FANNY PACKS ARE TOTALLY IN RIGHT NOW

If you didn't know that fanny packs have made huge comeback then you are absolutely out of the loop. I found this ever so stylish fanny pack on one of my many breast cancer paraphernalia sites. If they make it, they also make a breast cancer version of it. This really is true. They have everything like breast cancer dishes, clothing, jewelry, appliances, cars, lunch bags, Christmas ornaments, and even for Jaimee: pashminas. Since October is already half over, you need to hurry and check out all the breast cancer sites I have listed to the right. I mean you can do that all year round but its like listening to Christmas music in April - its never as awesome.

RANDOM LIFE STORY: CATTLE SHOOT

Behind the milk house on the family farm was an old, rusty, green cattle shoot. The total lack of friends/neighbors when I was a little kid is what led me to spend my summer days playing in said cattle shoot. Honestly, it was so much fun. I would mess around with all the levers and tools that opened and closed the shoot. Sometimes I would even climb in there and close myself in. This was not as much fun as when I could find a sibling or cousin to play with me and I could put one of them in the cattle shoot. Growing up on a farm with all my family around was the best way to do it. What other kids get to play their days away entertaining themselves with a cattle shoot, climbing a silo, hiding in a milk house, being terrified of a chicken coop, riding horses, climbing trees, or canoeing on a pond? I don't know of many others. I think I owe a shout out to mom and dad for raising me right. Thanks!

SINCE YOU ALL WANT VISUAL PROOF

Please refer to my sister Heidi's blog (found on my blog list to the right) for some good pictures of my brother's (and favorite sibling) wedding. It was a good event but it felt really weird without dad there. FYI to all the young, handsome, college grad, single dudes out there that read my blog: you will have to marry me in Washington. Thanks. Welcome to the Belnap world Holly. Good luck because you already know we are weird.

TAKEN A LIKING TOWARDS MACS

I am blogging from a MacBook people. Thats right! Its about time I upgraded to one of these fine machines. I just wanted to make all of you (but not Leslie) jealous who are still awaiting the death of your PC to buy a little Apple love. It is so pretty and white and pretty and skinny and white and light and pretty. I owe a big thanks to Alisha for teaching me the way of the Mac. I need a lot of help from her and Leslie on how this thing even works. I am new to all of this. School may have been absolutely awful today but I don't care because it ended well with a Mac in my hands. I might have to become one of those worksheets and videos teachers so I can spend my days playing with my new friend. Speaking of my new friend (the Mac), what should I name it? Any suggestions?

TIS THE SEASON

Its finally October folks and do you know what that means? It is NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH! Yeah! This is better than Christmas, this is the real "season." Be sure to check out the links I have on this blog to some good BC sites.

This is a really interesting BC month for me for many reasons. My grandmother is battling this disease again for the 3rd time. She is such a trooper, it is amazing. She drove all the way down to Provo by herself in the middle of a treatment period to come to my graduation. It meant the world to me - she means the world to me. I also have a student whose mother died of breast cancer 3 months ago. She is the most precious individual. She had to come to picture day in tears because she didn't have a mom at home to help her pick out an outfit and do her hair. Nobody should face that reality. I brought her a little gift pack of BC paraphernalia a couple weeks ago and she just lit up at the thought that someone else cares and kind of understands. She is a gem and I know she was put into my class for a reason - to have a friend who cares. This year I live with Alisha whose mother had breast cancer. They worship awareness at their house too and celebrating this month with her makes it pretty special as well.

Be sure to stop by Nordstrom or Macey's to pick up some free breast cancer pink ribbons. Wear them in support of someone you know who has dealt with this disease in their life (if you are reading this and you know me then thats someone you know already...kind of a stretch but it works). When you are at the grocery store and see an item with the pink ribbon on it, buy it because that small purchase automatically donates money to the cure. And let me tell you people, we WILL find a cure! Tis the Season!

TEACHING CHRONICLES

I have been a teacher for about 5 weeks now. These have been the longest 5 weeks of my life. I never knew why people loved weekends so much but Saturday really is a gift from the heavens. Now I haven't actually enjoyed a real "Saturday" because I have been at the junior high every weekend trying to stop from drowning in an ocean of new teacher woes. There are so many stories that I would love to force all of you to read but I do not have the time nor the will power to do so. But here is a glimpse into my daily routine now.

• 6:05 am: wake up angry (mornings are not really my thing)
• 7:20 am: leave for work and enjoy my 15 minute drive while trying to pump myself up for the day ahead of me
• 7:40 - 8:10: try and get my day in order and water my plant (the most beautiful plant ever that my mom and dad sent me on my first day of school and I haven't managed to kill yet)
• 8:15 - 11:30: something along the lines of teaching kids
• 11:30 - 12:00: adult interaction for the day with lunch in the faculty room
• 12:00 - 2:45: again, some more of that teaching stuff with a little yelling here and there
• 2:45 - 6-ish: meetings (faculty meetings, district meetings, accommodations meetings, collaboration meetings, curriculum meetings...) help students after school, planning, making copies, grading, organizing, etc.
• 7:00pm: usually arrive home around this time with little or no energy
• 7:30 - 10:00: attempt to socialize with my friends that I never see anymore, do some more lesson planning, make my roommates and friends help me grade, get crap done for my calling, eat something that resembles a meal, internet and read my daily email from Glenn Beck, and literally crawl into bed and fall asleep no later than 11 because the 200 kids in my life have taken all the life out of me!

And yes, I did have a student call me Babe today. That did not go over well.

BLACKLISTED PART II

Due to recent events the following items are currently blacklisted until further notice:

Pier 49 Pizza
Taylorsville
Spaghetti Factory
Kiwanis Park
Page, Arizona
People who wear bright orange shirts
Thai Kitchen
Lagoon
Ute Fans
6th East in Provo
Wii
Arby's
Driving to Disney Land
Macey's
Leatherby's
Corvettes
8th North Orem Sonic
B4 (one of my 7th grade classes)

I SHOT MORE GAME THAN I COULD CARRY

I love the Oregon Trail game but frankly, who doesn't? Its awesome. As I visited Washington/Oregon to see my parents, I was reminded of the glorious game that aided in my childhood awkwardness and obesity. As you can tell from the post below, my parents really like me and even more so, my dad likes taking me places that only the two of us would find interesting. Well another stop on our trail was the real Oregon Trail. Dad and I went to the Whitman Mission National Historic Site (if you want to hear the story of the Whitmans I will tell you because its pretty cool) and stood right on the trail. There was even this old wagon still on the trail. Some people are pretty lazy I guess because they've had like 150 years to finish the trek, geez. Anyway, it was pretty fun to see, especially with my inquisitive history buff dad.

MORE CORN

I like to know things about the world around me, how things work, why things are the way they are, etc. One of many "Ashley wonderings" was how they get corn off the cob. Do they pluck out each individual kernel? I didn't know but now I do. I asked me dad about this great puzzle and he actually had an answer for me - a visual answer. My awesome dad arranged for me to visit a processing plant in Weston, OR. One of the stake presidents in his area runs the plant and he gave me a personal tour of the entire place.

We got to see corn go from the fields to a frozen bag of Western Family corn right before our eyes. It was amazing. To get the juicy details on how it all works you will have to talk to me in person so I can show you some great pictures from inside the factory. Really guys, I know I am a nerd but this was amazing. I learned that it takes 45 minutes to freeze a cob of corn (and the freezer room was really cold) but it only takes 7 minutes for cut corn to freeze. Another thing I learned was how to grade corn and peas. There are grades A, B, and C for corn and to tell which one it is you squeeze an individual kernel to look at the liquid that is expelled. Depending on the color and consistency of that one kernel, you can grade an entire crop. Amazing.

We also got to see where the plant does carrots and peas and silage. This place was so full of all this crazy technology like red laser corn scanners that can tell if a single kernel of corn is not up to par. Yeah, crazy. We also got to eat a cob of corn while touring that President Brown just picked of the assembly line and gave it us. It was so cool. Thanks dad for giving me your inquisitive nature and taking me to see the corn, I loved it!!!