was thinking about the great teachers who have inspired me I couldn’t help but also think of the teachers that I have had who set a great example of what NEVER to do. (How was that for putting it nicely?) I really should be thankful for them too. Without their example I wouldn’t understand the true impact a teacher has on their students. I would like to think that I would never be so ridiculous as to do most of the things these teachers have put me through, but I know that without their example I may have been naïve and made some of the same mistakes.
I know I will never be the perfect teacher but everything I do good for my students I either owe to a great teacher or a horrible teacher I have had!

30 Days of Thanks #8

My natural hair is not very nice looking. It’s not straight but not curly either. It is pretty much just a big mess of frizzy-ness. Which of course is why I’m so thankful for my day 8 idem, a hair straightener. I don’t know what I would do with out mine. This also brings me to being thankful for the fashion district in LA where I can get really expensive hair straighteners, curling irons and all other awesome hair stuff for ridiculously cheap! If you are one of my California loves and you haven’t been to the fashion distinct let me know and we’ll go when I’m home for Christmas.


This is what my hair looks like without a good staightener!!

(And just for the record because a lot of people don’t believe me, I do not dye my hair. Yes, I am a 100% natural blonde! )

30 Days of Thanks #7

I am all for using solar energy but not as the only source of energy when you live in a place where the sun disappears for days at a time. Everybody close to me knows that there are 2 things you don’t mess with when it comes to me, sleep and a hot shower! This week thanks to solar energy I did not get a hot shower all week!!! Yesterday I declared that if I had to take one more cold shower I might just explode!!

This morning when I woke up the first thing I noticed was the sun shining outside my window. My only thought was, “Does that mean I’ll get a hot shower?” And the answer was YES!!!! Anyway… this brings me to what I’m thankful for today… Sunshine and hot water!! It really is a miracle!

30 Days of Thanks #6

Today I had a great day!! I got to sleep in and then spend the rest of the day being random with my girls! So today I’m thankful for being able to get out of Laie and have fun! (And I guess I'm thankful for my girls too!)

Here are a few of our pictures…

30 Days of Thanks #5

Today I’m thankful for the perfect mixture of cold raining weather, cheesy romantic movies and a nice comfortable bed!

And let’s not forget classes being canceled!!
Oh and NyQuill!!
And Netflix!
Of course Fridays too!
And…. That’s it!!

30 Days of Thanks #4

Today I’m thankful for people like THIS, who remind me of what a shellfish little butt-hole I am and how great it is to be alive!

I wish I didn’t have to eat

I hate spending money on food. I almost rather not eat then waste money grocery shopping. To me it’s such a waste; in a few hours you are just going to be hungry again. I wish there was some kind of procedure you could have so you no longer had to eat. That would be awesome. And then maybe I would be skinny again. HAHA

I don’t mind spending money to go out to eat with my friends, in fact I love it. But I don’t really think about that as spending money on food, I think of it as spending money on entertainment. I love being with my friends and I love consuming large amounts of ridiculously good food. Even if it’s over priced not so good food it doesn’t bother me. But spending money grocery shopping for food you eat alone is the biggest waste ever!

Don’t take this wrong and think I’m going anorexic or anything like that, I’m fine, really! I was just eating my PB&J for dinner and thinking about how much I hate peanut-butter. Then I thought, why eat it? I remembered that I eat it because it’s cheap and fast and money and time are 2 things that I’m running short on these days. If only I didn’t have to eat. That would save me both time and money.

30 Days of Thanks #3

I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I keep on getting extremely homesick. I can’t focus on anything other than going home for Christmas. That’s really not such a good thing when I have so much I need to do. So today I’m thankful for pictures of my friends and family.

My room is full of pictures that remind me of good times. Sometimes when I’m having a bad day I just lie in my bed and stair at them. It makes me feel a lot better.

Kindergartener quote of the day:
“I wish you were a little chick so you could fly around going ‘tweet, tweet tweet!’”
(One of the little boys in my class said this to me as he ran around in circles flapping his wings. It was the cutest thing ever!)

30 Days of Thanks #2

Today I’m thankful for old school pop music! Is there anything better than driving with your friends and blasting one of these songs? Of course you also have to sing them at the top of your lungs and dance!

There are so many ridiculous old music videos that remind me of my days as an eleven-teen year old! I could keep posting videos all day, but I’ll stop and go to sleep now! Goodnight!

30 Days of Thanks

I know last time I did a 30 day challenge I decided I hated it about the 3rd day but I’m thinking this time will be different! Or at least I hope so. One of the blogs I stalk is doing “30 Days of Thanks” and I think it’s a great idea! So here I go!

Today I’m thankful for Bleach! I know it sounds like such a stupid thing to be thankful for but just think about your life without bleach…. Mine for sure would not be so good. I would have ruined the brand new white shoes I wore when I went to the pumpkin patch with my kindergarteners, plus about a million other outfits over the years. I’m sure bleach has also saved me from killer germs at least a trillion times! It’s a wonderful discovery and I’m thankful for it!!

*The rule of this 30 challenge, if you desire to do it, is you can’t use the cliché answers, family, friends, job etc. You must be creative!*

Kindergartener moment of the day:
Kindergartener: I went to the Haunted Lagoon! Did you?
Me: Not this year but I live right next to it so I hear it every night.
Kindergartener: You live at the Haunted Lagoon!!!
Me: No, I live next door; I have a lot of friends who work there.
Kindergartener: You are friends with Zombies!!