application

after being attacked by a mountain lion and experiencing a fire hydrant explode in my face, i'm feeling a little discouraged.

okay- so maybe it wasn't a mountain lion, but not much different- a 2 1/2 year old. yep, a "sweet" little girl with curly brown locks and cheeks you want to kiss (or scratch... haha just kidding. really, totally kidding.) got mad at me and let the claws out straight across my face. ouch. oh yeah, and my arm is displaying a nice little scar from her nails as well- seriously.

and the fire hydrant- well, just another 2 1/2 year old. who got mad. and spit at me. in my face. on purpose. yes, i'm serious.

so i was feeling like i wanted to throw myself on the classroom floor in a temper tantrum stomping and screaming- then crying. but i didn't. i just sat and watched as the little kids turned into monkey and lions attacking everything (like in the cafeteria scene in the movie "mean girls"... are you with me now?) my eyes started getting watery and i thought- amy pull yourself together, don't let a 2 1/2 year old get the best of you. or 8 2 1/2 year olds at that.

and then a sweet little face came over, wrapped her arms around me and said "don't worry ms tinez, it's okay" it made me want to cry all over again for a different reason. it was so sweet. so sweet.

so- i'm praying for better days to come and for no more physical attacks or scars.

i was thinking to myself, why am i doing this again? and then i remembered the day i applied for the job- i was so nervous and excited. anxious for a new adventure.... i thought i needed to remind myself of that day- so i thought i'd share my thoughts with you as well. keep reading for some interview tips and tricks. haha

{{today- Friday 8.28.09

I put myself back out in the real world.

I applied for a job. and I was nervous. really nervous.

Let's back up a little. I was searching craigslist for an entertainment center/TV stand and thought I'd take a gander at the part time job postings. I hadn't exactly been searching for a job, but keeping my eye out for something that'd work for me. There just happened to be a job posted for a position at a school, part time, perfect hours, about 12 minutes from my house....um, perfect? So, I called to get some details. They said the next step would be to go to the school and fill out an application.

So, now we're back to today. I updated my resume, printed it off on some nice crisp card stock, pulled out the dress pants and off I went. The whole time I was driving thinking, am I really doing this? Do I really want to do this? What am I doing? Why am I freaking out? Calm down Amy.... be calm, cool, collected. Then I started thinking of other "C" words I should be. Caring, charismatic, confident, charming... then I realized my mouth was dry and my palms were getting clammy, oh great- now my hands were joining in the "C" word fun.

Before I could turn around and clear my head I was there, in the parking lot. Now what? Get out of the car and show them what you have to offer! Exiting the car, opening the school door. You can do this, baby steps. One foot in front of the other. left, right, left... Oh this school looks cute! It's small, I like small. They have cute black shelves with giant "ABC" letters on the wall. I like this place. The second set of doors was locked. I rang the bell. After 30 minutes the door opened. (Okay, well it was probably 2 minutes but it seemed a lot longer.) I smiled and opened my mouth but the words didn't come out. And then, they all came out- not waiting their turn, just bursting out all together. The lady smiled at me, understanding my crazy face she kindly handed me an application and a clipboard. She had to help with the bus, but her boss would be out to meet with me in a few minutes.

And then I was there, in the school, sitting on a bench with an application in my lap. I stared at the application waiting for it to magically fill itself in. didn't work. Name, address, phone number... I can do this. Previous jobs... okay, still going. Oh shoot, i should have brought some whiteout. I wrote the dates backwards, now my application will be the one with the scribbles. Then the questions started and my lack of sleep was kicking in and I had to reread the same sentence 7 and 1/2 times for it to register. And then 4 more times to see if it could make sense. It didn't. So I did my best. References? They can't be my family... oh no. I don't know anybody. Do you think they'd notice if I made them up? Martha Stewart, Betty Crocker, Helen Keller.... hm. maybe not. Okay- so I know some people. But how do I choose who to put? I shouldn't put people from my past jobs because maybe they (I smell snicker doodle cookies. yum.) already consider those a reference. I settled with someone who lives in Germany and two ladies I haven't talked to for quite some time. nice. And, done. finally. ...that was worse than the ACT.

There she was, the boss. She was ready to talk. She glanced at my application. Asked a question about the other school I worked at, what age were the children I worked with? Then she asked what age I wanted to work with. I knew she was going to ask me that, and I couldn't think of an answer. Any of them you'll put me with as long as I can work at this cute school. please? So, I answered "I'd be happy where you need me."

I'm going back on Monday for a "working interview". I'll spend 30 minutes in a toddler class then 30 minutes in a preschool class. What do I wear? She said, "anything casual that you can get down on the floor, possibly dirty..." I figured if I showed up in Jeff's Nike shorts and my bright orange "Gasparilla" shirt that wouldn't go over too well. ...Outfit yet to be decided.

lessons learned from today's interview:

-bring whiteout

-stick an ice cube down your shirt to keep you alert and awake

-take a list of references with names, numbers and addresses

-don't print your resume on sparkly pink paper (okay, so didn't do that... but would've been fun)

-breathe and relax... and when all else fails, smile.}}

mountain memories

i loved living in utah, and will someday be back. i miss utah a lot.

especially this time of year when i can picture the leaves changing into their autumn shades.

i loved to watch the seasons transform.

jeff and i started to enjoy hiking in the canyons. they are so beautiful. the streams, the trees and flowers, the animals, the waterfalls.... mostly the crisp air and freshness of it all.

i just happened to find these pictures on an old camera i was about to get rid of, glad i checked it out first. these are from october 2005 in the ogden canyon.

here we are, we reached the waterfall.

here i am in all my dorky glory... proudly sportin' the layton lancer shirt.

(funny thing is i put that same tshirt on the other day to go for a bike ride)

i am most likely celebrating the end of the hike in this picture.

don't get me wrong, i said i loved hiking, and that is true...

but i didn't always and my body doesn't love it, so i do what i can.

but then of course there's my husband.... a non stop energizer battery must power up his heart. he's crazy for the outdoors and exerting all his energy. i walk slowly behind and snap photos of him running instead of actually joining in on the running.

see, don't you think it's beautiful?

don't worry utah, i'll be back in your canyons at some point of this life!

{i think i'll always be a utah girl at heart... }

remembered.

our nation, our people, our history

dramatically changed

8 years ago

how is it possible that it's been 8 years?

i can still remember that day.

wondering what would happen next.

afraid to fly,

afraid for public gatherings.

i was stuck to the tv

not sure where my place was in all of it

i wanted to help, but how?

i prayed.

a lot.

i was grateful,

for my family.

for my freedoms.

for my safety.

i loved seeing the flag proudly waving,

men, women, and children

pulling together to unite our broken safety.

now, today, 8 years after

where do we stand?

i feel like the pride and connectedness have faded

the flags don't fly as high,

or as bold.

where is my place in all of this now?

birthday's past

I love birthdays, like I mentioned here. They are so fun and magical. With only one day left until I'm a year older (and wiser too...) I thought I'd take a look at all of the years leading up to tomorrow. It was so fun for me to see these crazy pictures and to take myself back to tasting the frosting, and smelling chlorine or blown out candles. (and it was funny to see how much my handwriting and scrap booking style have changed through the years as well.)

So, come with me... on another journey if you'd like. Everyone likes a party right?! Well, here's a few years full of parties to enjoy...

Here it is, the start of my favorite holiday!

Happy 1st Birthday self! I know that's me... but isn't she "cute as a button"?! (notice the background scrapbook paper?) And I love that pink frilly dress.

Here we are, at my 3rd birthday party. I loved Sesame Street (notice the Sesame Street party hats and playhouse in the back left corner? Oh yeah.) That little blue/tan table we're gathered around still resides in my parent's basement. (Mom and Dad- please take note I'd like to inherit that...)We licked up my favorite ice cream that day, mint chocolate chip. yummy.

Now, I'm not 100% sure on this, but I'm pretty sure this is my 4th birthday. And I'm still lovin' the birthday crowns. (check out below... my 23rd birthday)

And of course, now we visit the ever favorite Chuck E Cheese. Oh man, I loved that place! (and their pizza!) And then it's back to the house for one of my favorite gifts ever... the Jeep. So many memories were made cruisin' around in that 4 wheeled little beauty. (not only did I enjoy seeing my handwriting and scrap booking styles change, but it's fun to see the style of the house decorations change. Gotta love the 80's.)

My 6th Birthday- the year for Little Mermaid. (I was obsessed. and I did a pretty good Ariel if I do say so myself.) There's me with yet another birthday crown, and my sweet dog Dandy. I miss you Dandy. A lot of birthdays involved swimming, because unlike Ariel I wanted to be part of the water world. I'm on the left, you wont miss me... my swim suit is the one screaming at you in green.

We fast forward to my 8th Birthday and Beauty and the Beast. I really loved those princesses. This was the birthday of the bike. Isn't that one of the birthdays every kid dreams of? Or at least one of the presents... seeing it with a big ole' ribbon coming out from it's secret hiding place. Or, walking down the stairs and seeing Santa left one for you under your tree. Well if it's not part of every kids dreams then I'm not sure what would be... I loved that bike! And there's also one example of the amazing cakes my momma always made, she's so talented. My family always made birthdays so special.

Sadly, I think this is the last of the princess parties. This year I turned 9 and dressed like Snow White for the day and all my friends came as dwarfs. I think I remember going on a scavenger hunt this year, but I'm not sure. I know we swam, that's a given. And of course we ate another deliciously cute cake mom made.

Happy 9th birthday- yay! This is the year we went to the circus. Have I ever mentioned how much I love the circus? Well, I do- I love it lots and lots. We started the party at my older sister's dorm room with a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. I'm pretty sure this is the year I was given my treasured Samantha. (All American Girl Doll) She was my baby.' I would sit and brush her hair, make sure she was dressed in just the right outfit... I cherished her. Then, at the circus I got to choose a friend to go down and be in a little parade in the spotlight. I remember being so nervous to choose a friend because there were 2 with me, so I'd automatically leave one out. To tell you the truth, I don't remember who I chose now... but, it was fun and the 3 of us girls and my family had a blast!

For my 10th birthday I was given a new bedroom set! I remember being so excited. And it was a big year because it was my first double digit year- my parents made that really special. That bedroom set had a good life. It was awesome too, it was a bunk bed but the bottom was a futon... so it was like I had my own couch to hang out on in my room. And a dresser and a desk to match too. I loved it! The dresser and desk both moved in with Jeff and I until we moved across the country... we sold them on good ole' Craigslist. The bed was passed on to a family- I remember the little girl was about the same age I was when I first got it. I hope she loved it as much as I did!

My 11th birthday was a flower theme. Every girl was given a name tag with the name of a flower on it and some small silk flowers inside. We had to call each other by our new flower names. Each time we said their real name, we had to take one of our little silk flowers out of our name tag and give it to the other girl. I don't think I was very good at that game. My mom always went all out... as you can tell by now I'm sure. That's a cake I'm sniffin... yes, a real cake with a garden of silks on top. As each girl left they were given a bag with a jar of candy, some flower stickers, a flower pen in a mini pot and another pot that we decorated. It's funny how much I still remember those gift bags... mom, do you still have that pot?

(and yeah, I know you're jealous of my bags... you should be.)

Here we are for my 12th birthday party! Let's go bowling!

And yes, that is a cake my mother made. A bowling pin- she's crazy and so creative... I love it!

(Mom, I probably didn't appreciate all of this as much as I should have during the moment and I'm sorry for that. Looking back on all of it now and knowing the work you must've gone through- wow. Thank you! And thanks to you too daddy for providing the mula!)

(can you find me? I'm the one in the orange with a silly white thing on the top of my head.... what is that?)

I'm not so sure about the next few years... 13, 14, 15. I know I had a swim party one year- but it wasn't at our house, it was up the street at the Rasmussen's. We didn't have our pool built yet. And I know there was a surprise party in the mix somewhere. (maybe that was part of the swim thing... I don't know.) But, I do know I loved them. and I'm grateful for my family for always making me feel so special.

(oh yum, i love ice cream cake!! Yeah, and I know those braces are super cool.... uh, right.)

My sweet 16! That was fun. I loved all of those balloons and the banner... and there was candy all over the floor. The "kid's play" mix with tootsie rolls, I LOVE that mix- I don't really know why I like it so much but I do, I do. We also had a sleepover this night and did a midnight frosty run to Wendy's. I'm not sure how I remember that- but then I can't really recall my 13th, 14th and 15th birthdays... but maybe it's because food's involved, who knows.

My 17th, 18th and 19th sort of fall into that category with the 13th, 14th and 15th. I remember one of those birthdays (maybe my 18th?) I was living in Florida and my family sent me a birthday in a box. It was awesome, I loved it! I opened up the box and a balloon almost punched me in the face! The box was full of party hats and noise makers, candy and confetti... and presents too. That was a lot of fun. I remember feeling like it was going to be such a different birthday not being "home"- this was my first away from home... and it was great thanks to a birthday in a box and the Packer people.

I was turnin' 20! This year Jeffy celebrated with us. Bryan (jeff's brother) was there too. We swam- see, I told ya I liked to swim on my birthdays. And we had a barbecue with the family. Mom made a delicious brownie/cheesecake... oh man, my mouth waters just thinking about it. Wish I could eat that tomorrow!

The big ole' 21 came with a surprise trip to Disney World- the happiest place on earth! And a giant card made by my sweet class I loved so much (yes, I'm wearing a birthday crown and sitting at a mini table...and yeah, I know I look like a goof). And a delicious (and I mean really delicious) chocolate cake made by Chef Rand.

Jeffy surprised me with a trip to the beautiful Savannah Georgia for my 22nd. The picture on the left is technically on my birthday because it was so late, or so early- however you wanna look at it. We had a yummy snack of Teddy Grahams and milk- oh we love that. And the next morning we were off! If you haven't been to Savannah, I highly recommend it. It is filled with shopping and photos waiting to be taken... and candy stores, you know how I loved that!

and now... my 23rd. It was the day I was a pampered princess. A massage, a manicure and a trip to one of my favorite restaurants. It was wonderful! And- once again, I'm proudly sportin' the birthday crown. (this is one of my favorites though, handmade by the one and only Jeff) We also got to spend time with the Packer family eating yummy food and homemade ice cream. Look how much those kids have grown!

and soon there will be another year of pictures to post... but until then, I need to get some rest. That was a lot of fun, but so many parties has me plum tuckered out...

what's your favorite way to spend your birthday?

scaredy dog

isn't he cute?

he's such a funny dog.

he hates the storms. and here in the sunshine state we get lots of storms. thunder roars, lightning strikes, rain pounds on the roof and this little guy shakes like a leaf on a tree.

he runs to me and tries to get as close to me as possible.

i was doin a little craft on the floor in my pjs (because that's how I work best) when a big storm came through. ziggie was sleeping in the corner... but he popped up and jumped on my lap so fast it was all a blur.

i mean, really on my lap. he wouldn't move, and i felt bad for him so i didn't want to move him.

although it was a little difficult to work on my project with a fur ball in my way i couldn't help but leave him there- he was so cute.

and he was soooo asleep. i could feel him falling deeper and deeper asleep as his weight got heavier and heavier on my leg.

soon my leg was dead. but he was still so cute.

and for him to be this asleep during a storm is a rare find, so i didn't want to ruin his little nap.

i thought about trying to get a way to my camera to capture this moment that made me laugh inside and happy on the outside too... but that'd wake him up. luckily i had my phone right by me and that little camera froze him on my lap forever.

oh, little ziggie- i hope you always run to me when you're scared.

girls just wanna have fun

Last week I was lucky enough to have a fun sleepover with my nieces.

we LOVE sleepovers!

We have so much fun together being goofy. I had talked to the girls earlier in the week and asked them what they wanted to do... Mekena had it all planned out. We were going to eat Angel Hair for dinner (because that's her favorite. not spaghetti, not pasta... angel hair.) play games, color, watch a movie, eat dessert, watch another movie and eat popcorn. Then in the morning we'd eat waffles, watch a movie, and play more games.

We started the night with a trip to Blockbuster and the market. Each girl picked out a movie to rent, their choice of cereal and their choice of treat. Mekena chose "Mickey Mouse: Halloween Fun", Reese's Puffs and chocolate ice cream. Kirra chose "a Bug's Life", Lucky Charms and popsicles. As you can see, the girls thoroughly enjoyed the popsicles and wanted to do a little photo shoot once I pulled out the camera.

We also had some fun with photo booth. (don't mind the no makeup and lack of picture quality... the photos are full of happy memories and that's all that matters to me anyways)

Of course we watched movies and ate popcorn as well.

The next morning the girls had a pillow fight with Uncle Jeffy, we ate some yummy waffles (and cereal), colored, jumped on the couch, and took a trip to the library and read some good Strega nona books.

I love these little girls. We have so much fun together. They are two of my best friends and I am so lucky to be able to have this time to be so close to them.

Thanks Mekena and Kirra for always knowing how to bring a smile to my face and warm my heart. I love you lots and lots!

party time

last week we celebrated my sweet nephew's first birthday! We had a great time and it was so fun to see him enjoy his little dump truck we bought him.

Everybody was ready to party and have a good time! Even Chiso wanted to join in on the fun!! Oh wait, not everybody.... the birthday boy was a little sleepy. Should we party with out him?

He could either read our minds or smell the chocolate cake because he woke up just in time!

He fixed up his party hat and was anxiously awaiting to get his hands on some chocolate.

oh.... the yumminess is gettin' closer.

...he's almost got it!

here's uncle jeffy and kirra celebrating with some cupcakes.

I LOVED watching Reef eat his cake- it was one of the best things ever!

thanks little man for letting us be a part of your special day.

we love you!