All I want for Christmas. . .lessons learned from an 8 year old

For the past several years my friends niece has been making a list for Santa. Always included on this list, besides the typical dolls and toys a child would enjoy, was a dog. And every year she got those dolls and toys, but she never got what she really wanted, which was the dog. Last year she got smarter. Her new list included only the following "A DOG". Her mother did not want to buy her a dog and tried to think of the million reasons why they couldn't have one, but this little girl did not budge. She was not interested in other toys or dolls no matter what bells, bows and whistles accompied them, her mind was set-it was a dog or nothing. Oh, and do you know what she got for Christmas last year? You guessed it, a dog!

I am blessed to have a good job that allows me to be able to buy the things I need and many of the things I want. I don't particularily like receiving gifts (ask my family, they can vouch for that) so what I'm putting on my list this year in actuality wouldn't cost you a dime. Last year one gift came close what I really want-I got a boyfriend for Christmas (well actually it was the Hallmark DVD entitled that).

So, this year, all I want for Christmas is. . . Mr. Just Right for Me! oh yeah and a blowdryer :)

Shoes

Its a new post, but an old experience but I haven't told it yet and it makes me smile.

This happened about 4 days into the new school year. In order for you to truely appreciate this experience you need to know that in the afternoon I have two different sets of students that I only see every other day.

So I received this comment from a student after he had only seen me twice. We were sitting in class I was in the middle of some amazing math lesson (I'm sure) and a little boy shouts out you "why do you always wear the same shoes. You wear those shoes yesterday." I was quite taken back. It takes quite a bit to catch me off guard in class but this did. My first thought was to argue back "no I don't". Then I just had to laugh. For starters he had only seen me twice (and although I didn't wear that same pair of shoes the day before, both days he had been in my class I had in fact worn the same pair of shoes. Didn't realize that was not acceptable :)). Then I also remembered seeing his mom last year. She was wearing this amazing black and white dress with these bright red heels and I remember thinking she looked great, but that I would never wear that to work. Then I saw her again in the afternoon-she was still wearing the same dress but this time she was wearing a pair of lime green heels. :) I told his mom what he had said and she was so embarassed that she actually talked to him about it when they got home. She told me that her son would not be commenting on my shoes or any other piece of clothing anymore. I was a little disapointed, I had thought his comment was kind of funny. Well a few days later, when I was brave enough to wear the shoes again, he again commented on me wearing the same shoes (don't tell his mom). I then told him that it was okay and that I would wear them quite often because I only had about 3 pairs of shoes that I wear to school, to which he replied "well can't you at least wear them in a pattern?" What can I say-they sure took the patterning lesson to heart!

A side note: A few days later this child's mom came to me and said "you know I think we do put a lot of focus on clothing at our home and I never realized it before. My son always picks out his dads tie for work and then this morning before we left for school we were all saying prayer when my son opened his eyes and said-"dad, that is a cool belt". I immediately opened my eyes and said, son we do not comment on clothing when we are in the middle of prayer." Then she said "looks like we have some work to do". :)

The Best Carmel Syrup Recipe

Okay Dawn, here it is:

2 c. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. butter
2 T. corn syrup

Boil 5 minutes then add:

1 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla

I really like it over french toast. The cinnamon and the carmel taste amazing together. Actually the syrup is good enough to drink by itself, but I probably wouldn't recommend it! I think we should have it for breakfast tomorrow. Yumm!

Should've been a trucker

Do you remember in High School when you took those career tests that matched up all your personality traits, interests, and social quirks and then told you a few things that you would be good at. Well I think one of mine was a truck driver, which at the time I was deeply insulted at even the suggestion, but now I think I might have been really good at it and let me tell you why (I feel like I'm applying for a job-let me know if I get it :)) For some reason I absolutely love driving with my lights on bright. It feels like I own the road. The other day I set a new record for longest distance traveled with brights on-meaning safely doing so with no other cars on the road. I was able to travel 6.3 miles beating my old record of 5.1. If you don't keep track of how far you can go with your brights on you may think this is not a big feat, but trust me it has taken me a good six months to set that record! The other day, I'm actually not sure I should confess this-but here it goes, I actually did a double take as a semi passed by me and found myself saying out loud, "wow, that is one good looking semi". Please tell me you've done that too, because it sounds outrageous-I knew I should have kept it to myself. Well, I'm off to drive somewhere-I'm in the mood to listen to talk radio (which is another reason I think I should be a trucker-I love talk radio. Sometimes I have to wait in my car for a few minutes listening to the end of come commentary :)). I didn't have anywhere to go last weekend and went stir crazy so today I'm driving somewhere, anywhere and in the rain-that is also one of my favorite times to travel.

Found-lost dog

Here she is-my new dog. Beware-at first glance she appears to be as cute as can be, but let me tell you when she opens her mouth it sounds like someone is holding onto the sides of a balloon and letting the air screetching out. Dad found her this week wondering in the pasture, with the cows and the llama, miles away from the nearest house and away from the highway. She is not a young pup either. She has a bit of gray hair and shows signs of having been trained. She (I keep refering to her without a name because she doesn't have one-any suggestions?) can sit, gets down off my pants when I tell her too, doesn't come in the house if I remember to tell her to stay out, stops barking when I tell her to stop (funny how she is not just naturally good, she has to be told to be told what bad habbits to stop). She also walks right beside and behind me when I go to get the mail (that is my favorite thing because I hate a dog that is always running into me and between my feet). I might actually eventually maybe even like her. I'll keep you posted.

Don't trust the commercials

I don't have tv but started watching biggest loser with a friend a couple of seasons ago and it is still a Tuesday night tradition. If you watch it I warn you-don't trust the embedded commercials. They always talk about how great the new extra gum is and how great gum is when you are trying to lose weight. . . so I was in the checkout line the other day and thought I would give Extra Berry Pearadise a try. First impression a little harder than normal extra gum, but whatever. Then I made the near fatal mistake of leaving the package in my car. Oh my goodness-when I got back in my car the smell was so atrocious I was gagging. For a joke I decided to put the pack of gum in a co-workers car to see if it had the same effect on her-and sadly it did! To make matters worst she went to pick up her pregnant sister to take her somewhere and she almost threw up for real! So of course, being me, I told the company their gum stinks-literally. We will see what they say. If nothing else at least the poor college student that works at Extra's customer service had a good laugh and chances are they went right home and bought a pack of gum to put in their roommates car! :) I know you are almost curious enough to try it huh-go ahead and try, but I warn you I took the gum out f my car over a week ago, and the smell is still lingering!

What's wrong

I am seeing life in a whole new perspective with this little bunch of students I have this year. I still do not understand their view of the universe, but maybe you could help me. As a language activity the other day we were looking at pictures that had things wrong with them-for example: there was a man fully clothed taking a bath, a man walking up the side of a building, a dog taking a boy on a walk. . .you get the idea. Usually this activity is easy for the students and we laugh about all the silly things happening in the pictures-this time I just plain laughed at the kids. Let me give you one (of many) comment. I showed them a picture of a girl dressed in a raincoat holding an umbrella with hotdogs falling from the sky. "What is wrong with this picture?" The students all looked at the picture for the longest time before one student asked "Where's the ketcup?" as if that was the biggest thing wrong with the picture. So-next time you find yourself in a hotdog rainstorm, please count yourself lucky if your hotdogs have ketcup on them-I mean it could be worst :)

Halloween Costume Help

So I already have a costume request (demand?) for next year but I have no idea what to wear this year. Let me tell you my costume dilemma that stems back to at least when I was 12 and maybe even to when I was 6 and was a red crayon (I won a best dressed prize for it and looking at the pictures I was very cute and what a creative idea but you should see my face-not so happy). For mutual when I was a Beehive we were invited to the big Halloween dance. I was so excited and thought about the costume for weeks. I had been hearing some of the cool girls throw around the idea of being a witch and I thought I could do that-so I did. Well I was the ugliest witch I have ever seen at Halloween and you should have seen the big hairy mole on my face-it was amazing-that is until I got to church. All those cool girls were indeed "witches" but the cutest most stylish witches you have ever seen. And that was just the beginning of my dislike for dressing up for Halloween-dressing up I like to do, but I just can't seem to master the technique of looking cute and sexy as I do it. So back to my current dilemma-Kendra has requested that I be the pirate ship next year (not the most attractive image as I envision it, but mom-once you figure out how to make Kate's birthday cake for this year do you think you can figure out how to make a pirate ship). Back to this year. . .I am open to suggestions. . .

WHAT TIME IS IT?

Since this is a public blog I will be careful so I don't get fired, but lets just say that this morning it was already light when I got out of bed. I faintly remember my alarm clock doing something this morning and I could almost testify in court that I only pushed the snooze, but well lets just say that I left the house for work/school without combing my hair or putting on deodorant (it is a little too personal to talk about underware so I won't), and lets just say that it was a good thing that it was a conference day and not a day with kids because. . . I have never done that before. Yikes-it is a good thing I got my hair cut and styled all cute yesterday so that it looked only 1/2 way cute or 1/2 way ugly today at school. Wow! What a way to start the day!

You all think bloggings fun

Okay okay so I'm posting something (sorry Luke no picture of a frog yet. I'll work on that one.) I do not have internet at home and blogs are banned at school so I get to blog only when I make it to the library and there is an empty computer (Othello is small but even so there are only 3 computers with the internet). On the days I am able to go to the library and do get a computer I have 30 whole minutes to try to post a blog of my own, check all of you blogs and try to get a comment or two on them too. Then you wonder why I am not reading books or updating my goodreads account-phew. Oh yeah, and to make matters worst the internet at the library has been down for 2 whole weeks (how dare they). This is hard work being in the blogging club-I'm not sure I'm cut out for all this stress and the pressure of it all. My favorite is when I call one of you (when I say you I am refering to my sisters-not sure who else is reading this but I am probably not refering to you-sorry no offense) anyways when I call and you cannot tell me stories because you tell me to just check your blog. Oh yeah sure that is not as easy as you think (see above note). Friday I was talking to Luke about the cool big frog that I caught. He got really excited and said "that's so cool Aunt Charity. Now all you need to do is take a picture of it and post it on your blog!"

Whack-a-rat

I found out that the noise that made me not be able to sleep on Thursday night was actually. . .RATS!! Yuck. I couldn't sleep Thurs. (actually slept fine Friday) and didn't realize what it was until Saturday night when I had to use ear plugs to finally get a little bit of rest. These rats are under my house crawling on my metal furnace venting and making so much noise-I am not sure what they are dropping and dragging and I'm not sure I want to know. Truthfully I never knew a rat could make that much noise! Mom asked me last night if I thought they were going to come out of the vent holes in my room I hadn't even thought of that-so thanks to that thought I couldn't sleep again last night. I was just wondering if any of you would like to come over to Aunt Charity's house for a sleepover tonight??? :)

"Teacher, is this right?"

Once a week I go from being the teacher to being the student. That was last night for me, and let me tell you as crazy and as hard as being the teacher sometimes is I still perfer it to the stress I felt as a student. I am taking an oil painting class every Monday from 7-10 (which by-the-way is way too late on a school night :)). This was my 3rd class and our 2nd class on our actual painting. It seems like I did everything wrong yesterday-first I put on too much paint the teacher told me it would be okay but I don't her to just call it okay I want it to be called amazing, so I tried to wipe it off and then it looked "okay" to me. Then we started making a bush which I thought looked okay, but when she said it would be okay she came over, asked if she could show me something and then completely took off my whole bush-I had to start over! (I am needing a defination on the word okay-her idea and my idea of it are completely different.) At the end of the night I left feeling quite proud of myself though-I put my picture up (it still has another week to go, but I still have to showcase it every week) and I think it looks okay! (Well if you take into account that I am not artistic by nature and it is my first attempt-I actually think it looks pretty AMAZING!)

I think I survived

Just finished my first week of school (but really Kindergarten only went one day-Friday) and I think I survived-we didn't lose any kids, only 2 in tears and for only part of the day, and only 1 child with wet pants. All in all I would say it was successful. I woke up early Friday morning with every intention of exercising before I went to school but just couldn't get out of bed-and then was glad I didn't. I sweated all day (not that you want to know that, but. . .its my blog I can write what I want too :)). I felt like I was performing. I had to keep the attention of 26 5 year olds (which is not easy let me tell you) and try to keep them from asking-when is lunch, when is it time to go home, where is my mom. . . I am just glad I wore black so it wasn't completely obvious and I tried to stay far enough away from people that they couldn't smell me :). Aren't you glad you weren't there!

Wonder Wind 1250 (have you even heard of that brand before?)

So I have a bone to pick with mom. I have been using grandpa's old blowdryer since I moved into the ranch over 4 years ago. He passed away 10 years before that and who knows when the blowdryer was purchased, so needless to say it is a bit antique but I have never had a problem with it-that is until about a week ago. I was defrosting my freezer and Mom was at my house. I was trying Dawn's method of defrosting using my blowdryer when mom made the comment that my blowdryer was really old and didn't sound very good. I thought it sounded normal. Well that must have hurt my blowdryers feelings (if blowdryers have feelings) because exactly 2 days later my blowdryer died:(. Now I am not able to use the term "blowdryed my hair" or "blew dry my hair" (Scott did you ever determine which one was more correct). Wet hair thrown back in a pony tail is the way I'm going. I can't quite bring myself to purchase a new blowdryer-anyone know if there is an old one for sale on ebay?:)

I almost DRANK A WHOLE GALLON OF MILK almost ALL BY MYSELF!

Unless you read between the lines you should be very proud of this grand accomplishment, but for those of you who are less than impressed let me give you some history so you too can glow with pride. I am not a milk drinker. I usually am impressed with myself if I drink a cup a week. I generally have an almost full 1/2 gallon of sour milk in my fridge at all times (just ask my dad-he has too often found this out the hard way). I always have good intentions and buy milk with an expiration date at least 2 weeks out, but even with only that amount I usually only drink a cup or 2 before it goes bad-this time, I drank it all by myself (well except for the glass dad drank and the 3/4 cup unfortunately did go sour). Good job Charity! Now please pass the cookies.