Haven't hit the two year mark yet.

So, here I am living in "fabulous" Las Vegas. Recently, when I mentioned I didn't like living here to someone, they asked how long I'd lived here. I answered "A year and a half." They said, "Oh, well, you have to give it two years." Umm...sorry, but it shouldn't take that long to start to like a place. If you are living in a city for more than a year and don't like it, you get OUT. I don't know. If a city takes two years to live in before you start to like it, then you've moved to the wrong city.

I love Katie Smith SO much, and one time I was telling her how I kind of feel like I can't get people to really TALK to me here -- like have meaningful conversation about noteworthy topics. Her response while laughing was, "How awful! It's like living in a special ed class!" I loved it. I almost died.

My second graders and the attribute set...

Me with my second graders!

So, I don't really ever plan on teaching, BUT if I do, I want to teach 3rd, 2nd, or Kindergarten (first grade is just an annoying grade to teach, because half of them are reading and half of them aren't). Right now I'm in a 5th grade class, but I still go and visit and will sometimes teach my second graders from last semester. I like the little kids, because if you are going to be surrounded by kids all day, I think they've at least got to be cute still - they aren't cute once you're above 3rd. Notice the butterfly attribute set on the board behind us. It was a lesson I did on sorting (looking at only one characteristic/property) and classifying (looking at more than one characteristic/property). They loved the lesson and were so cute about it.

My favorite things...

Some recently decided upon favorite things of mine...AND...some recent acquisitions.


Mac makeup - I've always looked to Sephora for my makeup needs - wearing Stila, or Benefit, but I've had a change in opinion, and now really love my Mac foundation, and I've also recently bought a purple liner that I'm really excited about. Oh, and I bought a conditioning lip balm that is great too.

Soma bras - I was wanting to explore my options a little bit. I walked into Soma the other day with really no time to allow for delving into bra fitting, but after describing my requirements for a bra, one was immediately placed into my hands to try on. She basically said it was the most amazing bra she'd ever worn. So, I tried it on. I was sold on it immediately.

Michael Cera and Juno. I love this movie. I want to meet someone who doesn't even have to try hard to be cool.

Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume. So, I couldn't believe when my friend Jessica got me this perfume! What an incredibly nice gesture just to say thank you for throwing her a birthday party! I really love it.

Chi flat iron! My flat iron died on Friday, and so, my hair stylist is getting me a Chi, which I will have on Wednesday! I'm so excited!

I am passionate about Trader Joe's. I seriously am just amazed when I find yet another product I love so completely and am devoted to. Some of my favorite things...Tomato Basil Bisque Soup, the spinach salad with 1/2 a Turkey Gouda Sandwich (it's all packaged together, so it's a perfect complete lunch!), Guiltless White Cheddar Potato chips, chocolate ice cream bon bons, and there's SO much more.

Dole grapefruit cups. I get these at Costco. They are fantastic, and grapefruit is so healthy.

What are your favorite things?

My "to do" list for spring break.

So, this week has been awful, and I know it's not over, but most of the hard stuff is finished for me, and regretfully my blogging has seriously fallen behind. I so love blogging! I hope I haven't lost my readers! I'm still reading yours!

I teach one lesson tomorrow and then I'll be done with everything until after my spring break. I have been adding things to my mental list of things to do on my spring break for some time, but I've decided it's time to get it all down.

So, I'm not going anywhere for spring break. I realize this is probably pretty lame, but I seriously just feel the need to regroup. This semester has been killing me, and I'm at a breaking point. Additionally, I didn't feel I could justify spending money to go anywhere because I'm so poor. However, I apparently could justify this last week when I bought two new pairs of jeans, which were "grown-up jeans," and therefore, expensive.

Let me just explain that I've never let myself buy nice jeans (well, I bought Luckys when I got back from my mission, but I weighed like 115, and that didn't last long). I just have this totally messed up notion (I realize. Remember I grew up around surrounded by skeleton ballet dancers) that I have to be really tiny if I'm going to let myself pay that much for new jeans. However, what's the result? I can't wear them when I start eating again. So, I got down to 120 (for like a day) and that was the weight I've told myself I had to be to buy nice jeans. However, I feel okay about myself at 122 (what I'm at now) - just no more. So, I've decided I look good at 12o, or 122, and that I deserved them.

A couple times I've gotten down to 120 before and gone to try jeans on, but I just chicken out on spending that much money. So, I went to Nordstrom's, had a great girl helping me figure out which were looking good, and which weren't, and then put them on hold for a week (Sevens, and Joe's). This time I was NOT going to chicken out though. I went back before the week was up and bought the Sevens and I decided against the Joe's and got some Paiges. They are SO great and it feels amazing to have nice jeans! Well, I don't have them yet -- they are both being altered, but I'm excited. Here are some pictures (not on me). The Sevens are kind of high waisted wide, wide, leg trouser jeans, and the Paige's are also a really dark wash, and just a good basic jean, without being boring, I think. They fit great. Okay, sorry for all that...

Sevens (left) Paiges (right)

Now for my spring break list:

Car issues (headlight burned out. oil change, tire rotation)...I HATE dealing with cars.

Hair appointment (I think I'm getting more and more gray hair and I'm depressed about it) on Wednesday.

Blogging. I will get all caught up I promise.

Read. I so love books, and recently I am bombarded with only my texts books and children's literature, which I love, but I feel the need to read something "adult," and would really like some suggestions from people. I do have a million books I need to finish, but I want something that will be really engaging.

These are the books currently on my nightstand. And actually, 3 have been added to the top since I took this picture.

Television. That's right. It's on my list, but I honestly don't know if I'm really going to get to it. My plan has been to watch all of Heroes Season 1, because all the current season is still on our DVR, because I can't watch it yet. Oh, and Arrested Development is on the list too.

Getting caught up/ahead on school stuff.

Appointment with my endodontist in St. George. Yeah, my parents are (understandably so) really careful about who they let work on my mouth, because I've had a lot of work done. So, I have to go to St. George for a check-up with my endodontist. And, it's Easter, and I think Hunter will come down from Provo. Of course, Spencer doesn't know about this plan yet, but he won't even notice. That's for another posting...

Take other Gap jeans I have to make them my jeans to wear with flats. The new jeans I bought are being altered so I can wear them with heals. Remember, I'm REALLY short.

I'm actually really excited for my spring break! And I'm getting started early! I started this blog posting yesterday, so my lesson I had to teach is over, and tomorrow I just have to go to work for a couple hours, and that's it! My jeans should definitely be ready, so maybe I'll pick those up tomorrow too! Yeah!

Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cake has brought much contentment. Shout outs to Mary for the recipe! I don't even like cake and I seriously can't get enough of this cake. The recipe is SO easy. I don't bake, so anything I make must be extremely fast and easy.

The recipe is:

Devil's Food Cake Mix

4 eggs

1/2 c. warm water

1/2 c. oil

1 c. sour cream

Chocolate Chips

Chocolate sprinkles on top too!

Seriously, just throw it all together, mix it up and then bake at 350 for maybe like 25-30 minutes (just watch it). You'll want to drink the batter, but gross - don't do that.

I've made this cake twice in the past two weeks -- once for my friend Jessica Whipple's birthday party, and then for Loree for her birthday this past weekend.

Events of the Week

So, I had so many ideas of things to blog about during my rollarblading on Saturday. I kept thinking..."Oh, I'll blog about that, and that, and that." And now it has all escaped me!

However, the events of this week have been interesting, and I'm remembering now that some of them were those I thought about during my rollarblading outing.

Events of this week:

Monday: I didn't go to FHE. I had to stress about teaching a lesson on outlining the next day to 5th graders (Note: I don't like 5th graders - I much prefer little kids) that I was unprepared for and was going to be supervised. We went over the different components (main topic - I, II, III; subtopic - A, B, C, and details - 1, 2, 3) and then I read them a paragraph I wrote on different Ethnic food as I presented a little PowerPoint. And my supervisor decides she needs to leave before my lesson is over, so she doesn't even hear the paragraph, or see the PowerPoint, or even know how I am going to assess them.

Tuesday: I'm sorry to rant here, but I just thought this conversation was SO bizarre that I have to comment on it. So there's this crazy girl in my literacy development class who thinks she knows everything. And she walks into the restroom as I am washing my hands and says, (sarcastically) "So, Meredith your favorite professor is here today." And I am like "What? What are you talking about?" because I really like the professor who was subbing that day, who happened to be our professor for a different literacy class last semester. So, apparently last semester at some point during lecture I ask Lindee (this professor) what she did, because... I wasn't sure if she taught in a classroom, or if she was a reading specialist, etc., and I was just curious. So, this crazy girl (and I'm sure her little obnoxious posse that all sit with her at that table) said that she thought I didn't think Lindee was QUALIFIED to be teaching our class, and thought I would actually express that TO HER FACE! This girl is ridiculous. She bugs. So, I say "Umm, no, I really like Lindee, and like I would say that to her face." She's just ridiculous, and not smart. Could this be an accurate description? Who would think I would say that? And EVERYBODY loves Lindee. She's an extremely kind professor, who is extremely knowledgeable on the subject matter. So, I basically say that to her in the bathroom and just walk out. Whatever. She is a graduate assistant for Dr. Ford who is over all the graduate studies in the Curriculum and Instruction Department, so she probably just thinks she's pretty special.

Wednesday: Totally an exhausting day. I had to meet my class at the Dolphin Habitat Exhibit at the Mirage at 9:00. Afterwards I went directly to work from 12-6, studied a little, and then went to my class from 7-9:30. Wednesdays are LONG days. The field experience trip was okay, but really kind of redundant and the information they presented on how to bring your class on a field trip to the Habitat could've taken 30 minutes, instead of the 1 hour and 30 minutes that they took. We did get to look around the habitat before the boring lecture, but the tiger area wasn't even open.

Thursday: In my 5th grade class then to Sears Auto Center where I apparently can get life stories out of people (this is actually NO surprise...frequently I elicit life stories being told to me for some reason).

Friday: Work then temple then home...watched too much Oprah. Loree and Preston came home and made fun of me for watching Oprah but also because the t.v. happened to have been tuned to "Dirty Dancing." I DO hate this movie, and I can't even believe the t.v. was on this for even a moment. I was embarassed when they came in, so I had to change it right away, but I seriously did just want to see that one scene. They ruined everything.
*Note: Loree and I have decided we are over Oprah. Embarrasingly enough, we've been DVRing it, but I think enough is enough. I never watched it consistently before. Why the need to do so now? I think it's just because we are DVRing it.

Saturday: Rollarblading, laundry, cleaning, sushi, Juno with my roommate Loree. I really love this movie. The dialogue is so great.

Sunday: church, homework (Hunter helped me with an Excel assignment), Grammys.

That was my week!

East Coast Snob

If Jane Partridge Anderson is allowed to be an "east coast snob," than so am I!

That is the subject of today's blog posting.

Apparently, Jon (Jane's husband) tells Jane she is an east coast snob. For those of us who've grown up on the east, I don't think we can help it. We just know how to value the finer things in life. These things do not include the desert, four wheeling (I didn't even know what it was before I moved to Nevada), or as Elise puts it when I was complaining about Las Vegas being trashy, "Well, what did you expect! You moved to Nevada. It's full of white trash!" (Elise is from outside of Carson City, Nevada - Dayton, where they just put in the only traffic light). We also know the importance of contributing to society in a valuable manner.

One time this girl (from L.A. - gag) was almost arguing with me/making fun of me because she didn't understand why I would say that I wanted to "BE" Pam on "The Office" (for obvious reasons). She may not understand the depth of my crush on Jim, but she mostly was just talking about living in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and was talking about conferences she has been to for work on the east coast where apparently everybody looks "awful, and unkept, and not put together." Oh my gosh! Shocking! Some people have things they care about more than just looking good! I think Pam looks great, and if I could have Jim, and look like Pam I would most definitely be overjoyed.

This all being said, Katie and I decided Saturday that we are moving to San Francisco in January 2009 (probably...you all know I can't make decisions in my life). I can live in San Francisco. I was born there. It's kind of like the D.C. of the west coast, right?

Now, I think there are LOTS of places I could live in the country. I really might even like the midwest. I appreciate small, rural communities. I think I'd love to live on a farm or ranch. I just think I really need a metropolitan city nearby with museums and culture, etc. I think some cities tend to be more "family friendly" and I'd really like to be in a city with this quality. No, I don't have my own family, but since I'm in the field of education, and because I might have a family one day, it matters. Basically, I think northern Cali is a great fit, or the further west than McLean areas in D.C. where it is more rural. Growing up, I was a little overrun with the D.C. snobbery...there's a fair amount of it. I think I'll be going to visit Kenzie and Jeremy in the next couple months and they are loving Austin. I hear great things about Austin. It's affordable, cultured, diverse. I think I could maybe live in Texas.

What are your thoughts on the matter? The matter of east coast vs. west coast?