My week

Monday- Went back to work after having two weeks off for break. Things seemed very noisy in the halls after having a fairly quite time off. Monday night the Boise State Broncos played in the Fiesta Bowl and there was going to be a family gathering at the Black's house. It was a potluck dinner, so I went to Subway to get a sandwich to be on the safe side. As I was waiting for my chicken to heat up two very good looking guys walked in. The employee helped them while he waited for my chicken. After the chicken was warm, he asked what I wanted on the sandwich. I said, "Just lettuce." He said, "How boring." One of the cute guys said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I should have said, my phone number's broke, can you fix it? Oh well, missed that opportunity. Then I went to Grammie and Pa's. Grammie was fairly out of it and that was hard to see. We tried to work the crossword puzzle, but it was a no go. AJ had made stew for dinner and I was telling Grammie all about it. I also told her what Aunt Naomi and Uncle Dan had brought. She seemed to appreciate hearing the commentary. As I was sitting with Grammie during dinner I heard Pa say, "That was good, but there weren't enough carrots in my bowl." I told Grammie and she just laughed. Then I told her I should run up and get a bowl and dig out all my carrots and dump them in Pa's bowl. She really thought that was funny. I did remind her that I used to give her my carrots and peas when we would eat stew or chicken pot pie. We did decide however that Pa would probably not appreciate the carrots out of my bowl. :-)
Brent and Raegan brought baby Hayden and Dad and Maritza came down to watch the game. We had quite a crowd cheering our team to a victory.

Tuesday- I had Bible Study and was so tired from staying up late the night before. I really considered staying home, but I went and we ended up just talking about our break and sharing prayer requests. I love that group of ladies. We are in all walks of life and it is so neat to gather with them each week and see what God is doing in each person's life.

Wednesday- The students were getting restless at school. It certainly didn't help that it had been overcast all week and we hadn't seen the sun. We had an hour until the end of the day and I was working with a boy who continually challenges me to be better at my job. When he went to leave the room I reminded him to pick up after himself. I said, "I am not your mother. I don't look like her and I don't sound like her." He looked at me and said, "Well, actually, you do sound like her because you're always telling me what to do." Then he said, "Will you adopt me?" My answer was quick, "NO." He might not make it and I certainly wouldn't make it if he came home with me. :-)

Thursday- My coworkers and I were eating lunch and one of our students was in the room with us. She loves to come in and eat lunch and then play on the computer. She also loves the head teacher (my supervisor). The teacher said something funny and the student said, "You're pretty funny." Then she walked off and turned around and said, "Well, she thinks she's funny." Needless to say that the three of us adults burst out laughing.

Friday- The 8th graders won a trip to see a movie. After lunch we took the entire grade to the movie theater (one of the teachers owns it) and they had a choice between two movies. I saw The Fabulous Mr. Fox. It was such a cute movie. Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep were the voices for the foxes and the story was adorable.

Saturday- Our capitol building is finally open. After 3 years and $150 million dollars later it is open for business. Dad and I went down to tour the building. It looks beautiful, but I have to say the the new part that was built underground was certainly not worth the money. Oh well. They didn't ask me.

6 Days of no corn

Well, it has been six days since having corn of any kind. Mom and Dennis have been great in finding foods to eat that dont' contain corn and we are constantly amazed at what products do have corn. I thought I would give you all a very short list of what we've discovered so far in the corn product department. Really, the best thing to do to avoid corn would be to eat fruit, veggies, and meat. The problem is I'm not a huge fan of vegetables and there are only so many meals you want to eat with just 3 different veggies, a variety of fruit available this time of year, and meat.

Things with corn:
Baking powder
Chocolate
Ice Cream
Pop
Most things with bread
Cereal
Gum
Syrup
Margarine
Potato Chips
Peanuts in a jar
Dark chocolate covered pomegranates
BBQ sauce
Hot chocolate mixes

Surprising things without corn:
Pepsi throwback (made with real sugar)
Sugarless gum (not nearly as good as the real stuff, but it works)
Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate bar (made with real sugar)
Maple syrup
Rice & Wheat Chex cereal
Butter
Milk chocolate covered cherries

The Little Joys in Life

Yesterday was a 1/2 day at school, in which the kids watched a play performance, a video made by students and a music concert. As my coworkers and I were sitting around in between making or students get caught up we had the opportunity for some great laughs. The best one came when the school newspaper was delivered. Inside were ten pickup lines that people could/could not use if they wanted. I would love to share some of them with you. (No, I will not be trying these out for myself!) A student wrote these so I'm not guaranteeing anything.
1. Hi, can I flirt with you?
2. Hi, I need help! My mom says that if I don't get a date by tomorrow she's putting me up for adoption.
3. Are you going to kiss me or do I have to lie to my diary?
4. If this were a meat market you would be prime rib.
5. Hey, kitten. How about spending some of your nine lives with me?

Last night I got the chance to go babysit Elyse (5) and Jackson (3). Jackson said that Santa was bringing his presents to put under the tree. Elyse pointed out that there were presents under the tree from her, but she wasn't telling because she is a very good "secret keeper." After I put Jackson to bed for the second time, he remembered that I should look at the "nutcracker with the jewels." I asked him where it was and told him I would look when I went downstairs. He said, "Look with your eyes, don't touch. The mouth cracks open nuts, but we don't have any nuts."
The joy of kids.

Food Update

Well friends and family, it's time for another food update. I would hate for you all to be left out of the loop of my wonderful dieting experience. I went to the osteopath yesterday and was explaining that I'm just not feeling up to par. I feel tired, sluggish, my hair is falling out etc. Then I casually mention a phenomenon that I had noticed. When I eat popcorn, I get a headache. The first time it happened, I shrugged it off. The second time it happened, I started to wonder. Last Friday when it happened, I was paying attention. At this, the doctor got excited and said, "I think you have a sensitivity to popcorn." I thought OK. I can avoid popcorn, not a big deal. I asked if there was a test to take to discover if I was sensitive. He said, "No, you just eliminate that product from your diet and then you'll know. But we're not just talking popcorn. Popcorn comes from corn, so you need to avoid corn." I thought to myself, "No big deal." Three seconds later I hear, "Corn, as in everything made with corn...IE...corn syrup." At these tiny two words I sensed a huge problem. Are you aware of what is made with corn/corn syrup? The Dr. sent me a link to a website that lists a few foods to be aware of that have hidden dangers of corn. Now, keep in mind that this avoidance of corn also comes on top of: no processed foods, no white flour, no sugar, no bananas, and no potatoes.

If any of you would like to join me in this endeavor please call: 1-444-4NO-CORN. This diet is a guaranteed way to LOSE WEIGHT or YOUR MIND. Money Back Guarantee if you haven't lost weight or lost your mind in the next 30 days. But wait there's more. If you call in the next 10 minutes you can have the pleasure of experiencing this diet during the Christmas and New Year's Holiday! So what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone and dial. 1-444-4NO-CORN.

BBRRRRRRRRRR

Okay, it is officially cold here. Monday night it was -6. Tuesday it got to about 13. Yesterday was more of the same. Today, we might be having a heat wave, as it is 18 outside. I was not made for cold weather. I've decided that I'm a fair-weathered creature. Having to go to work in layers is a little challenging. On the top I wear: tank top, long johns, long sleeved shirt, and sweater. On the bottom I wear tights beneath my pants and put socks on to keep my feet warmer. This is just to work inside. Reminded me to not live where it gets really cold. I'm grateful for my electric blanket at night. One night I woke up and thought my room was warm. Well, come to find out, I just had my head completely under the covers so it was warm. As soon as I poked my head out I discovered out cold it really was.

My Nativity

Here is my cute little nativity. Mom and Dennis made the main part of it in 98. However, it was sadly missing some sheperds. So I asked, begged, and pleaded for some sheperds. Mom told me there weren't any in the book. After asking for 9 years, Mom opened up the book and there they were. Sheperds! I got them and now my nativity is almost complete. Look at the top of the nativity. There is no angel to announce the birth of a King. How sad. Now I realize that there won't be an angel for the nativity this year, but I'm hoping that when I put out my cute little set next year there will be an angel at the top declaring Christ's birth.

My apartment

Dining/Sewing Room
Living Room
Bedroom

I promised you pictures awhile ago and here they are.