Today I decided to make some changes and I am gradually going to be giving myself a makeover. I only say gradually because some of my "makeover" wants require money so it might take awhile to finish the makeover process. It's the first day of my "new self." Here are some things I've done today to revamp my life in all aspects (spiritual, physical, mental, etc...)
*Start the day off right with a prayer. This is such a simple thing but it makes all the difference.
*Have a good attitude about going to work. Okay so I need to work on keeping a good attitude, even when it seems like none of my students are listening.
*Exercise every day (check, I did 45 minutes today) -- Go Me!!
*Make a nice meal, but watch what I eat. Instead of dividing equal portions I generously heaped Devin's plate, while keeping my portion small -- except for a very large portion of green beans which I got a lot of and Devin got a medium amount. I ate all the green beans, but not all of the main dish.
*Drink water -- this may seem like a simple thing to a lot of you, but for me it's a real struggle. I am picky with my water and hardly ever drink it.
*Read scriptures
*Have family home evening and take time for Devin and I do just do something together. Tonight we snuggled while watching Angels and Demons.
*Say evening prayers.
Other things on the "makeover" list:
~continue to exercise daily
~continue to eat healthy
~continue spiritual strengthening (scriptures, prayers, FHE, etc...)
~get new exercise clothes
~Get a hair cut
~get my nails done
~make a new skirt
and other things that I can't think of right now :)
Wish me luck on my quest to "makeover" my life!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Japanese Hurdles
Some of you may know that Devin and I recently (last November) applied for what's called the JET program -- Japan Exchange and Teaching. Devin would be a CIR (coordinator of international relations) and I would be an ALT (assistant language teacher). Now to get the job there are several hurdles we must go through.
Hurdle 1: Application
The application is WAY TOO LONG! Yes, I realize this is a big job that lots of people apply for; but really... do you need 3 copies of a 20 page application plus birth certificates/passport copies, diploma copies, teaching certificate copies, official university transcript, plus 2 reference letters (that had to make 3 copies of their reference letter and seal and sign each envelopes). Do you need to know every teaching class I've ever taken? (being a teacher that's all I have taken) Needless to say the application was NOT my cup of tea.
Practically 3 weeks later hurdle 1 was complete and put in the mail!
2 weeks after that we received a small little slip saying they had received our applications but we wouldn't hear anything about if we even made it to the next hurdle until FEBRUARY!! That's almost 3 whole months from when the applications were sent.
Hurdle 2: Interview
We haven't quite reached hurdle 2... yet...but yes we will get to hurdle 2!!! Devin and I found out that he will be interviewed with the Consulate General of Japan. (I don't know about you, but that sounds like an important person). His interview is on Thursday February 18th and luckily he's able to interview in Salt Lake. Sadly, I did not get an interview; so we'll just have to see what happens.
Hurdle 3: (if we make it to hurdle 3) see if he made it
The next hurdle we'll have to encounter is after the interviews we have to wait until APRIL to see if he got the positions. April? Are you kidding me?!? That's another 3 months of waiting.
Well, we are very excited (and now nervous - realizing that it might actually happen) for all that is in store. Stay tuned for more Japanese Hurdles!
Hurdle 1: Application
The application is WAY TOO LONG! Yes, I realize this is a big job that lots of people apply for; but really... do you need 3 copies of a 20 page application plus birth certificates/passport copies, diploma copies, teaching certificate copies, official university transcript, plus 2 reference letters (that had to make 3 copies of their reference letter and seal and sign each envelopes). Do you need to know every teaching class I've ever taken? (being a teacher that's all I have taken) Needless to say the application was NOT my cup of tea.
Practically 3 weeks later hurdle 1 was complete and put in the mail!
2 weeks after that we received a small little slip saying they had received our applications but we wouldn't hear anything about if we even made it to the next hurdle until FEBRUARY!! That's almost 3 whole months from when the applications were sent.
Hurdle 2: Interview
We haven't quite reached hurdle 2... yet...but yes we will get to hurdle 2!!! Devin and I found out that he will be interviewed with the Consulate General of Japan. (I don't know about you, but that sounds like an important person). His interview is on Thursday February 18th and luckily he's able to interview in Salt Lake. Sadly, I did not get an interview; so we'll just have to see what happens.
Hurdle 3: (if we make it to hurdle 3) see if he made it
The next hurdle we'll have to encounter is after the interviews we have to wait until APRIL to see if he got the positions. April? Are you kidding me?!? That's another 3 months of waiting.
Well, we are very excited (and now nervous - realizing that it might actually happen) for all that is in store. Stay tuned for more Japanese Hurdles!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
It's 12:41, Sarah is asleep, and I am not tired. I guess that's what the holidays do to you. You get a sugar fix, then you crash at around 2:00 AM and then wake up at noon the next day. The past few months have been a lot of fun for Sarah and I. The biggest news I guess is that I graduated from BYU a few weeks ago. YAY for graduating! To celebrate, Sarah and I decided to go down to st. George with our posse friends over the weekend. We had fun exchanging white elephant gifts... there are a number of jokes I could insert here, but I would risk humiliating myself too much. Let's just say that some of the white elephant gifts were not for children under the age of 40.
The guys went and saw the movie Avatar (which by the way, was AMAZING!) except I doubt that 67% of the people who watched the commercials before the show, really went out and purchased the products like the screen had claimed. The girls saw blind side which I heard is also pretty good. We ended the trip by shopping at the outlets, eating at the pizza factory, and then playing LDS drinking games before bed. Other than the fact that I almost poisened lynsie, we spent about $150 more than we wanted to, and I lost to David in an all out war of basketball knock out (it has several names - speed, tornado, bump it, knock out, - pick one) it was a pretty good trip.
Next to my graduation, the 2nd most important thing that has happened in my life recently (I say MY life, because I KNOW this is definitely NOT important to Sarah) is that I discovered that you can now purchase tim tams in America. If you don't know what a tim tam slam is... I pitty you. I am not even going to explain, I am just going to let you sit and wonder what it is, until you get so curious you will have to spend the 10 seconds it takes to open up a tab in your internet browser, go to google, and type in "tim tam slam".
For Christmas I received snow shoes. Sarah tricked me into thinking it would be Rock Band, but I knew that it was a trick after reading the tag on the box that said "to Devin, You 'Rock!'"
I thought "She is trying way too hard to get me to think this is Rock Band, there is no way that this is guitar hero", but I had no idea that it would be snow shoes. Now we can both go snow shoeing without me having to use garbage bins. I also got a nice leather jacket which I absolutely love. Sarah got some nice clothes, and two tickets to NYC to see her parents on their mission over new years.
The highlight of my Christmas was being able to talk to my brother Tyler on his mission. He is in San Fernando California, and he is coming home on April 7th, my brother Alan and I talked about going out to pick him up, and it should be a lot of fun. He sounds like he is doing really well, and he has matured a lot. I know that he will finish his mission strong, and will be a great RM when he gets back.
Sarah and I have been spending some time putting together a puzzle of NYC, we got everything done except the sky... which is ALL THE SAME COLOR! There must be over 200 pieces of slightly different shades of blue. It took us about 3 hours or so to put the other 550 pieces together, and now I estimate that it will take us at LEAST twice that long to put together the remaining blue pieces. Puzzles are so stupid, I want a t-shirt that says "I hate puzzles... and crosswords... and sudoku... and mine sweeper... and any other game I suck at."
The day after Christmas, I remembered that I was invited to a party at the Sommercorn's house. It was kind of interesting seeing a lot of my old friends whom I hadn't seen in a really long time. Liz, Melissa, Brad C, Jon C, Chelsea C, Hi C, NBC, PVC, MTC... okay, I just made those last ones up. Everybody had babies everywhere, I felt a little bad for Sarah, knowing how very aware of that she was. We played guitar hero for a bit. Well, actually, we watched Nate and Nathan (two little kids) play... which was... interesting, lets just say it's a good thing I didn't have my giant "FAIL" stamp with me. NOW THAT's what I would have REALLY liked for Christmas; A giant "FAIL" stamp, although I would probably be too tempted to use it on some of Sarah's student's papers. I would crush their little hopes and dreams with a giant wooden block of FAIL.
After playing guitar hero, we played a game called Wacky Six's. At least, I think that's what it was called. It seemed like a mix between Nerts, spider solitaire, and bloody knuckles. Sarah and I won after a few very close calls between Adam and Lynsie, and Liz and Matt. I felt bad for Melissa's husband Steve, he was doing so well at first, and then he was abandoned to fend for himself. I would be TERRIBLE at that game if I had to play without a partner. Of course I guess Bethany had it worse, she was by herself AND she had to look after little Eden.
Afterwards Adam, Lynsie, Sarah, and I went to Leatherby's for some icecream. I don't know if mentioning this is worth it, because it was kind of a you-had-to-be-there kind of thing, but when Lynsie came in, she was looking around for us, and her head was just barely over a 4 foot dividing wall. I popped my head up and scared her half to death... oh it was great.
Well, I might try and do this more often, or then again, this might be a one time thing. We will just have to wait and see.
The guys went and saw the movie Avatar (which by the way, was AMAZING!) except I doubt that 67% of the people who watched the commercials before the show, really went out and purchased the products like the screen had claimed. The girls saw blind side which I heard is also pretty good. We ended the trip by shopping at the outlets, eating at the pizza factory, and then playing LDS drinking games before bed. Other than the fact that I almost poisened lynsie, we spent about $150 more than we wanted to, and I lost to David in an all out war of basketball knock out (it has several names - speed, tornado, bump it, knock out, - pick one) it was a pretty good trip.
Next to my graduation, the 2nd most important thing that has happened in my life recently (I say MY life, because I KNOW this is definitely NOT important to Sarah) is that I discovered that you can now purchase tim tams in America. If you don't know what a tim tam slam is... I pitty you. I am not even going to explain, I am just going to let you sit and wonder what it is, until you get so curious you will have to spend the 10 seconds it takes to open up a tab in your internet browser, go to google, and type in "tim tam slam".
For Christmas I received snow shoes. Sarah tricked me into thinking it would be Rock Band, but I knew that it was a trick after reading the tag on the box that said "to Devin, You 'Rock!'"
I thought "She is trying way too hard to get me to think this is Rock Band, there is no way that this is guitar hero", but I had no idea that it would be snow shoes. Now we can both go snow shoeing without me having to use garbage bins. I also got a nice leather jacket which I absolutely love. Sarah got some nice clothes, and two tickets to NYC to see her parents on their mission over new years.
The highlight of my Christmas was being able to talk to my brother Tyler on his mission. He is in San Fernando California, and he is coming home on April 7th, my brother Alan and I talked about going out to pick him up, and it should be a lot of fun. He sounds like he is doing really well, and he has matured a lot. I know that he will finish his mission strong, and will be a great RM when he gets back.
Sarah and I have been spending some time putting together a puzzle of NYC, we got everything done except the sky... which is ALL THE SAME COLOR! There must be over 200 pieces of slightly different shades of blue. It took us about 3 hours or so to put the other 550 pieces together, and now I estimate that it will take us at LEAST twice that long to put together the remaining blue pieces. Puzzles are so stupid, I want a t-shirt that says "I hate puzzles... and crosswords... and sudoku... and mine sweeper... and any other game I suck at."
The day after Christmas, I remembered that I was invited to a party at the Sommercorn's house. It was kind of interesting seeing a lot of my old friends whom I hadn't seen in a really long time. Liz, Melissa, Brad C, Jon C, Chelsea C, Hi C, NBC, PVC, MTC... okay, I just made those last ones up. Everybody had babies everywhere, I felt a little bad for Sarah, knowing how very aware of that she was. We played guitar hero for a bit. Well, actually, we watched Nate and Nathan (two little kids) play... which was... interesting, lets just say it's a good thing I didn't have my giant "FAIL" stamp with me. NOW THAT's what I would have REALLY liked for Christmas; A giant "FAIL" stamp, although I would probably be too tempted to use it on some of Sarah's student's papers. I would crush their little hopes and dreams with a giant wooden block of FAIL.
After playing guitar hero, we played a game called Wacky Six's. At least, I think that's what it was called. It seemed like a mix between Nerts, spider solitaire, and bloody knuckles. Sarah and I won after a few very close calls between Adam and Lynsie, and Liz and Matt. I felt bad for Melissa's husband Steve, he was doing so well at first, and then he was abandoned to fend for himself. I would be TERRIBLE at that game if I had to play without a partner. Of course I guess Bethany had it worse, she was by herself AND she had to look after little Eden.
Afterwards Adam, Lynsie, Sarah, and I went to Leatherby's for some icecream. I don't know if mentioning this is worth it, because it was kind of a you-had-to-be-there kind of thing, but when Lynsie came in, she was looking around for us, and her head was just barely over a 4 foot dividing wall. I popped my head up and scared her half to death... oh it was great.
Well, I might try and do this more often, or then again, this might be a one time thing. We will just have to wait and see.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Nothing New
Well, I don't really have anything new to report, but I figured it's been such a long time since I posted anything that I should. Really things seem quite mundane in our lives. But here's what happening at the Andersen household...
*Devin is continuing school and looking for jobs. He recently did a short job working for BYU with some Japanese junior high kids that came. It was really fun for him because all he had to do was chaperone and tour kids around BYU. But he got to go to all these fun places in Utah and speak Japanese which he loves.
*I am still teaching 4th grade. This past week has been SUPER crazy. It's the end of the term so I've been grading like crazy. My aide has been gone for the whole week so I can't dump my menial tasks on her. (Yes, I realize I'm spoiled to even have an aide). Friday was our class auction and class party. Let's just say Friday was completely nuts. With my class I do a money reward system so our auction let them use their money to "buy" things. It was hilarious. Devin came and was my auctioneer which was a huge life safer for me. The kids definitely don't know bidding strategies yet. It was so funny to see them bid $150 bucks for a bouncy ball. But what was especially funny was when there was more than one of an item. I had 2 girls going at it for some stickers that were American Girl - I had several packs of stickers. The first girl got hers for $50 and the second girl who realized there were more got hers for $25. Our class party was really fun, but low key - which was great for me as I tried to frantically update grades.
*Friday night was also my school's Fall Festival. The kids aren't allowed to wear their costumes to school so they have a "festival/fund raiser" and let them wear it then. The teachers weren't required to go, but Devin and I did. We got a $15 movie gift card out of it though. Can I just say how funny/weird the Board at my school is? They really wanted to make it mandatory for the teachers, but our principal stood up for us and made it optional. Then they go and give the teachers that did go a movie gift card. Hmm...good thing I went!
*We are still trying to get pregnant, but much to our dismay and our bank account it hasn't happened yet. We are finding out fast that babies are expensive and we don't even have one yet :)
Even with life's challenges it's still a great life and Devin and I feel extremely blessed in our lives. Devin and I are excited for the future and all that might change and happen. We are hoping to go to Japan next year and will probably be there for about a year. That both excites and scares me to death. I better start learning more Japanese fast!
*Devin is continuing school and looking for jobs. He recently did a short job working for BYU with some Japanese junior high kids that came. It was really fun for him because all he had to do was chaperone and tour kids around BYU. But he got to go to all these fun places in Utah and speak Japanese which he loves.
*I am still teaching 4th grade. This past week has been SUPER crazy. It's the end of the term so I've been grading like crazy. My aide has been gone for the whole week so I can't dump my menial tasks on her. (Yes, I realize I'm spoiled to even have an aide). Friday was our class auction and class party. Let's just say Friday was completely nuts. With my class I do a money reward system so our auction let them use their money to "buy" things. It was hilarious. Devin came and was my auctioneer which was a huge life safer for me. The kids definitely don't know bidding strategies yet. It was so funny to see them bid $150 bucks for a bouncy ball. But what was especially funny was when there was more than one of an item. I had 2 girls going at it for some stickers that were American Girl - I had several packs of stickers. The first girl got hers for $50 and the second girl who realized there were more got hers for $25. Our class party was really fun, but low key - which was great for me as I tried to frantically update grades.
*Friday night was also my school's Fall Festival. The kids aren't allowed to wear their costumes to school so they have a "festival/fund raiser" and let them wear it then. The teachers weren't required to go, but Devin and I did. We got a $15 movie gift card out of it though. Can I just say how funny/weird the Board at my school is? They really wanted to make it mandatory for the teachers, but our principal stood up for us and made it optional. Then they go and give the teachers that did go a movie gift card. Hmm...good thing I went!
*We are still trying to get pregnant, but much to our dismay and our bank account it hasn't happened yet. We are finding out fast that babies are expensive and we don't even have one yet :)
Even with life's challenges it's still a great life and Devin and I feel extremely blessed in our lives. Devin and I are excited for the future and all that might change and happen. We are hoping to go to Japan next year and will probably be there for about a year. That both excites and scares me to death. I better start learning more Japanese fast!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Catch up
I haven't posted in a little while so this is the condensed catch up version. I like pictures so if you don't -- too bad.
Triathlon:
Devin did another triathlon with David and Adam. This one was at Yuba lake. We went down Friday night and camped then did the triathlon and hurried home after that. It was quick, but fun.
"Spilled milk:"
It's been pretty rainy recently and on our way home one day we caught this awesome picture of the clouds "spilling" over the mountain. It was cool because the way the clouds were moving really made it seem like "spilled milk."
Gardening:
Our Garden has been doing very well. We've been getting quite the giant produce as evidence of this carrot. Ruth and I got together and made homemade tomato sauce. I'm excited to use it and see how it is.
Birthday Celebrations:
We celebrated my birthday with my family and cousins by going up the canyon and having tin foil dinners. It was a little rainy so we got creative and used a tarp to create a little tent.
On my actual birthday Devin took me out to dinner at an Italian restaurant up at the Gateway called Biaggi's. It was really delicious and we got some great deals thanks to the Dine o' Round (Thanks Katie for telling us about that). Then for even more celebrations this past week we drove to Park City via the Alpine Loop and Provo Canyon. We wanted to go the scenic route to see the fall leaves. I love the fall and it was SO gorgeous. 
Even though the above picture is blurry I still thought it was pretty cool looking at all the aspens.
We stayed over night at the Silver King hotel, walked around Main Street, did some shopping, and had an all around GREAT time relaxing with each other. Below is the view from our hotel room window. It was a perfect time of year to see the fall foliage. 
The Silver King has some fun memories for me from when I was a little kid. My family stayed there several times and it's a pretty nice hotel. 
Devin was so nice to let me do something that I love...shopping. We went to the outlets and he was so patient as I went into all the stores I wanted to and tried on tons of clothes. I ended up getting a nice shirt, several pairs of earrings, and 2 new coats that were WAY on sale. 
I had the whole week off for my fall break. This week has been so nice and I think it will be hard to go back to the school routine tomorrow.
Triathlon:
Devin did another triathlon with David and Adam. This one was at Yuba lake. We went down Friday night and camped then did the triathlon and hurried home after that. It was quick, but fun.
"Spilled milk:"
It's been pretty rainy recently and on our way home one day we caught this awesome picture of the clouds "spilling" over the mountain. It was cool because the way the clouds were moving really made it seem like "spilled milk."
Gardening:
Our Garden has been doing very well. We've been getting quite the giant produce as evidence of this carrot. Ruth and I got together and made homemade tomato sauce. I'm excited to use it and see how it is.
Birthday Celebrations:
We celebrated my birthday with my family and cousins by going up the canyon and having tin foil dinners. It was a little rainy so we got creative and used a tarp to create a little tent.
On my actual birthday Devin took me out to dinner at an Italian restaurant up at the Gateway called Biaggi's. It was really delicious and we got some great deals thanks to the Dine o' Round (Thanks Katie for telling us about that). Then for even more celebrations this past week we drove to Park City via the Alpine Loop and Provo Canyon. We wanted to go the scenic route to see the fall leaves. I love the fall and it was SO gorgeous. 
Even though the above picture is blurry I still thought it was pretty cool looking at all the aspens.
We stayed over night at the Silver King hotel, walked around Main Street, did some shopping, and had an all around GREAT time relaxing with each other. Below is the view from our hotel room window. It was a perfect time of year to see the fall foliage. 
The Silver King has some fun memories for me from when I was a little kid. My family stayed there several times and it's a pretty nice hotel. 
Devin was so nice to let me do something that I love...shopping. We went to the outlets and he was so patient as I went into all the stores I wanted to and tried on tons of clothes. I ended up getting a nice shirt, several pairs of earrings, and 2 new coats that were WAY on sale. 
I had the whole week off for my fall break. This week has been so nice and I think it will be hard to go back to the school routine tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Yard Work
Come one come all!
To the 1st ever semi-annual
Andersen Family yard work party!!!
Andersen Family yard work party!!!
When: Friday September 25th
Time: 6:00pm
Where: Andersen Family Residence
1198 E. Mountain Oaks Circle
Alpine, UT 84004
Join us for an evening of fun yard work with great friends and great food.
Pizza, Brownies, and Ice Cream will be provided!!
Please RSVP by the 24th to Sarah or Devin
Time: 6:00pm
Where: Andersen Family Residence
1198 E. Mountain Oaks Circle
Alpine, UT 84004
Join us for an evening of fun yard work with great friends and great food.
Pizza, Brownies, and Ice Cream will be provided!!
Please RSVP by the 24th to Sarah or Devin
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Back to School
I survived the first week of school! Although it has been really tiring and a lot of work it's been fun too. My class is really cute with quite a lot of girls. I have 25 students: 8 boys and 17 girls. They are all really well behaved which is really nice after my bunch I had last year. I only have a few that could even be considered a little bit too talkative and I just walk over and say "give me a buck you're not paying attention" and the entire class quiets down. Or I just give bucks to those that are quite and immediately everyone sits up straight, folds their arms, and shuts up. As mentioned earlier the 4th grade is doing a monetary reward system and the kids really seem to go for it. Although the first day they got really excited thinking it was real money they were getting. I've decided that kids really think the funniest things sometimes. One student turned to me "Mrs. Andersen do you have any kids?" To which I replied, "No" all while thinking "Here we go again" (I had a similar conversation with a student last year). She just simply said, "Well you should totally have kids" and continued to say why I should have kids. Here was her explanation of why I should I have kids: "They poop all the time, they pee when they cry, they cry all the time, they'll keep you up at night, they'll drive you nuts. Yeah you should definitely have kids."
Devin also starts school again this next week. He only has two classes and is really excited to be done. Once again this year he is going to be taking the bus and I'll drop him off and pick him up from the bus stop. Too bad he has to get to school so early only to sit around and study until his 1:00 class. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you only have one car.
Happy Back to School Everyone!
I think we'll have to work on her persuasion skills. :)
Devin also starts school again this next week. He only has two classes and is really excited to be done. Once again this year he is going to be taking the bus and I'll drop him off and pick him up from the bus stop. Too bad he has to get to school so early only to sit around and study until his 1:00 class. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you only have one car.
Happy Back to School Everyone!
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