Hello world

This is a shout out to my one and only follower, Tammy!

Roxanne, The Police in Salt Lake City

I know it has been forever since I have posted, but I thought I would gloat about seeing The Police last night! I went with Stacy Pierce, who is Cam's best friend's wife. It was a ton of fun. I sat on the grass in Usana Amphitheatre. The footage was not actually taken by me, but I did have a great time!

Every car you chase

I thought this was pretty cool. It's a combination between a Sting song and a Snow Patrol song.

I'm Alive!!!

Yes folks, I am actually alive. Most of you have already heard all my big news already, but I'll review anyway.

First, we are moving to Salt Lake. We've purchased a house in the Holladay area and we are very excited about it. It's about 3,000 square feet, is professionally landscaped, and has a spot for a hottub. It's three bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs. There is a mother-in-law apartment downstairs, so if anyone wants to come live with us we're renting it out cheap. It also has one of the coolest playhouses ever. There's electricity in it and an automatic fan! I'll try to post pictures soon.

The reason we are moving to Salt Lake is that Cameron found a fantastic job. He will be working for the consulting firm Summit Valley Engineering in Bountiful. He's been very happy working at Barrick, but consulting is what he wanted to do eventually and it's back in Salt Lake so we'll be near family.

The reason I haven't been blogging is that I have been student teaching/full-time teaching. It has been very hectic and I am definitely glad to be finished. It was a very valuable learning experience, but it was very stressful. The good news is I passed all my classes and now all I have to do is take care of paperwork. Fortunately, I have been hired at Hunter High School in Salt Lake already, so I don't have to substitute to make money next semester! I'm very excited, but a little bit nervous because it is block scheduling and I've never done a lesson plan for block scheduling.

Currently, we are getting ready to move all of our junk. Cam's family (and Ryan, a friend) came out last night and helped us pack the U-Haul (thanks guys!) and will be driving it back to Salt Lake today. I just have to say that I hate moving! This may be are house for the rest of our lives just so I don't have to pack again! Packing at first seems easy, but then you have all these odds and ends left over that you don't know what to do with.

Merry Christmas every one and you'll be hearing a lot more from me now!

Vacation, Job, and Construction

Well, it's been awhile and after this it might be even longer, but I have a ton of news. A couple weeks ago I went on vacation and visited Dad. We went hiking, saw lots of movies, went on the best river trip ever, and had a yard sale. The river trip was just me, Dad, and Dan Christiansen so it was very, very relaxed. We took a pack cat, which was a pretty fun little boat. And, the set-up and take-down time was the shortest I've ever had on a river trip. The yard sale was fun, and I ended up being the cashier. All in all, a great vacation.

While I was on vacation, I got a call from the school district. I was supposed to student teach this fall, but they were having trouble finding a "highly qualified" (No Child Left Behind Terminology) teacher, so they offered me a job!! I'm very excited, but kind of nervous. I've been going through training, but school starts Monday (Aug. 20), and I'm just worried about getting everything set up and prepared on such short notice. Needless to say, I will be really busy, so probably will be posting even less than normal. (I know you didn't think it was possible that I could post even less!) I did get some pretty good classes though. Two periods of Trig, two of geometry, and two of Applied math II. Like I said, I'm very excited and I hope I can get it all pulled together. On the teaching note, good luck Aunty Ann! (She's switching from part-time to full-time teaching.)

Last, but not least, we've been doing a little remodeling. Of course we decided to remodel before I got the job offer, so now I'm just twice as busy than I would have been! We repainted and we put in hardwood floors in the front room and hallway. Cameron's dad (Ray), brother (Curtis), sister (Calli), and best friend (Chris - nicest guy ever!) came and helped us knock it out in two days!!! I'm not lying, it took two days total! We do have a few little things to finish up, like molding and transitions between types of flooring (reducer strips), but we were so grateful that we could get so much done so fast. Thanks to everyone who helped!!! I'll put pictures up eventually.

Well, that's life right now. Kind of crazy and busy, so wish me luck in my new job!!!!

Harry Potter Fiasco

I think I have been cursed by Lord Voldemort. I still do not have my copy of Harry Potter. I've had it on order since May! First, they shipped it UPS, and UPS does not deliver on Saturdays. Then, it was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but I think they delivered it to the wrong house. I tracked it and it says it was delivered, but it was signed for by some one named Vega. Amazon has been great and has already refunded my money and is now sending a replacement copy, but I would have still rather paid for my book and gotten to read it on Saturday than get a free copy and have to wait!

Praxis

Well, I got my test scores back for the Praxis II, and.... I passed! With flying colors I might add. I had to take a content test (math skills) and pedagogy test (teaching skills) and on both of them I got a recognition for excellence certificate because I was in the top 15%. I actually did better on the pedagogy than on the math, which took me by surprise. I just thought I was making a bunch of stuff up on the pedagogy one, but I guess it must have sounded ok. Any way, this is very exciting and is one less thing I have to worry about as I go into student teaching.