books

Winter break is on the way and HOPEFULLY that will mean some FREE TIME! Since I'll be in Utah, where it's far TOO COLD to go outside, I need some new books to read. Suggestions?

What's on your Christmas list?

I'm still not sure what I want, but I know I'm not lining up for this.


Aunts And Stepdads Line Up For This Year's Hottest Gift: The Electric Tea Kettle

Thanksgiving pardon

I like the photographer's perspective in this photo. For once, it's nice to see the turkey isn't the one who has lost his head.

"Courage", the National Thanksgiving Turkey, on the North Portico of the White House in Washington, November 25, 2009, before being pardoned by U.S. President Barack (Jason Reed/Reuters).

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

I hope this won't be me this year!

Americans Enjoying Thanksgiving Tradition Of Sitting Around At Airport

What is Halloween really about?

This "news" clip definitely gives us something to film about as we reflect upon this true meaning of this very special holiday.

In The Know: Has Halloween Become Overcommercialized?

A real American rodeo!

Bogdan, Galya, and I had a fantastic time at the Fiesta Days rodeo in beautiful ol' Spanish FARK, Utah.
Sadly, it was almost over by the time we finally talked out way in (apparently the rodeo always sells out), but we stayed til after 1 A.M. watching some of the preliminaries for the next day's rodeo. Up close, turns out most of the cowboys were surprisingly hot. I have no idea why I'd never noticed that before. I mean, I watched "8 Seconds" and Luke Perry, obviously, was hot, but I had no idea that all cowboys were similarly attractive. Does this mean I should start listening to country music?

Angel Moroni!

I can't believe it's finally happened! Yesterday, Angel Moroni was placed on top of the temple in Kyiv.

This photos is one of my favorites. Notice the huge apartment buildings built during the Soviet Union era?

Members of the church in Ukraine have been waiting for this since the temple was first announced in July 1998. The members there have waited anxiously for nearly TEN YEARS. Ground on the temple was finally broken in June 2007, but construction has been slow. There is so much red tape to go through, it's taking much longer than anticipated. The dates for dedication have changed so many times already, it's been discouraging. The expected date is now fall of 2010. As you can see from the photos, the temple is not nearly completed, but putting the angel on top is a major step.

If you speak Russian, and maybe even if you don't, you'll love this video showing the statue and some of the members, sharing their testimonies and feelings on this important day.

I wish I could have been there to feel the spirit as the members met in the church building next to the temple and sang hymns. I wish I could see and feel the excitement my brothers and sisters must have felt as they watched the angel take it's permanent position atop the temple. This is truly the beginning of an entire new generation for the church in Ukraine. I am so happy for them.

Utah, a little bit of Arizona, and a quick trip to Cali.

Galya and Bogdan wanted to go EVERYWHERE and see everything. They got in around 7 PM on Thursday, but weren't tired at all. We had dinner, then saw a hypnotist on the strip.

Our first stop was Spanish Fork and the much anticipated Spanish Fork Fiest Days Super Amazing and Insanely Crowded Rodeo. The rodeo was sold out, but Galya was able to work some magic with her sexy Belarussian/Ukrainian accent and not only did we did in, but we got all three tickets for the price of one.

We went to the Days of '47 Parade in Salt Lake and saw a pow wow at Liberty Park.

Luckily, I was able to drop them off with a friend in SLC so I could take a break from "tour guide" and see my own friends. :) I spent most of the weekend with Kristin and Allison. We watched movies, hung out by the pool, went to dinner.

I planned an EXTREME VERSION of the scenic route back to Las Vegas. Our first stop was Bryce National Park. We just drove around and took pictures for a few hours. From Bryce, we went to Zion National Park. Bogdan and I actually hiked in the Narrows a little bit. I've been to Zion a few times before, but I'd never done that.

Our visit to Colorado city was fascinating. Just driving around was not enough. We decided we HAD to make a quick stop at the grocery store. I suggested we all speak Russian the entire time and pretend like we weren't SHOCKED by anything we saw. I'd heard the people there weren't entirely welcoming. I've really just never seen anything like this. Insane. Incredible. I just couldn't stop looking!

We took a SUPER QUICK trip to California. I spent a bit of time hanging out with Kelsey, one of my favorite friends, and her parents in beautiful Newhall, CA.

Everyone's favorite brother

Matt has officially graduated from boot camp on August 14th. My parents drove out with Eva and the girls to watch graduation. (The portable DVD player may have helped alleviate some of the suffering that is bound to happen in a long --VERY long-- car trip halfway across the U.S. with two kids under the age of 4, but... Ugh.)

Matt had one day before graduation off, Family Day. According to Jacquie, they swam at the hotel and "Uncle Matt just slept because he doesn't know how to swim." In reality, boot camp was pretty rough. I think Matt was just happy to get a few extra hours of sleep.

Now, he's off to another camp somewhere near Baltimore to learn something about repairing something. All of my information comes from Matt himself, so details are pretty sketchy.

Much love and congrats to everyone's favorite baby brother, Matt!

Summer!

So, summer vacation is here! Galya and Bogdan (my favorite Belarusian and one of my very favorite Ukrainians) will be here on Tuesday, so we’re doing a mini-tour of the western U.S. They are staying with me for an entire month, so here’s what I’ve got so far:

• Utah
  This includes a variety of activities for the good ol' 24th of July, which you only get to REALLY celebrate in Utah. Rodeo, parade, Native American Powwow, and fireworks.
  Temple Square and "Music and the Spoke Word" with the MoTab.
  Horseback riding.
  Laser show! (Really. These things are just as fun now as they were in high school.)
  Visiting tons of people we know and love.
• Grand Canyon
  I’m not entirely sure if I really want to do this yet. I’m thinking about lying to them both and telling them the Grand Canyon isn’t accessible by car. It’s just so far!
• L.A.
  Of course every Ukrainian wants to see Disneyland and Hollywood, so… even though I have 0% interest in either place, I just can’t disappoint.
• San Diego
  Visiting friends, visiting the beach, and possibly visiting Shamu.
• Las Vegas
  Wandering all around the strip in 100+ degree weather, free shows on the strip, using my awesome connections, Mystere or Le Reve or “O”, shopping for EVERYTHING because the U.S. is so much cheaper than Ukraine, and if it cools down enough, a drive-in movie, complete with popcorn and American pizza.
• Miami
  No clue what we're doing here, but we have a free place to stay!
• Costa Rica. We’ve changed our mind about this trip a million times already, but… Costa Rica, here we come!

It’s a lot, I know, and a LOT of driving (especially for someone who hates driving as much as I do) but I’m excited. I’ve been waiting for this all summer!

Anything I forgot?

summer movie watching

So... summer.
I've definitely watched a lot of movies so far. I LOVE it. You'd think I'd be bored by now, just waiting for my friends to get here to begin our exotic summer vacation, but... Movies have kept me busy. :)

Historic ‘Blockbuster’ Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past

Web Site Story

This is far too true...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

So, who wants to follow me on Twitter now?

This kid is a genius!

Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation With Wish For Unlimited Wishes

Utah... again.

Quick trip to Utah. Some of my favorite people and some of my favorite places.

Utah State.































Bear Lake. I even volunteered to take senior pics for the kids. :)



Hogel Zoo and Trolley Square.

I hadn't been to the zoo for YEARS. I enjoyed it NEARLY as much as I enjoyed finding this t-shirt at Trolley Square when we met up with Devonte for dinner. I'd never thought about it before, but I really am glad Utah decided to go with SLC instead of this.

Vista's 09 Grads

I really, really love these kids. AND, believe it or not, I think I'll actually miss them.






Congrats and good luck to the class of 2009!

Bye, bye AVID. :(

Another school year has come and gone. The end of this year was rough. Busy, as to be expected, but it was hard saying goodbye to my AVID kids. Especially since the program has been cut and this is the end of AVID at my school. This year, it's especially hard.
A year ago, I never would have imagined that I would be sad to see any of them leave. They hated me because I wasn't their old teacher and I hated them because they hated me so much and simply didn't want to work. I knew, (well, I HOPED!) that they'd realize the things I was FORCING them to do were good for them. I knew/hoped we'd eventually come to like one another. I knew the hate couldn't last forever and we all just had to make the best of the situation. So last year was awful, but this year started out on a much better note. Maybe because so many of them were seniors, they finally realized they needed to get serious about college. Maybe they FINALLY realized I actually knew what I was talking about. Maybe because we knew what to expect from one another. Maybe because this year I finally decided they were nice enough that I'd make them caramel rice crispie treats, which historically have proven to help me win friends wherever I go. I was surprised at how much I actually came to like these kids. And, as evidenced by the chocolate covered strawberries and super sweet cards they gave me on their last day of school, they liked me.

Two of my students, Sadi and C’Lee, presented me with this fantastic commemorative cork board they made. They wrote a really sweet letter and pinned "inside jokes" all over the board. I'm really not an emotional person, but it almost made me cry. You'd have to really know the girls and our history to understand why this was such a big deal.

Early in the year, when it was time for the annual AVID t-shirt contest, this dynamic duo submitted a design for an "AVID Anorexia" t-shirt. I was shocked. Confused and a little stunned. I couldn't figure out why they could spend so much time on something we obviously wouldn't use. I didn't know them well and didn't appreciate their humor.

Later in the year, for some reason, the girls started eating lunch in my classroom. I really didn't think they liked me at all, so it was kind of strange, but I figured they were probably just happy to be somewhere other than the overcrowded, noisy school cafeteria. At some point, we started playing board games together during lunch. C'Lee was awesome at "You've Been Sentenced", and even though we all just made fun of it (and on a couple of occasions C'Lee wondered ALOUD in front of me whether or not they should ditch MY CLASS that day), I actually started to look forward to talking with them at lunch.

As the year continued, these girls became some of my favorite students. When C'Lee chose to really work, she blew me away with some really good essays. She's a very talented writer AND she's thinking about becoming a teacher. They came on our AVID trip to UNR and Sadi helped smuggle all the caramel rice crispie treats through security. Sadi won a $20,000 scholarship that we worked on WEEKS. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw they'd used puff paints to create an AVID Anorexia t-shirt just for me. I really am going to miss these kids.

Uh...

The countdown til the last day of school is on! I've received some very sweet, heartfelt cards and thank you notes from students the past couple of days. And, of course, the kids have been writing really nice things in my yearbook. Turns out that even the kids I didn't think cared for me much at all LOVE me. Everyone has nice things to write in my yearboook. :)

Actual excerpts from letters written by kids GRADUATING from HIGH SCHOOL in less than a week:

• I kno I was alwayz trying to sleep in class and stuff, but thanks for teaching me about colledge and stuff.
• I don't know what I'd do without you. I might even like you more than Pokemon, and that says a lot! Your the best!
• Your so cool and sweet. You help me out alot. Your a great teacher to have, even tho I do talk about everything and try to sleep alot in class. Your one of the my favrite teachers.
  

I appreciate the thoughts. Really, I do! So, is it really bad if I feel this way?

Lost Generation

I love this.

Memorial Day

“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

Maybe I'm a little more aware of Memorial Day this year since Matt, everyone's favorite brother, has just joined the Utah National Guard. He leaves for boot camp on June 3rd and I won't even get to see him again before he leaves! I've never been really close with anyone in the Armed Services, so I am curious to hear about the experiences he'll have there. Landen/Sled, everyone's favorite cousin who works at a cheese factory, reports for boot camp just a couple of weeks before Matt. I'm sure the discipline will do both of these kids some good. Plus, they both love to shoot up stuff. ;)

Thank you to all those good men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.

Holocaust conference

I took some of my high school students, and Ms. Viera (one of our AVID tutors), to hear some Holocaust survivors speak.
The stories they told were heartbreaking. Amazing opportunities for all of us to hear from these survivors who, unfortunately, won't be around for long.

I'm famous!

I was interviewed on 97.5 today.
Yep.
Hung out in the studio with Cecilia for a while.

Van, one of my seniors, and I talked about Relay for Life. Van is the Entertainment Chair for Relay this year. She's amazing. Absolutely incredible. We've been working on this for MONTHS already. Van has scheduled performers down to the minute! Singers, a theatre skit, Chinese Lion dancers, breakdancers, a Mr. Relay competition, and games and competitions throughout the night.

Relay this year really is going to be great. April 25th at Spring Valley High School. Check out www.relayforlife.org for more info.

budget cuts are killing our future...

Seriously. This is ridiculous. Our school has decided to discontinue the AVID program. My heart is broken. I've worked with the AVID program for 7 years already and I've seen the power it has to help students.

CCSD has AVID programs at 32 middle and high schools. I personally promised 150 students at Vista that this program would be there to support them throughout high school and help them prepare for college. This sucks. It really, really, really sucks.

This is ridiculous. Not only is my school cutting AVID, a program which has consumed me for the past 5 years, but we're cutting choir. Choir!

I wouldn't be too surprised if, in the next little while, the federal government was forced to do this:

Treasury Department Issues Emergency Recall Of All US Dollars

or this:


US To Trade Gold Reserves For Cash Through Cash4Gold.com

Puerto Rico

Gran Melia

As evidenced by these beautiful photos, our very, very posh hotel included anything and everything our heart's desired.

World class restaurants, great snorkeling right behind our villa, a "boutique" casino, a nightclub with live entertainment, and the best virgin pina coladas in the world. The best thing about our luxurious hotel, sadly, was also the worst thing. We were in Rio Grande, about 40 minutes out of San Juan. Our hotel was right on the beach, which also meant it was about 10 minutes (by car) from any major road. We were NOT interested in walking for 3 hours to find a taxi, so once we got there, we were stuck. No busses, no taxis, and the hotel was even out of rental cars. The good thing, however, is that it was one of the nicest, most relaxing places a person could ever possibly be "stuck". I was FORCED to relax, which is usually pretty difficult for me because I think vacations should be non-stop excitement and adventure.

El Yunque National Rainforest

According to the sometimes reliable Wikipedia, El Yunque, the only tropical rain forest in the United States National Forest System, encompasses 28,002 acres of land. This area boasts 160 different tree species, not counting ferns and vines, including the candle tree and the laurel sabino which grows nowhere else in the world. El Yunque has also eight different lizard species.


Our guide said we were on the second easiest trail, but it was much more difficult than any of us expected. Our guide gave us walking sticks, which people made fun of (probably because they were jealous!) The trail ended at La Mina falls, where we were all excited to jump into the freezing cold water.

As soon as I find the cord to my camera, I'll upload more pics.

Erikah's debut. :)

I was extremely flattered to be the only teacher "cool enough" to be invited to Erikah's 18th birthday bash/ debut (pronounced deh-boo, with a slight Filipino accent). This debutante ball was FAR more elaborate than any wedding reception I've ever seen. She looked gorgeous in both outfit #1 and #2.
After a fantastic dinner, Erikah's friends took the stage for the candle and rose ceremony. Eighteen of her closest male friends and relatives handed her a single rose and danced with her for a few seconds, before the next person cut in. After the men, the 18 most important women in Erikah's life gave a quick tribute to her.

And, of course, I was extremely impressed with the entertainment. Maverick surprised me with his hip hop dance.


And of course, these boys, some of my favorites at Vista, amaze me. Not only can they do THIS, but they also do this.





Incredible.