I dare you not to love this

I'm more of a blog stalker than an actually blogger

I am a blogging s-l-a-c-k-e-r. I don't have any excuses to give as to why I haven't been blogger. But, in case you are wondering, here's what's been going on.

This girl is back!!! I've missed her tons. So happy she's home!

I spent the night in Cedar because get this, my brother is going to SUU! I'm super excited for him. Anyway, Cedar was fun. I stayed with this girl in her super amazing bed and breakfast apartment. Good times.

Since I am on a one year contract with my school what that means is that after June 3, I am jobless. I have been working on updating my resume, gathering recommendations and letters, and just basically getting ready to apply everywhere again. I am confidant and I am actually kind of excited. It feels like kind of an adventure. Who knew?

I've been on my Lindy hopping craze. I dance 2 nights a week and I wish I could go more! I've learned to swivel so I look more legitimate. I almost bought a plane ticket to New Orleans to dance at The Fleur de Lindy at the beginning of April. It was too much money though.

I love watching videos on youtube and trying to figure out how I can be like the pros. It's fun.

This is my favorite video of my favorite couple, Thomas Blacharz and Alice Mei:

I just want to dance like this. That's all I ask...ha! If you ever want to go dancing with me, give me a call!

I've also been trying out blues dancing. Not as fun as Lindy, but still fun. You can come blues dancing with me sometime too.

Other than that, there's not a whole lot going on with my life.

Dos cosas

1. Why my class is awesome:

We have been talking about electric circuits in science. I assigned them to construct a quiz board where if you answer the questions correctly, the light will light up. This is what they brought back today. Pretty cool eh? The piano is pretty ingenious. She attached brads from the music to the keys on the piano with wire. When you play the right note, the light will light up.

2. Today for Music Monday, I give you my lady Regina Spektor. My mom is so funny. She says "Every song I listen to by her starts off good, but then she all freaky!" Haha. Here's a not so freaky song, with super good lyrics and a good message. It's called "The Call" from The Chronicles of Narnia. I love this song!

Music Monday: Brandon Flowers

I know I've already blogged about Brandon Flowers, but after hearing a guy in my ward quote a Killers song in his talk yesterday at church I've been listening to The Killers/BF all day. Love him!

I can't wait for The Killers new CD, but I love Flamingo. Plus this song is so great. Plus did I mention that I love him?

"No sequins, feathers, low v-necks, or male high heels"

A few years ago, I kinda got all excited about some Lindy Hop videos on Youtube (I even blogged about it) Well, I've secretly (maybe not so secretly) wanted to learn how. My ward's Relief Society president Lindys and Hops like a pro so I asked her where I could learn. She invited me to go to these classes they do once a week at BYU. They say that at these classes there are no sequins, feathers, low v-necks, or male high heels. I'm all for that.

I went last Tuesday and holy cow IT IS SO MUCH FUN!! For reals. I only learned a few things, but I was mostly amazed at all the neat dancing. Dayla, the RS president, told me they asked her to coach a beginning team. She told me to try out, I was kinda skeptical because of my previous dance experiences, but she talked me into it. They started off the auditions with a super fast song...think of the first video I linked. I was like "heck to the no". Then they all got in a circle and did all these crazy lifts and dips and spins and claps and stomps and again I was like "heck to the no". Not because it wasn't super awesome, it was because I was still like "k, is it rock step triple turn or rock step turn triple?" So I just watched. Let me tell you, this does not equal this. It's not even close.

Anyway, I realized I was pretty much way over my head in this whole auditioning thing so I decided to leave and wait until I could do those crazy lifts and dips and spins and claps and stomps. I told Dayla my plan and she told me the team she was coaching was going to be for beginning beginners like me who want to learn, and that she was going to put a good word in for me. Later that night, she texted me and told me I made the team.

So long story short, I need to buy me some Keds (cause that's what Lindy Hoppers wear yo!)

Music Monday: The Swell Season

K so I blog about music a lot. (I also start my posts with "K so" a lot) I love music. So I decided to share my love on my blog. Each week I'll share a song of the week...maybe more. Not that anyone really reads anymore, at least I'll have documentation of my life, right? Anyway, I give you The Swell Season.

Have you seen the movie "Once"? If you haven't and you're not a fan of the "f" word or love stories that don't end the way you want it to, I don't recommend it. But the music--holy cow! I love the soundtrack. The two main characters are played by Glen Hansard (Irish) and Marketa Irglova (Czech), two musician friends. Glen Hansard was the lead singer of the Irish group called The Frames and after the movie, they had Marketa Irglova feature in a few of their songs. Glen and Marketa then formed their own group called The Swell Season.

This song, "Falling Slowly" is like my favorite song ever. Like I can't even explain or describe how much I LOVE this song. It won the Oscar for best song and American Idol can't get enough of it (those versions are almost as good, Kris Allen's is actually the superior version from AI, but not even close to the real thing) The song originally comes from Once, but they tweeked it a bit and rerecorded it as a Swell Season song. The video is from a few years ago, but still amazing!

Enjoy!

(p.s. If you like this, you should check out the whole Once soundtrack. You won't be disappointed!)

New Year's: Look Not behind Thee

This year will be a great one! I foresee some big things happening in 2011 and I am super excited! One thing is a little project my brother Scott and I are cooking up. It is a true Houghton specialty to cook up little business ideas. He's using it as he DECA project this year. I hopefully will have my end of the deal set up by next week. Basically it's a new blog...hopefully I can be better about updating that one! haha. Stay tuned for that.

Until then, I give you a great message for the new year. Happy New Year!

I love me top 10 lists (this is long and has a lot of links. Sorry)

Top 10 of 2010 (in no particular order):

10. I moved home! Moving to Provo from Cedar City was the biggest breath of fresh air, the biggest drink of fresh water, it was like learning it would be Christmas everyday, it was the greatest! I loved my time at SUU, but it was definitely time to get the heck out of Cedar City.

9. I student taught some of the cutest 2nd and 4th graders in the world. They were so great. I loved my time at Scera Park Elementary and I worked with the best mentor teachers ever. They taught me so much and gave me all kinds of awesome ideas.

8. Some of my family from California came into town during the 4th of July weekend. I met my mom's cousin's kids who are adorable. We had a lot of fun catching up, eating good food, and just spending good quality time with the family. It was a definite highlight of my summer.

7. My first real friend got married. It wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. I am super happy for her and her husband (we totally went to high school with him). She had a very classy and elegant reception up Provo canyon and her dress was spectacular! I'm glad she decided to go along with the reception.

6. I relieved my teenage years and went to 4 concerts in 4 months. It was great (you can click on the links to get full coverage)

August: John Mayer at USANA

October: The Lower Lights on the rooftop of Central Bank in Provo (part of the Rooftop Concert Series) This CD is the greatest CD of hymns ever. You can listen to sitting on your bed on a Sunday afternoon and driving to Salt Lake when it 18 degrees outside on a Thursday morning. It features Provo's finest. If you want a copy, let me know.

November: Neon Trees at SLCC

Brandon Flowers I love Brandon Flowers. I love him so much that I scheduled all of my Parent Teacher conferences for Tuesday night and only 2 on Wednesday and used one of my "Leave Early" passes on Wednesday night to make it just in time for the show at 9. It was worth the stress and worth being smashed between other fans in the audience. It was a good show. And Ronnie Vannucci (the drummer from The Killers) came in for the encore (see video-which I didn't record, just found it on youtube. I was excited to see Ronnie, but not that excited haha). Good night fo sho.

5. Family camping trip to Manti. It was Manti, but it sure was fun. We had a good weekend seeing what Manti could offer us. We camped in this cute little campsite from the 70's, went on some hikes, visited the temple, and visited the town a few times. It was a lot of fun. My family is awesome. Be jealous.

4. I joined the BYU 229th ward legitimately. (229th! I went from 24th to 229th! What the freak) We got a new bishopbric in May and they are amazing. I love my bishop and my ward. I am the institute c0-chair (so BYU) meaning I work with the chair to make sure people are enrolled in institute and promote the stake institute class every Thursday night. It might sound lame but did I mention ward council? Yeah, I attend ward council every other Sunday. It's totally a legit calling. And it's fun. And I don't have a ton of responsibilities, but I know all the upcoming activities. It's great.

3. This summer I put so many miles on my car. I applied to over 150 jobs and interviewed all over. Lame, huh? It wasn't that bad. I traveled all over from Springville to Tooele. I met a lot of people and drove through some pretty interesting place and dodged as much road construction as I could (I am queen of the back roads). I almost made an interview in Morgan (past Ogden) and one in Cache Valley (by Logan) but I didn't quite make it to those places. I had 1 interview in Nebo, 2 in Provo, 2 in Alpine, 9 in Granite, 1 in Jordan, 2 in Tooele, and 2 in Canyons. Granite was the lucky one.

2. I graduated. I love school, but I was so happy to be done. It was the best feeling in world.

1. I am a teacher!!! I have the best little 5th graders ever. I am so grateful for my job and for the little ones. I love the little boys who draw mustaches on their face with my overhead pens. I love the girls who check out origami books from the library and make me all kinds of little presents. I love my messy classroom and I even love DIBELS (somedays). I started with 31 kids and I now have 25 (maybe 24...:( ). It is definitely nice to have a smaller class, but I sure miss the ones who moved. There are some days I am super drained and somedays I most definitely countdown until the weekend, but I wouldn't trade it in. I feel like I am still learning a lot and I still have so much to learn, but in the end it is going really great. They are so funny and make me laugh on a weekly/daily/hourly basis. Like when we were talking about the Boston Tea Party and how King George was upset and wouldn't give the colonists any tea until they paid him back. I had a super Primary kid (you know who they are) raise his hand and ask "Is this what started the Word of Wisdom?" and another kid asked "Yeah, what about Joseph Smith? Did he throw the tea over?" Last week was our crazy Christmas week. We had a sing along for our parents and for the school. The 5th grade did great. They did rush through "The 12 Days of Christmas" faster than the piano (wouldn't you?) but it turned out really cute. I lost my voice during the school performance while I was trying to get them to sing louder, but oh well. Santa came out and my class was surprisingly very excited. Like I couldn't get them to settle down. It was weird since when I had them do a timed writing about their favorite Christmas traditions, half of them wrote how Santa is a creepy stalker and the other half wrote their story how they really found out about Santa. I think they just wanted the Taffy he brought for them. Anyway, I love my job and my class. They are awesome!

Some of my favorite movies of 2010:

Inception

Tangled

Alice in Wonderland

Toy Story 3

Some of my favorite songs of 2010: (for some good tunes, click on the links)

Animal-Neon Trees

Crossfire-Brandon Flowers

The whole Alice in Wonderland Soundtrack: Tea Party is one of my favorites

A Hymn Revival-The Lower Lights: For the Beauty of the Earth

Horchata-Vampire Weekend

Waka Waka-Shakira

Halo-Beyonce (Hope for Haiti version)

Hallelujah-Justin Timberlake

Everybody-Ingrid Michaelson

Baby-Neon Trees

Here's to a better 2011!

So I guess I need to go to bed earlier...and blog more

Coldplay is my favorite because they sing songs I can relate to. They sing a song called "Fix You". It's one of my favorites. One line goes like this: "when you feel so tired but you just can't sleep..." I totally feel like this. K, so I'm being dramatic.

But for reals I am so freaking tired.

Last week was a crazy one. It ended with my principal observing me teach on a day my class decided to act like the spawn of satan. We went over my evaluation Monday morning which kept me awake pretty much all Sunday. (it turned out good)

Saturday morning I had a ward activity (which was totally awesome btw) but that was at 7:30 in the morning. Saturday night I hung out with Jake in Salt Lake. It was super fun. We ate at The Pie, went to the Red Butte Gardens until it poured on us, and then visited my grandma. All because we are awesome. (Love you Jake!)

Monday night I was really tired but I couldn't sleep so I watched Youtube until 3. Then I woke up at 2 hours later to go to school. (like the good college days)

Then last night, I went to a concert (I am living my teenage life in my 20's. But better now than in my 40's right, right?) I saw Neon Trees. I think you should probably be jealous. (This link is my favorite). It was pretty much amazing. Favorite lines were "Do you love the world tonight?" and "We're just high on LDS" and "I don't get you Utah haters. Especially you Provo haters. Provo es numero uno...you Provo kids know what I'm talking about"...cause they're all Mormons from Provo. We were on the floor so I got to see close up what was going on the stage. They are crazy. I should say the lead singer is crazy. And super loud. But semi attractive? Weird. But last night only added to my sleepiness.

This morning I had a Mountain Dew to wake me up. Then I bought another one for when I hit my crash (around noon it happened). But my class liked their loopy teacher today. I kept rereading sentences and letting them out to recess 10 min early.

Anyway, I have a class tomorrow so I have a sub. I worry for the sub. And my class. And I forgot to do some things at school. Shoot.

Here's this just cause it's even funnier when you're tired

5th graders, John Mayer, Brandon Flowers

First off, I love my job and 5th graders are the best! I have had good times with my class and they are a lot of fun. We are learning about matter in science, Native Americans in social studies, and I am trying my hardest to make them like reading. It's fun. I leave early and get home late and I am super tired. It's hard work, but I am loving it! I signed my official contract so I get my first legit paycheck atthe end of this month and I am trying to work out my insurance plan. Yay! I have 31 students and they are all pretty much well behaved. There are a few that are a bit much, but that's expected. I am also happy to report that I survived my first parent teacher conference. All theparents I met with are really nice and supportive. I feel really blessed one because I have a job and twobecause my first class so far hasn't scared me away.

I am blowing my money on concerts. I saw John Mayer in August. Holy cow. I've been a bit of a fan of his since high school, but I haven't been a super fan oranything. But, I had absolutely NO CLUE how good he is! If someone told me he could play the guitar the way he plays the guitar, I may have been a super fan sooner. Highlights from the concert: He is way funny so it made the concert a lot of fun, there was this insane drunk woman sitting a few rowsin front of us ("John Mayer, you're the s&#*!!), we got our tickets upgraded so we didn't have to sit on the grass, and I got out of USANA parking lot in like 5 min.

I took pictures on my phone and I'm not quite sure how to upload them yet (story of my life) but I found these from another blog I occasionally read. Sick I know.

I also do realize how he dressed. That was another highlight. He gave a whole speech about it. Watch it HERE. (fast forward it 4:25 for the speech)

November I am going to another concert, Brandon Flowers. He is the lead singer from The Killers. When I was in high school, didn't really like The Killers...at all. But then I grew up and now I really really really like The Killers.

and I really really really really really really really love Brandon Flowers. They put out a CD about a year ago and came to Utah. My brother Jake wanted me to buy him a ticket for his graduation. I said no. We are still kicking ourselves, especially after we saw THIS.(Note, I only wish I got a ticket-just for me though. Jake could have gotten his own). Anyway, The Killers decided to take a break except Brandon Flowers didn't want to, so he recorded a CD called Flamingo. (It's good, if you want a copy let me know) He's coming to Salt Lake City and I will be there...but not Jake (he was born 2 years too soon). Sorry Jake! But I'll get to see some of THIS. Yay for me.

Week one: check!

I finished my first week as a teacher! I feel so blessed to have the job that I do. I was really worried about how this week would go. Monday was my first day. I planned a lot of stuff to do and talk about, I even thought I overplanned. At 2:40, I had to hurry and come up with a few extra activities because I finished all my first day lessons. But, my students are really great.

I had Back to School Night on Thursday. It went a lot better than I thought it would. All the parents that came were really nice and very willing to know more about their child's class. It was great.

My classroom is finally almost put together. I only had 3 days to set it up so I'm a little behind, but it's coming together nicely. It finally looks like a classroom.

I have 31 kids in my class. It's a bit crazy (we're still working on noise level) but it's a lot of fun. 5th graders are so funny!

The other teachers and the principal are so helpful! I feel really lucky to have a great support system in my school. Their always asking if I need help or if I need anything.

I signed up to take a math class (ya, I really did). It's to learn how to do this thing called math mapping where you take the math core and math book and basically create your own math book to follow. It's every Wednesday night, but I am actually pretty excited for it. Plus, I get my own set of math manipulatives. Yay!

The commute isn't the greatest, but it's not that bad. It's about 40-45 min in the morning and 1 hour to an hour and a half coming home (I take the long way so I can beat traffic). I know I will complain once winter hits, but again I am I just so grateful for this job.

Anyway, that's about what happened this week. It was a great week.

Now I am extremely tired and I have to register my car (being an adult sucks).

Employed!

Cue the dance:

I GOT A JOB!!!

I am going to be a 5th grade teacher at Calvin Smith Elementary School in Taylorsville.
I found out Friday evening. When I found out, I was so excited. My dad cooked some steaks on the BBQ and my mom bought a cheesecake. I shared my good news with all the Lakeside 8th ward Relief Society women on Super Saturday and shared my good news moment in Relief society yesterday.

Now, I am super overwhemled. School starts next Monday. I have meetings this week and a classroom to put together. Yikes.

But I am so incredibly excited and so incredibly grateful!

Get ready for lots of school posts. Yay!

Yay!

So I had a post here called "Facebook is the gateway drug to becoming an idiot", but I deleted it because I felt like an idiot and disclosed secret information about how I may or may not be friends with some people from Glee. Basically it read that I believe that too much facebook can possibly lead to a loss of brain cells. And that I'm totally addicted, therefore I am slowly turning into an idiot. Any whay (have you seen Hot Rod?)

My mom and I are planning a trip to New York. When will this trip take place? We don't know. But it will happen. What will we do in New York? Good question. EVERYTHING!! We're totally going to hit up Time Square, go to Radio City Music Hall, see the statue of liberty, visit Mood Fabric ("make it work"), see 10 broadway musicals, ride a cab, go to the Today Show, maybe see Martha Stewart, and lots of other stuff. Basically we'll probably be there for 2 weeks and blow all our little pennies, but it will be SO worth it!

Speaking of broadway musicals, I have a list of the ones I really want to see:

The Lion King

Fiddler on the Roof
Wicked
The Producers
Hairspray
American Idiot
Phantom of the Opera
Mary Poppins

Sadly some of these are off Broadway right now. When my mom and I go, I will definitely blog about it.

Any whay...

How to stay Positive

Having a bad day? Just give yourself this pep talk.

Official

Michael T. (MTB)

Bob Bennett

I love my mom and dad!

My family. My little brothers are bigger than me!

My grandparents!

My grandpa. My grandma couldn't make it because she had knee surgery. (Love you Nanny!)

My aunt Cristina, Uncle Jonathan, and cousin Ethan. Thanks for coming guys, I love you too!

Two of my favorite professors! Peggy on the top was one of my block professors, and Carrie on the bottom was my art integration professor (art integration=my absolute favorite class I've ever taken. One day I'll tell you all about integrating the arts into teaching the curriculum, if you're dying to know.)

Me getting my holder. I refuse to buy this picture (that explains the PROOF)

Some block friends. Another picture I refuse to buy.

The block room. Oh the memories (six hours a day for every freaking day of my life!)

K, so my brothers snuck out after I got my diploma and did this. They say it was done in my honor. I love them.

We have this thing about doing pioneer pictures.

Last Friday and Saturday I became an official graduate. My family was there, Bob Bennett spoke, my brothers wrote my name in the football stand, and I officially left Cedar City for good. I am a real adult now, yikes.

What I'm doing now:

1. Looking for a job

2. Substitute teaching (I've been in this Kindergarten class. I will share more about that later. I can honestly say I made the right choice NOT getting my emphasis in early childhood)

3. Voting for/cheering on/buying songs from Dewyze (someone out there should know what I'm talking about, or maybe I'm super pathetic...)

I am going to miss my time at SUU. I loved my time there. Cedar City is optional, but SUU is the greatest. My biggest class was 75 people, my teachers know my name, I've had 200 hours of practical experience in real classrooms (not including student teaching), and I learned so much and had so much fun doing it.

I had this awful dream Saturday night that I didn't pay for my cap and gown so I had to wear my blue one for graduation. It was scary. I'm pretty sure I did pay for it, but I will call SUU tomorrow just to make sure. But guess what?

I FREAKING GRADUATE IN 3 WEEKS!!!!

You are so invited and you can come to the after party at my house. My mom and I are going to make some announcements, if you want one, just let me know!

So I absolutely in love with the fourth grade. I really hope I get to teach 4th graders again.

I am looking for a job for the fall. So far I've applied to Tooele School District, Canyons School District, Jordan School District (I know), Morgan School District, and a place called Summit Academy in Draper. I have to try my hardest to stay in Utah for at least 3 years. I this scholarship thing that basically paid for my school, but in return I have to teach in Utah as many years as I received it or I have to pay it all back, plus some. So hopefully I can find something here. Pray for me. haha

Can I also say how much I love general conference? I didn't watch as much as I probably could have this session, but it was so fun to watch it with my family while we all fell asleep during the Sunday morning session. My family is da best!

My brother turned in his mission papers. He just needs a few more interviews and then he's official. We won't really find out where he's going for a couple of more months, but we have definately taken some guesses. My mom for sure thinks it's England. I think Texas or Canada. My dad think Cambodia. My other brother thinks Kansas. We will see. This summer is going to be rough with him leaving, but we are so proud of him and his decision to go. He's so great!

Quick Update

I'm a little busy right now, but I will give you a brief update in case you were all dying to know what's going on.

I am in the 4th grade now (in case you didn't know). I love it!! I love discussing football and Taylor Swift integrated with fractions and igneous rocks on a daily basis. It truly completes me. I will discuss more on my transition later.

I attended my first job fair. It was a good experience talking with representatives from different districts. I am thinking I like Tooele.

That's about all. Until I update next, you should all be jealous that I am friends with Evan Lysacek on facebook. Here's another link for you to study up on so you know and understand the importance of this event.

When my life is made into a motion picture show...

...THIS will be a scene. This will happen during the part when I find a job or when I win a lot of money. Do you sometimes wonder "if they make a movie about me, who will play me?" (It's one of my reoccuring thoughts before I go to bed.) I haven't casted myself yet, but I will be wearing a cute blue dress.

I have more to blog about, but I watched this movie instead. I loved it!

Oh, but if I were a recording artist I would want to sing like THIS. And if she actually recorded THIS I would totally buy it! (just fast forward to :56, and don't mind Kara's annoying-ness.)

Just something to blog about

*This is my last week in the 2nd grade. I am going to miss those little suckers! I am going to move up to the 4th grade next week. I am super excited! I have taken over my class and I am realizing how much I really can't wait to have a class of my own.

*I want to play the piano better. To help me out, I am using this:

No luck so far. I will keep you updated, since you are dying to know.

*I am going to be attending 2 career fairs in March. There will be some interviews going on with some districts. My advisor gave us some tips and highly reccomend us to wear our "power suits". I am thinking of purchasing this, but probably won't.


(I love shabbyapple.com!)

*My brother is working on his mission papers. On "Any Additional Information", he wrote "I don't like to talk to people" then changed it to "I hate seafood and I am extremely racist". (He erased it)

*This fool FINALLY got her mission call. Chile will be lucky to have her!

*I. Love. The. Olympics.

*A shout out to my aunts for making cute babies here and here.

*I graduate in May!!!

Thought for the night

I am so sick of baby names.

Seriously.

I think it's important for everyone to have some baby names picked out before you get pregant so all your crazy hormones won't effect your decision of what to call your child.

Seriously.

It was super bad in Cedar City, but it's pretty bad here too!

I don't care what you say but Jagger, Sundance, Dafton, Calico, Jersey, and Rodrick are not cute names.

Also, I don't care if your great grandma's name was Mabel. You shouldn't name your daughter that.

And just so you know, Jackson isn't spelled Jaxon, Jason isn't Jaysen, and Kelsey isn't Kelsee.

Also, why not save girl's names for girls and boys names for boys?

I say if you want to be unique, you should just name your kid James or Katie. No one has those names anymore.

I guess I shouldn't be so mean. But can I tell you how much I cringe when I hear "Dafton, come here!" It's usually a mom with big hair. (that may or may not have been a rude stereotype)

Some names I've heard really aren't that bad. I think some names totally fit the babies they belong to. Example, my friend's niece's name is Josie and she is definately one. And it makes more sense if the name actually has some meaning to it. Not in the meaningful "I'm going to name her Izzy because Grey's Anatomy is my FAV-OR-ITE!" way.

But anyway, name away people! Let your kid grow up with a weird name! Let them all grow up to be 80 year old Izacks who marry Jesslyn Raes. It could be fun to see.