INVISIBLE CHILDREN

This is one of the most powerful documentaries I have ever seen. I show this film every year during the slavery unit in 9th grade world civ. I literally look forward to this day all year. I have kids with some pretty rough backgrounds and home life. This movie puts things into perspective for them. My students get to see how bad life can really be. Yes, my students may have 1 parent homes, be in abusive situations, have non-supportive parents, etc. The kids that they see in this movie are kidnapped and forced into rebel armies. They are trained killers as young as 5 years old. Teaching doesn't get better than this. I love showing students what the world is really like. The best part is I show them a clip at the end about things they can do to help donate. I always have students come to me before the end of the year and tell me that they donated or purchased something from Invisible Children. If you have not see this documentary PLEASE SEE IT. It is a story that humanity needs to know and share.

If you have seen and you want to donate to Invisible Children go to:

http://store.invisiblechildren.com/all

I recommend the bracelet.

WHY IT'S WORTH IT

Things like this are few and far between but when I get a message from a student like this, it makes what I do seem worth it

AN ITEM ISSUE

I have a problem when it comes to items I love. If I really love it, then I have to own it as many colors as possible. I do this with purses, coats, shoes, dishes, watches, socks, frames, etc. My newest disease involves a Michael Kors infection that is spreading and spreading. I can't stop. I started with this first purchase - a present to myself for graduating from the BYU:


Then got this last summer because it was on sale:
Now I can't stop wearing this one:
Its weird because I want to stop but I don't want to either. I guess it is just that part of me that really, really loves stuff (hence why I drove to Vegas for Jimmer, shouted at Glenn that I love him, hold birthday parties for Josh Groban, etc.). When I love something, I am just really good at loving something.

LITERAL

As a connoisseur of teenagers (and NOT in a gross way), I think I have a little insight that others might not. Teenagers are unique animals. They don't understand eye cues yet. Meaning, if one raises their hand in class and I look straight at them, they keep holding their hand up. Really? Because I am staring right at you! Then I finally say, "yes?" Still nothing. I have to say their name and and point at them to get them to understand what staring at them means. They just haven't connected those non-verbal cues yet. My favorite thing about them is that they take everything and I mean EVERYTHING literally. This can cause a lot of trouble but can also be really funny. Case in point: Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri. In Utah History the students were working on a group poster project. I let them listen to music when they work like this. When the song came on some started singing it under their breath but one girl gasped. "Oh, I just love this song but I shouldn't listen to it!" Her friends wanted to know why she didn't to listen to it and her response was: "Have you heard this song, its really bad. It is about a guy who kills women that he pretends to love, rips their hearts out, and puts them in a jar." NO IT ISN'T! The song actually goes like this, "...who do you think you are / running round leaving scars / collecting your jar of hearts / and tearing love apart / your gonna catch a cold / from the ice inside your soul / so don't come back for me / who do you think you are / I hear you are asking all around / if I am anywhere to be found / but I have grown too strong / to ever fall back in your arms / and I learned to live half alive / and now you want me one more time..." She just took the words of the song for what they actually say. Adorable and one of the greatest laughs I have ever had. Thank you innocent and literal teenagers, thank you.

RANDOM LIFE STORY: UNCLE SAM

This is "Uncle Sam" from the famous WWII propaganda poster:

This is my uncle Michael:

Until I was 15 years old, I thought they used my uncle as a model for Uncle Sam! Michael was 7 during WWII. You have to give me credit though because they do look alike. Especially my family, knowing what Uncle Michael looks like in person and that he is an actor, you can understand my confusion. Right?

BARBIE

I was reminded of something with all the current protests in the Middle East and a lot of people have asked me lately what I experienced in Egypt. While in Egypt - or any other Muslim country, I'm sure - white ladies get marriage proposals like it is going out of style. I heard it a few times in my short stay in Egypt. I knew it would happen but when it finally did I was still shocked. One thing I did not expect was the occasional oooogling over my blonde hair. My favorite reference is when the shopkeepers would shout to me, "Barbie! Barbie! You want buy? Make good offer!" Barbie?? Really?? It was awesome/crazy. One time I woke up from a bit of a nap while sitting on a bench because I could hear all this giggling around me. I looked up and to a group of 3 or 4 kids trying to touch my hair. Weird. By mid-trip I started donning one of these:It wasn't just to try and fit in but it actually kept me quite cool (wish I had it in the Nubian village when it ws 123 degrees!!). I bought his head scarf in a market in Aswan. The man I was dealing with was ridiculous. The first price he gave me for 7 scarfs was 400 pounds (thats about $70.00). I said no thanks and started to walk away. We talked it through for about fifteen minutes until he finally came to a price I agreed upon, 200 pounds. I hated the markets but I loved them at the same time. Does that even make sense? Lani and Jessica, do you agree with that??? The picture below was the spice market in Aswan. I got some saffron for $15.00. Enough for 2 batches of Saffron rolls (that would usually cost about $100.00)!
And as an added bonus, here is a picture of me on the train leaving Cairo. It was disgusting. The entire trip I NEVER let anything Egyptian actually touch my skin. It was gross.

BILLIE JEAN

Thank you Scott Tanner Clark for the drums.

Thank you "David" from YouTube for teaching us 5 different beats.

Thank you Les for being so good at the flute and learning the drums with me.

Thank you Jenni, Lani, Josh, Janet, and Jeff for acting as an audience.

Thank you for watching our first single, Billie Jean.

JUNIOR HIGH VALENTINE

You haven't really Valentined if you have never experienced a junior high Valentine's Day. Now it doesn't count if your only experience is when you were in junior high. V-Day is seriously my favorite day of the year and NOT because I love Valentines but because I love watching my students try and sort out this day of uber emotion. It is SO, SO great. It also doesn't hurt that I usually get candy and cookies from students (I just finished off the most delicious Valentine sugar cookie known to man plus Lindsay's boys just brought me the best Valentine presents EVER!).

Just this morning one student came in with a single long stem rose and all the girls in the class came up to her and started giggling, chit-chatting, and gossiping about it. One of her friends took the rose and held it up to her nose as she said, "I could sit here all day and smell the love from this rose." She begged the friend it belonged to, "can I please carry it in the hallway???"

Second period didn't disappoint either. I am pretty sure this class has more hormones than humanly possible. This is my most flirtatious class by far. I swear every boy and every girl just love each other. Case in point: note passing. I intercepted a Valentine love letter! It was adorable, awkward, misspelled, gushy, lovely, and awesome! The two students went bright red when I took it because they knew the love secrets that were inside.

My next class was 7th graders and they aren't as fun to watch as the 9th graders. They are still somewhat asexual. Does that make sense? They haven't quite figured out how to be awkwardly in love all while being so sly about who your crush is. For them we played 5 minutes of Valentine Hang Man and let them listen to sappy love songs until the bell rang. You would have thought I was giving them all $1,000,000 at their level of happiness with this "activity."

Fourth period is where the day is extremely worth it. This is when the items that students have sent to each other arrive. They can purchase a candy rose, a real rose, or a box of conversation hearts. During 4th hour the gifts arrive. It is the ultimate showcase of junior high. Who got what? How many did they get? Who was it from? All of this is REALLY important to them. I know most people think I am nuts for wanting to teach junior high but come one, when I get to see this kind of stuff why would I teach anybody but awkward teenagers??

J - I - M - M - M - E - R

I would be indeed ungrateful if I did not take this moment to publicly thank The Jimmer for all he has done for me. He makes me happier than I ever thought I could be. Without The Jimmer, I don't know where the I would be. Before I let Jimmer into my life I was walking this earth knowing something was missing but I didn't know what it was. Jimmer filled that void in my soul. He has changed me and all of mankind for the better. To Jimmer I am indebted. I owe him an eternity of cougar fight songs. In the honor of all that is Jimmer, Ah-Jimmer-men.