Great-Grandma's 100th birthday!

So, my great-grandma fulfilled one of her dreams this year--she turned 100 years old on August 19th!  We had a big family get-together on the 18th to celebrate.  Here are a few fun pics of the event. 

We told Caida she couldn't eat or play until we had talked to Great-Grandma and we had taken all our pictures...so she wiggled her way right between the two of these ladies and posed!  :)

Charissa looks especially good here.

Aww, 3 generations.  :)

Here's Gram with the great-great grandkids that could be there.  Can you imagine?!

Here's us great-grandkids.

All the grandkids that could make it.

The 5 of her 7 children that are still living all made it!  Wish Grandma could've been there, for sure.  I'm sure she was, really. 

Super small pictures bc I stole it from Cerene's facebook, but here are us three sisters with Great Grandma!

Me and Gram.  :)  I hope I look even sort of as good as her if I ever make it to 100 years old!

I wish I knew more of the people in these pictures.  :/  But it was still pretty awesome.  Good food, as always, and it's especially fun when any of our cousins from Utah come out because they're the ones I know best. 

Turning 100 is, of course, quite the accomplishment!  August 19, 2012 was declared "Elsie Cunningham Griffey Day" by the mayor of Delphi, who made an appearance.  Apparently my great-grandma was a meter maid there for many, many years until her retirement, and she was pretty harsh!  She gave family, friends, and public officials tickets just as often as everyone else.  She's also the oldest child in her family, and the only one of her siblings still living.  She's buried her twin daughters, but all her other 5 children are still very much alive and kickin' (and all on Facebook!).  All I really remember is, up until a few years ago, she used to send out a birthday card for every grandchild or great-grandchild with a FRESH new $1 bill in it.  Those new bills always smelled so good.  It's so fun to hear the stories passed around from family members passed around our facebook page.

She sure is a neat lady, and still so very much with us.  We're already planning out how to celebrate her 101st!  :)

One of *those* days!

So, to be short and sweet, I'm grumpy and exhausted today.  It was a CRAZY day.  I was taking Paul to the bus stop before work this morning, and as I turned left we heard a really weird sound.  We thought maybe it was our CDs falling over in our under-the-seat compartment...loudly...but then as I continued my turn I realized we no longer had power steering.  At all.  Freaking out and focusing hard, I made my way the .5 miles back home (I didn't want to risk a 180 turn near the school when I could barely make a 90 degree one).

So I call the school and let them know that I will probably be 10-15 minutes late, because I'm going to BIKE to school.  There is some pause as they see if anyone can pick me up, but really it's such an imposition and everyone there really has to be there (that's why they're, y'know...there) so I know I really just need to bike.  Backstory: I haven't ridden a bike, really, since I was like 11 years old.  I just bought this bike FRIDAY so I would have a secondary means of transportation, and we had filled up the tires earlier this week so I really haven't had a chance to ride it at all.  Also important to this story is that even though I only live 1.3 miles from the school, I live in the middle of THREE CONSTRUCTION ZONES.  Sidewalks randomly end and roads disappear into I don't even know what and you think driving a mile out of your way is difficult?  Try walking or biking!  So the route of least resistance is about 2.2 miles...IF you know where you're going.  Which I didn't this morning.

Well, I made it to school in 15 minutes, and for a 2.5 mile ride that was my first in 18 years I'm feeling pretty good about myself.  Not even too sore or too out of breath.  I'm thinking to myself, Even if we get this car fixed, I should bike when the weather is agreeable because it's great exercise and I *can* do it!  I was even almost EXCITED about riding home and seeing if I could find an easier way home or seeing if I could beat my time. 

So I come out to find my bike exactly where I locked it up in the school's bike rack.  Except that the rest of my bike that wasn't locked to the rack was knocked over (I'm thinking, Rude! but that's about it).  I unlock my bike, get my helmet on, and only THEN do I see this:

Yeah.  I don't know how, but somehow in the 6 hours I was at the school my front tire went COMPLETELY FLAT and was falling off the rim of the wheel. 

So I had to walk the bike AND myself home.  With several detours as I explored a little more in the 80-something-degree heat.  50 minutes later, I finally get home.

But I have no car to drive and no bike to ride and no water in the fridge waiting for me and a third of a pan of brownies sitting on my stove. 

Can you guess what happened next?  :)

Overall, it was kinda a crappy day.  Certainly not even SORT OF the worst day ever, but I've definitely had better days.  I sure hope our car can be fixed soon and without too much money!  Or my bike at least.  On the plus side, I don't have to worry about working out today!  And now I've got another funny story to tell my future grandkids.  :)

First day of work...and hopefully not my last!

What a WHIRLWIND today has been. 

:) I started a new job as a para in a local elementary school, and I LOVE it!  I get to work with a super-sweet 2nd grader in the mornings and then help out in the resource room in the afternoons. 
:( Red tape, beaurocracy, money, all the NOT FUN stuff will be the death of me. Turns out some of my paperwork is expired/can't go through, so I have to update my info ASAP and I don't have all the other documents required.  I would HATE to lose this awesome job because of something as silly as paperwork.  I sure hope my first days aren't also my last!
:) I met a lot of cool grown-ups and kids and felt really inspired all day today.  It's great to know that you're making a difference, but it's even greater to know you're in good company while you do it.  It's also REALLY AMAZING to see how the Lord answered so many prayers in this job of mine, and not all the prayers belonged to ME, either!  It's amazing to feel like you are where you are supposed to be.
:( It's been a little heartbreaking today, too.  Seeing what some of our children are struggling with is just gut-wrenching, and reminds me of Caida in a lot of ways, which just brought up floods of emotions I wasn't quite prepared for.  I was fighting back happy AND sad tears all day today.
:) THUNDERSTORMS!
:( My puppies have NOT liked this amazing day of thunderstorms as much as I have.  And they're both such GIRLY GIRLS and will not go to the bathroom in rainy/wet grass.
:) I ate a really healthy lunch today.  Eating well really does make everything better most of the time!
:( I made up for it with a breakfast and after-school-snack of brownies and ice cream.  My body is regretting it for sure.  I just want a nap.

Seeing as how it's post-school office hours, post-BMV hours, and there's nothing I can do about the paperwork issue until tomorrow after work either way, I suppose I should have a little faith that things will work out and just go preoccupy myself right now.  Yeah.  I can do that.

*Some more* LEGO-inspired project reveal :)

So, I had a job interview this morning.  For kindergarten.  That starts on Wednesday.  And tomorrow will be filled with teacher orientation and, at night, meet-the-teacher night.  Can I just say I'm SO GLAD I started on some of these projects ahead of time?  It makes the job feel doable if I DO get it, and if not, I can focus my energies on even more fun projects and figure out what kinds of things I really do need for next time.  But I'm still keeping my fingers crossed...I should find out any minute now, literally. :)

ANYWHO, here are some more LEGO-inspired classroom projects!

Remember this?  Well, depending on where they end at the end of the day, they'll get either no fake money, 1 cent, 2 cents, 3 cents, or 5 cents...which they can store in THESE:

Probably the 3rd-most time consuming project, but aren't these little LEGO head babyfood jars SO CUTE?  :)  There's some velcro on the bottoms to help keep it on student desks.  This'll help students keep their money until they can spend it in my class "store" (which will have coupons more than junk).

I have a thing for giant dice.  These only cost me $3 to make, because I used those foam cubes in the floral section at Dollar Tree and a package of colorful rainbow foam to cover them.  If you do them, DON'T take them out of the plastic!  Just trust me on that one.  :)  Anyway, these can come in handy a LOT.

I made these out of some of the leftover foam sheets, to hang above each group of desks in the classroom.

My job chart!  Yes, I DID draw little pictures for each of the 24 classroom jobs.  See below for the list.  :)  Anywho, each MegaBlok with a job label has a smaller one on top of it where the kids' names will go.  Easily interchangeable.

Here's the whole thing. :)  Isn't it FUN?



I'm all about having as authentic experiences in the classroom as possible.  I hate when learning feels contrived.  :)  Anywho, here are my classroom jobs (24) with descriptions.  In almost any grade, I want them to "apply" for the top two or three jobs of their choosing during the first weeks of school (with interviews, references, the whole shebang!) and then keep their jobs all 9 weeks.  I don't know about that in kindergarten...I'm still mulling over it. 

POSSIBLY VOTED ON:
Class President: Meets with me (and the VP) on Fridays to discuss suggestion box and other class initiatives, occasionally may lead morning meetings
Vice President: Assists President and fills in when he/she is absent

Janitor (x2): Erasing dry erase boards, cleaning up water spills, straightening up desks at end of day, general cleaning as needed.
Teacher's Aide (x2): Passing out papers and supplies, helping with attendance/lunch count, general right-hand man
Banker (x2): Pretty self-explanatory.  For the younger grades it'll be more helping with the store and passing out coins, etc., not so much counting it or anything
Veterinarian: Helping with the class pets (probably just a fish my first year, but eventually maybe a hamster or something)
Gardener: Watering/taking care of the plants in the classroom
Tech Support: Turning on/off computers and stuff like that each day
Photographer: Taking a photo each day of classroom happenings for the class blog
Journalist: Writing a little something (or maybe drawing pictures?) each day about the biggest/best part of the day, for the class blog
Mailman: Delivers papers to mailboxes, brings papers down to the office when needed
Nurse: Grabs bandaids when needed, grabs teacher if (heaven forbid) there's an injury, walks students down to nurse's office when needed
Ecologist: Takes recycling out when needed, turns off classroom lights when we leave, etc.
Meteorologist: Checks the weather each morning for our calendar/math/weather board.
Receptionist: Answers the class phone and takes messages
Ambassador: Welcomes new students or any guests to the classroom
Librarian: Cleans up classroom library, helps me keep on top of students who haven't turned in their books
Substitute: Fills in for absent students
Inspector: Checks for desk cleanliness at random (no more than once a week, at my prompting) and issues dirty desk tickets/fines.  :)
Deejay: Picks out/handles the music for classroom brain breaks, silent seatwork, etc. 
Police: Helps me monitor students in the hallway (I'm gonna do a secret walker kinda thing), or lines in general (includes emergency drills, etc.)

I found these awesome cube-like storage thingies at Dollar Tree (although they didn't have all the colors I wanted so I had to spray paint the yellow and red ones), and the cute crayon cups at Walmart for 87 cents each.  These will go with each group to help organize shared supplies, like pencils and erasers and rulers, gluesticks and scissors, dry erase markers, and crayons.  :)  I'll also have a few of these in my storage cabinets (see below).

My LEGO-inspired weekly planner.  Each of those is a 5x7 glass frame so I can use it as a dry-erase board.  Again, better for older grades, but I'll make it work for any age.

My awesome filing cabinet.  Paul found it by the dumpster.  It was an ugly, rusty beige color, but some white and bright  colored spray paint and now I LOVE it!

My FAVORITE part of the room...my little supply cabinets!  :)  I love how they turned out...just like giant LEGOs!  Someday ALL my room will look this cool, but for now it'll be a nice, memorable conversational piece.  :)

In case you were wondering how I did it, I spray painted the doors of some hand-me-down white cabinets (gotta get some more of those for sure!) and then spray painted some of these lovelies--mini frisbees that came in multi-packs from Dollar Tree.  They ended up being the PERFECT SIZE, which made me REALLY happy!  :)

That is literally everything for now.  I'm hoping to have a LEGO-inspired bulletin board, and eventually some pillows and other major furniture that is LEGO-inspired, but until then I think I'm likin' it.  Can't wait to build up more and more of this in the next year, job or not--my classroom NEXT year will be AWESOME! 

48 Answers

I wanted to post my answers to the 48 questions in my faux gumball machine conversation starter.  Just because.  :)  Feel free to comment with any (or all) of your own answers!

1.       What’s the verb you want to spend your life with?

LOVE or INSPIRE

2.       If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

Speak every language EVER.  Not only would it just be fun, but communication is SUPER important and it would be awesome to be a teacher that can do that!

3.       What would you do with a million dollars?

Pay off my debts, adopt a couple of kids, and open my own school.

4.       If your life had a soundtrack, what are some of the songs that would be on it?

Vienna by Billy Joel

Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows

Paper Dream by Saturday’s Warrior

Them There Eyes by Billie Holiday

Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi

I'd have to also find a song by Jim Croce and one by John Denver to add into the mix.  :)

5.       If you could vacation anywhere in the world for one month, where would you go?

JAPAN!

6.       Five of your favorite things?

Good books, fire, laughter, rain, giraffes

7.       If you could have picked your own name, what would it be?

Celeste.  I LOVE my name!

8.       What is the funniest joke you know?

Caida’s version of the “knock knock, who’s there, ADD, ADD wh---SQUIRREL!”  You gotta hear her tell it sometime!  J

9.       What would you do today if you knew you were going to die tomorrow?

Probably just write a bunch of goodbye letters, go out to eat with my husband, and snuggle all night long.

10.   What fictitious character is most like you?

I like to think it’s Belle from Beauty and the Beast, but it’s probably more like the main character of Stargirl.  J

11.   What thought would you like to put in a million fortune cookies?

“Never, ever forget how truly special you are.”

12.   If your life had a remote control, which button would you press most often?

PAUSE!

13.   What do you (secretly) wish you knew how to do better?

Tap dance.

14.   If you could take in any 3 animals as pets, what would they be?

Giraffes, penguins, and horses (this is not counting my fur-babies I already have. J

15.   What is your biggest “claim to fame?”

I won a coloring contest when I was 9 years old.

16.   If you could win a shopping spree to any store, which would you choose?

Probably Teacher’s Delight or Amazon.com.  Something I wouldn’t spend a TON of my own money on very often without a shopping spree as an excuse. 

17.   What do you want to be when you grow up?

A teacher and a mom.

18.   Do you (or have you ever) collected anything?

Not anymore, but I used to have a sticker collection, a teddy bear collection, an angel thing and an Eiffel Tower thing going on.  J

19.   If you were a punctuation mark, which would you be and why?

Question mark.  I’m super curious and, frankly, questioning everything in my life, wondering about timing, etc.

20.   What are some of your biggest fears?

The dark.  And that my best isn’t good enough.

21.   Which TV family would you most like to belong to?

COSBY Show family! 

22.   What would you like your famous last words to be?

Take care of each other.

23.   What is the most common compliment people give you?

“You’re so SWEET.”  (Ugh.)

24.   If you could swim in a pool of any food or drink item, what would you choose?

Chocolate pudding.  Tasty, mud-like texture that could be soothing and stimulating at the same time, and HELLO IT’S CHOCOLATE!  J

25.   Finish this sentence: “Love is…”

A choice, daily.

26.   Do you have any scars?  How did you get them?

One on my big toe from slicing it on an old metal game in my then-messy room (I was 9, I think it’s what spawned my need to have things organized), and one on my knee from falling down a couple of steps right onto pavement.

27.   What was the best day you’ve ever had?

I know I should say something like my wedding day, but honestly that day was SUPER STRESSFUL and not my favorite.  Truthfully, Paul’s 25^th birthday (the LEGO party), my Pie Day with my student teaching class, and that Christmas where everyone I loved wrote me letters instead of giving me gifts were the happiest days so far in my life.  I’m pretty sure, though, that the best day of my life is still ahead of me.

28.   If you hosted a dinner party for 5 guests (anyone goes), who would you invite?

Albert Einstein, Gordon B. Hinckley, Mother Theresa, Brian Regan, and Lillie Pearl Riley Wells (my great-grandmother)

29.   Would you rather live under the ocean or on the moon?

On the moon—what a view!  And I could become very claustrophobic under the ocean…

30.   If you had three wishes, what would they be?

Perfect health for everyone I know and love, the ability to see others as God sees them, and being able to speak any language ever.  J

31.   What one work of fiction do you wish was true?

This is actually a SUPER HARD question, because a lot of my favorite books I would NOT want to be true.  I think I’m gonna go with all of the Littles books…how fun would it be to have little itty bitty friends?  And to decorate for them?! J

32.   Which friend (besides family) have you had the longest?

Lindsey…since I was 12, so…17 years now.

33.   Who in your family are you closest to?

My two sisters.  They are my closest friends!

34.   If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would you pick?

Taco salad.  All 5 food groups, and it is DELICIOUS!  J  (A CLOSE second would be that curry pineapple fried rice.)

35.   Where do you see yourself 20 years from now?

OLD.  Haha, jk.  49 is NOT OLD.  Hopefully by then we’ll have a few kids and I’ll have taught for almost 20 years in public schools.  And hopefully we will NOT be in Indiana still!  (Probably Chicago or Seattle.)

36.   If they made a movie of your life, what genre would it be?  Who would play you?

It would be a dramedy and I would be played by a young and dorkier Sandra Bullock for SURE.  And if she wasn’t available, it’d be Zooey Deschanel (think her character in New Girl…)

37.   Who is/was your favorite pet?

My two pets right now are my favorites.  Which one of them is my favorite depends on the day.  J

38.   What is a favorite family tradition of yours?

Taco Thanksgivings with my mom.  And Paul’s and my tradition of crossing state borders and saying “We’re in (insert new state name)…..NOW!”  And Paul’s and my tradition of kissing the cook on the cheek after dinner.

39.   What is one thing you learned today?

I just woke up, but I did already read my scriptures…I guess I learned a little more about what my problems are that need fixing NOW and to let go of some of the things that I can’t change about my past. 

40.   What do you think is the greatest invention of all time?

The laminator.  :P  Okay, no seriously, I am SUPER GRATEFUL for personal computers and cell phones.  I can’t imagine my life without either anymore.  Paul and I sometimes watch older TV shows (like from the 80s or earlier) and we’re always noting how this entire episode wouldn’t exist anymore because of cell phones or Google.  J

41.   Would you rather be blind or deaf?

This one has changed for me since I was a kid.  Growing up in a world of music, I thought I’d rather be blind ANY DAY.  But since then I’ve known a few blind people and I’ve realized how much harder daily living would be without my vision.  Not to mention, learning ASL is MUCH easier for me than Braille (I’ve done a bit of both, with NO SUCCESS in the latter), so now my answer is most definitely that I’d rather be deaf.

42.   What is your biggest pet peeve?

When I’m driving on the highway and two semis (or any two cars, really, but especially semis) take up both lanes and drive side-by-side so you can’t get around them.  UGH!

43.   If you were President for a week, what 3 laws would you create?

If they are only for the week, so I don’t have to worry about long-term consequences?  Universal healthcare, the institution of birthday WEEK as an official celebration for all (that you can officially get out of work/school/other responsibilities for, as a personal federal holiday of sorts), and a “no talking, only hugging before 10 AM” rule. (Got that brilliant little gem by the adorable and wise Zooey Deschanel.)

44.   What is your favorite room in the house?

My living room, apparently, since I spend almost all my day in it.

45.   If you were in a yearbook now, you would be voted “Most Likely To ______”

I was thinking a lot of negative things at first, but on a more positive note, I’d like to think I’m most likely to Improve.  J

46.   What sport do you enjoy playing/watching the most?

I like playing volleyball the most, but I like watching basketball the most.

47.   What item would you put in a time capsule for someone to find 100 years from now?

My journal…lots more info in there than any one thing I can think of leaving.  If I HAVE to leave something, though, it’d probably be my iPod (with charger)…just the kinds of apps I have on there, plus the music and pictures, would be super interesting.  I mean, imagine if George Washington or Joseph Smith (or someone actually 100 years ago) had an iPod and YOU FOUND IT.  J

48.   What about your life (to date) are you most proud of?

I’m still HERE!  J  That has taken no small amount of prayer and effort on my part over the years.

Mom's Bday and other catch-up. :)

Birthdays tend to happen in groups in our family.  Charissa (my sister) and Mom celebrate 8 days apart, and my step-mom is the week after that, so I always get REALLY caked out around this time of year.  (And in January, where my dad and little brother are 3 days apart...and again in March, with three sisters and I all having our birthdays a week apart from each other...)

ANYWHO.  I've also lost the passion for cute cake making.  I'm going for delicious these days, maybe because I don't eat sweets as much so I really want it to be worth it!  I'm sure someday I'll get back into fun cakes again, but...times and seasons, friends.  :)  So here's the German chocolate cake (my mom's favorite) I made:

And here is the festivities: balloon throwing in Mom's and Charissa's new living room.  It was a low-key birthday, with pizza and cake and balloons and tired people.  :)  But it was still nice.  Happy birthday, Mom!

I haven't been in the mood to blog.  I've been a little down about the job thing (yup, no teaching job for me right now), and it has brought up a lot of hard feelings and kept me from feeling much motivation at ALL this week.  Other than dishes, I've done NO CLEANING all week!  I got a little more LEGO crafting done for my someday classroom on Monday, but between needing more money to finish them and the sad truth that they won't be put to good use anytime soon, well...lost my mojo.  I've caught up on some TV shows I hadn't been watching all summer, taken the dogs on some longer walks than usual, and just generally been a bummer to be around.  Pity party, complete with violins.  Not pretty. 

NO MORE!  I have struggled harder than usual even to find peace with this and so many other things in my life I don't like and feel powerless to change, but the last few days have been very odd and I've found the beginnings of a tranquility I can't totally explain.  I'm not completely there yet, but it's taking root more and more each day, and the thought keeps coming to mind that it's going to be okay, this is just a MOMENT and the Lord's plan for me is so much more than this moment.  Maybe I'm just meant to do something else right now (even though I prayed and thought long and hard about it and felt led in this direction...but that's the way it is sometimes).  Part of me is almost excited to figure out what that something else is with the Lord.  And I keep thinking back to other major life disappointments and remembering the things I learned from those moments, the strength and perspective I gained, and that most of them DID END WELL.  I'm grateful to have those solid, happy moments to dwell on, and to know that life is a roller coaster--the downs are always followed by big UPs, and sometimes even the falling can be a thrill.  (Not for me, though...I actually hate roller coasters...but still. :)

So...maybe tomorrow is the day I will feel the cleaning and the crafting and the photo-taking bug again.  Or maybe not.  But I will get there.  I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.  ;)

A few other pictures of my life right now:

I've had banana ice cream or banana/peanut butter milk shakes like every day.  YUM.

Stinkin' cute puppies.  I love that Voodoo still follows Obi around everywhere and copies even her body language.  :)

Found the most amazing ever FREE font to use in my someday-classroom: LEGOTHICK!  Outlined in yellow and put on a red background, it looks SO GOOD, don't you think?  :)  I'll have to post the final products of these two signs soon.  :)

Filled in for activity days last week.  The cute girls learned some babysitting-appropriate games to play...here they are blowing a cotton ball from one side of the room to the other.  So fun!

*Some* LEGO-inspired project reveal :)

I'm going to have to do this all in installments as I finish sets of projects.  :)

Tonight my friends Christi and Yi Chou (and her kids) came over to help me out with some LEGO-inspired projects for my future (someday...*sigh*) classroom.  I know decor isn't everything, but it IS the little touches that make things look thought-out and that make a good first impression.  So why not have them help me out on the things I don't have to do myself?  :) 

The kids and ladies did an AWESOME job, I'm so blessed to have such creative, fun friends!  Here are some of the pictures:

Put it sideways. :)  They glued magnets on the back side of some Mega Bloks so I can put these on the white board, to hold my markers. :)

Holding up the awesome nameplate for my desk!

Here's a close-up...again, look sideways. :)

G with the desk organizer she made me. Isn't it awesome? :)

J made this awesome lamp base, and Christi glued the LEGOs around the lamp shade edges. :)

The GERM-X bathroom/hall passes (there's a soap one, too)...the LEGOs just float in the soap or Germ-X!

We also got a GIANT (100 count) bag of plastic balls for $15 today, and they were a BIG HIT when the work was all done! :)

Lest you think I let them do ALL the work:

Actually did this yesterday, but wanted to show it off...my attendance and behavior board. :)

My "Where Are We?" board I did tonight for when we're out of the classroom...gonna have a different Mega Blok for each possible location and just change it out. :)  I bought this scrapbook paper from the LEGO store years ago and just painted the top/sides of the cheap-o clipboard, mod-podged it on, then hot-glued the red Mega Blok base. :)  White stickers finished the trick.

I also started two other projects that aren't finished yet so I can't reveal them yet...stay tuned for round 2 sometime next week!

And thanks again, ladies, for coming to help me out!