Off I go!

Well I just wanted to give a lil update before I leave on my Tropical Island Getaway.
I had my bday this past Tuesday, Mar 24th, it was really good. Just real chill and relaxing. I had some cake with my fam than my friend Blayre took me to eat steak. Thats all I wanted...some steak :) and it was very delish! Thanks B!

I also went to the Gold and Green ball, which is a girl ask guy singles dance up here. I went with a guy friend named Soren and Blayre went with a guy named Jim. We went to Chuck E Cheese before to eat pizza and play games! It was way fun! I pretty much whipped Soren in the games...but he tried his best :) Overall I had a fun time!

My sister also got married a few weeks ago. It all went really well. She looked very beautiful and so so happy!! I'm excited for her and I love her very much!

Here are a few pics to display my adventures:

Audri and Isaac very happy to just have been married :)

My sis and I, it was a very very cold day!

At the reception...many people think my sis and I look a lot alike...I just don't see it?

My bro in law Isaac and I...he's an interesting one that Isaac :) I like him!

Going to the dance! These guys are pretty lucky to go with such good looking ladies :)

Dang!! We look good!!!!

Happy Birthday to me! I am now 24! HOLLA!

Yah for family!!!

Mmmmmm...Steak is so so good!! I love having birthdays! Thank you Blayre for the steak! She's the best! I have such wonderful friends!

Well there y'all go!! Hope y'all have a great 2 weeks! Don't be jealous of my Caribbean vacation adventures...enjoy your extended Winter :)

PEACE OUT!!!!

Vampire Weekend!!!

Ok, as much as I totally LOVE Twilight...this is not in reference to Twilight....Although the Twilight movie does come out on DVD this weekend...so technically it would be a Vampire Weekend...BUT....

Thats not what I'm talking about! I'm talking about a super radical band called "Vampire Weekend" I was looking at my friend Melissa's blog the other day and noticed she had listed them as one of her favorite things! So whenev I hear about a rad band I always go check em out...sometimes I don't really care for em...and sometimes I totally love em! Like "Eisley" was recommended to me by my best buddy Cortnie and they are my fav band ever!! Thanks Cort!!
Anywho so I checked out this band on a website called www.playlist.com its pretty much the coolest website..you can go find practically any song!

*side note* Last year My friend Stacee and Taci and I went on playlist.com and were finding all sorts of early 90s cartoon and TV show theme songs, it was the best!! "JEM is excitement! JEM is adventure! Glamour and glitter, fashion and fame!"

Ok so I went and checked out "Vampire Weekend" and they are my fav at the moment. Thanks Melissa!! They kinda remind me of a lot of bands I really like all combined into one! So as much as I like HSM...I am changing my playlist on here to "Vampire Weekend." I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do, but who really knows these days!!
Hope life is going great for all!!

Pirates of the Caribbean here I come :)

Yes tis true, I shall be heading on down to the Tropical Caribbean of Antigua in about 19 days!! Holy Smokes!! I'm so excited!! I've never been to a Tropical place before...the most tropical I've been is Laguna beach in Cali...or the pool at my apts down in Vegas, I mean...there was a palm tree at least :)

Anywho you're prob all wondering..."What the heck?? Why are you going to Antigua?? That's so random!" And you're absolutely right...it is random! I'm sorta a random person. My friends sister lives down in Antigua and so she said, "I'm going to Antigua, anyone that wants to come with me can, all you have to do is pay for a plane tick!" So Dang I jumped on that opportunity! Turns out that it's actually very beneficial I don't have a regular full time job, cuz now I can take two weeks off without getting fired!! Anywho I am real excited for this opportunity...especially since it snowed here yesterday and I feel that spring/summer is never gonna come! It will be good to be in a sunny place for a while!

Also in 14 days something very spectacular happens, everybody clear your calendars and buy your plane tickets to Spokane NOW! The event of the century is going down and you do not...I repeat...DO NOT want to miss it! It's my 24th Birthday!! Which wait?? Look! I'm turning 24 on the 24th! Oh that's right tis my Golden Bday!! HOLLA!! Therefore I might be giving out things covered in gold...just for fun! And cuz I'm obviously swimming in gold coins each day like Uncle Scrooge from Duck Tales, you know there will be plenty to go around! Anywho it will be a joyous event! I'm excited to turn 24! I know its going to be a great year :)

My sis is getting married this weekend!! I'm so excited for her!! She has always been such a great example to me in my life and she is by far my favorite sister ;) ha! I'm happy for her happiness!! I truly love her!

Well I sincerely hope all of you are doing so great!! Remember who you are...choose the right...return with honor...and...look both ways before you cross the street!!
I love you all!!(except for the random weirdos who might also read this blog...in that case...I only strongly like you!)

PS: Did I mention Antigua has 365 beaches?? HOLLA!!!

HSM LOVE

In tribute to all the High School Musical movies I have created a HSM playlist!! It is composed of all the songs from the HSM movies, that's right 1, 2, and 3! If you don't know me that well or are a first time reader of this blog, I absolutely LOVE HSM Please refer to this previous post. I know, I know what you're thinking..."Isn't it kinda a cheesy teenage movie?" Yes in fact it is! But I can't help but totally loving every minute of its lameness and all the corny predictable songs. They are the best!! If you don't know what I am talking about, the third HSM just came out this past week, I recommend going down to the local video rental store and picking up all 3 HSM's...have a HSM marathon, start with the first and go to the third!! You will not be disappointed!! In fact I'm pretty sure if you watch them all by the third one you too will feel like you are a true Wildcat, and you too will be wondering what are Troy and Gabriella, Sharpay and Ryan, Chad and Taylor, and even Kelsi going to be doing now that they are graduated?? Can they really still all be in this together? Anywho you'll just have to watch and see...you might want a tissue or two for the third movie!! I'm just sayin...we can all learn a lot of valuable life lessons from HSM and these Wildcats!

Enjoy my playlist!! I LOVE HSM and I'm sad that there will be no more adventures at East High! But at least I was able to share in these moments and better my life!

We truly are all in this together!
:)

"I've been waiting for a sign, to tell me where I belong!"

So...I pretty much quit my job this week. I decided that I am not meant to be an insurance person. I also really hated it! I mean it wasn't a horrible job, but it just wasn't for me. It was actually really easy, like non use of brain easy. I dreaded doing it everyday, I just felt I was wasting my life and all that I went to school for! I didn't feel like I was making a difference and I wasn't happy at that job. So I quit! I'm going to try and be a non-certified sub until I get my certification. I think I will just enjoy being in a school and feeling like what I do matters. I know, I know, I must be crazy...I won't get paid hardly anything for subbin, but I really feel I'll be happier...and that matters more to me than stupid money!! I'm a simple gal, I don't need much to be content when it comes to material things. I know its weird, but I think having this insurance job has made me realize that Junk, I want to be in school, I want to be around kids and feel like what I do is makin some sort of difference in this world! Is that too much to want in a job...and in life?? I don't think it is!

Anywho I'm still not sure what my long-er term plans are and I'm still waiting for a sign to tell me where I belong, but for right now I'm gonna try my hand at this subbing stuff! We'll see how it goes!! I feel good about it!

*The title of my blog is in reference to a song by Mates of State called Now! Its amazing! Check it out on my playlist :)

Holy smokes its been a long while....

So I know its been a way long time since I last posted...over a month!! Junk!! Well I did end up getting a job working at an insurance company called Safeco. Its def not somethin I want to do for very long, but for right now it pays pretty well and its full time and its actually pretty good...so I'm stickin with it for now! Who knows where I'll go or what I'll do, I still have no clue. My best friend Blayre comes home from her mish in 3 days!! Holy!! I am so so so EXCITED!! I can't believe that a year and a half have already gone by!! I'm still flippin out about it!! Its sooo close!! YAH!!! I'm really stoked about having her back!! I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas to come or their birthday, but I'm like 19 times more excited than that!! I have missed her oh so much! She's amazing and it will be wonderful to have my best friend back home!

Well...I posted this thing on facebook that is 25 random things about me, so I figured I'd post it again for everyone on here just cuz some of you don't have facebook! If you so desire you can post somethin like this on your blog too...don't feel pressured though...
Here is my randomness!! Enjoy :)

1. I love candy so much, prob more than anybody I know...I especially love cotton candy, at times I imagine that I am flying through the air and that the clouds are made of cotton candy , that being said, I've had a lot of cavities in my life
2. I didn't know that Marie is technically my middle name until I was 18 and filling out papers for my HS Diploma, I had always thought that I had no middle name and would tell people I had no middle name, until my mom informed me otherwise
3. When I was in HS I spent most Friday nights with my friend Michele at the Arcade playing a game called Dance Freaks, I can play on Wild and I still enjoying going to the arcade just to play that game
4. I never went to a formal dance until last year when it was my final year of College
5. I want to be an astronaut
6. Eisley is my absolute most fav band ever...yet not many people know who they are, I saw them in concert once and it was totally amazing! I wish I could follow them around on tour sometime! And I have dreams that we are friends :)
7. I am a very clumsy person who gets hurt very randomly, like this onetime I sliced my head on a rotating ceiling fan, or when I ran my forehead into the corner of a car door, but yet I have never broken a bone or been a patient in a hospital (cept when I was born)
8. Someday I'm going to go to Cocoa Island in Maldives with my friend Cortnie
9. I once had a bloody nose in the baptismal font at the Temple
10. My first "Real" Concert was a Neil Diamond concert just a few years ago
11. I worked at a porcelian doll kiosk in the mall as my first job, oh and I don't really like dolls
12. Blue is the best color in the world, I love it very much! Whenev I see a car that is blue I always say, or think in my head..."there is a blue car!" and than wish that my car was blue!
13. When I was younger my bro Matt hit me in the head with a baseball bat when I was playing catcher and he was batter, the bat was made of wood...it explains a lot of my personality... ;)
14. I think kitties are super cute, if they could stay that little forev I would love it!
15. I believe that JUNK is the COOLEST word around!! And its very multi purpose!
16. I will never get sick of the songs "who let the dogs out" by baha men and "If you wanna be my lover" by spice girls
17. They made a movie about me this onetime called "Never Been Kissed"
18. I think Harry Potter is so rad!! I love all the books, they are some of my most fav! I think deep down I am a wizard...I'm still waitin for Hagrid to deliver my acceptance letter to Hogwarts!
19. I wear my retainer every single night, I have this fear that if I miss wearing it onetime my teeth will go crooked
20. I hate bugs that fly especially bees...I will freak out if somethin is flyin at me...onetime I saw something flying at me so I was freakin out...turns out it was a butterfly
21. I have never ridden a horse, except the ones you pay $.25 for in front of Kmart
22. All growing up I had Bunny cakes for my birthday every year, my birthday is Mar 24th close to easter and my mom would always make cakes in the shape of a bunny, I have pictures that document this...now every year I have funfetti rainbow chip frosting cake...mmmmm
23. I hit a grand slam in slow pitch softball during a co-ed intramural game this onetime, it almost went over the fence! I've also made quite a few half court shots in basketball...I'm just sayin.. :)
24. Steak and Potatoes are soooo good...I could eat potatoes every day for the rest of my life and love it..with steak is even better!! Oh and I dislike oriental food..eewww!
25. Up until last year I thought that P.S at the end of a letter stood for "Please Send" and it never made sense to me...my friend Ashley than told me it stood for "Post Script" and all the sudden the lights went on and it made perfect sense!

Oh and I did add a #26....There are about 100 or more people that know me as Judy and don't know me by my real name Ann Marie

Wellllllllllllll....I hope y'all are doing super fantastic!! Hope the first month of the new year has gone well for ya!! Have a Happy Day :)
Much Love!!

You Ugly!! Yah Yah You Ugly!

I went to an Ugly Sweater party this past Friday, it was pretty much super hot! I mean literally hot and figuratively Hott!! Take like 30 people and jam them into someones living room, every person wearing some sort of sweater and some even wearing turtle necks(like me!Which who even wears turtle necks?they are totally uncomfortable!), and its going to be pretty Roasty Toasty!! Who would have ever thought that a sweater would make you actually sweat?? What is the purpose?? I mean it should be to keep you warm, but if you think about it...if its makin you so hot that you are actually sweating (which is obviously the purpose cuz its called a sweater!) than that is just no good and I don't know why anyone would want something that's actual main and named purpose is to make you sweat!! But we were all really stunning and Hott with our ugly sweaters! Holla!

Ok sorry for my sweater rant! Anywho the party was semi-fun! I had a good time! We enjoyed taking pics before at my sista's apt! Here are some pics, just in case some of you no longer have facebook(cortnie and Suzi yes I mean you!)

We all look dashing in our ugly sweaters!

Thumbs up for my sweater...I thought it was pretty ugly, but I didn't win the ugliest sweater..actually people thought my sweater looked like a teachers and they thought it was cute! I thought the punch must have been spiked or somethin! Anywho my mom really likes my sweater...so I'm going to give it to her for Christmas!! Whoev thought that someones ugly could be another persons pretty!

Yah! Emily actually won the ugliest sweater award, shes in the pink and my sis won second place for ugliest sweater..shes in the middle! I only won a cookie...oh wait...the cookies were free.

Emily and Audriana High fivin for Christmas!

Don't give me that attitude!

Glamour shots! PS: My grandma made me that cat for Christmas one year! She used to make us all sorts of stuffed animals and different things for Christmas!! What a crafty lady she was!! I love my grandma!

Emily and Isaac thumbs up for ugliness!!

Oh Isaac and Audriana are quite the fashionable couple!! I heard through the grapevine that they are going steady!! How hip!

The best pic I have ever taken!! Doesn't get any better than this :)

Here's a lil somethin somethin for the people!!

So yeah the party was good! Things have been alright up here in Spokane! Havin fun and keepin semi-busy! I'm still looking for a job, but hopefully I'll be getting somethin here shortly! I'll keep y'all posted!!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season with friends and Fam! Thanks for being such radical people!!

Much Love!!

Many Moons!

It seems as though it has been a very long time since I last posted a blog! So here ya go...a lil update-a-roo!!

Yes student teaching is done! I am now back in Spokane chillin like a villain..no literally chillin...it is so stinkin cold up here!! I mean when I left Vegas it was still in the 70s, up here it's like 30, that is quite a difference let me tell ya!! But it has been nice to be home!

Currently I am searching for a job! I mean oh look I just graduated in teaching now I can be a teacher, that's what you'd think! But I still have to get my certification, which is some nice paperwork and junk! Once my grades are on my transcript than I can send it all in! Until than I am just looking for something else. I might become a receptionist, because it sounds like a pretty swell job and it pays fairly decent. Plus its full time guaranteed. If I was a sub right now there is no guarantee that it would be every day or that it would be full days. But yeah so this is where I'm at now. I'll keep you posted on everything!!

I'm very excited though because in 59 days my best friend Blayre comes back from her mission to Las Vegas!! I'm so so so ecstatic to have her back and to be able to hang out with her up here in Spokane!! Its going to be joyous! Pretty sure shes absolutely AMAZIN!!! It will be great and fun times! I have missed her indeed!!

Anywho, so I was also watching this show about pandas the other night...and did you know that a baby giant panda weighs 4oz when it is first born, that is about the size of a stick of butter!! Wow!! So interesting I know right! Its pretty much total insanity! They are mega cute though and I'm pretty sure I want a panda!

Well that being said, you all rule! I hope your holiday's are super radical and that you are all choosing the right and keepin it real wherev you may be!!
Love y'all!!

PS: I've added some pics of baby pandas! Enjoy!

Here is a giant panda when its first born, its practically microscopic!
Here is a panda a lil older but still a youngin! Oh what a cute lil bear!! Don't ya just wanna squeeze it!

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!!!

It is true! I am at the final countdown of my student teaching experience! From today I have a total of 6 teaching days left at Bob Miller Middle School! My last day is Nov 24! I found out I can leave a day early to drive back to Spokane in time for Thanksgiving! So I am pretty stoked!

Anywho can I just say WOW! This whole student teaching has just flown right by! I feel that when I finally am starting to get the hang of everything and really getting to know the kids and love them, its time to leave!! Its going to be bittersweet! I'll miss those crazy kids! I know you might think it sounds cliche or what not, but I really have learned to love my students and they are what I enjoy most about teaching!! I really do feel The children are the future(this is what might sound cliche!) I do what I do for these kids! They are great individuals and I feel super blessed to get to know them and to have the privalege of teaching them for 54 min everyday!

I have learned to love being a teacher and realize that Yes, I can do this and that this is what I want to do! I'm no longer fearful and uncertain of my choice to be a teacher. And yes I was somewhat fearful and uncertain at the start of this whole thing and all through college. But I'm glad I stuck it through and was able to see that this is what I want to do! Its not always the easiest and some days you wonder if its really worth it. But than you have the really good days and those really great students who make it so worth it and make you realize "oh yeah, I remember why I'm doing this!"

Well I could surely go on and on about my student teaching and give lots of stories, but I will refrain, cuz this is just a blog, not Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows(even though I love HP!)

So I just wanted to express the final countdown of my student teaching through this popular song entitled...yes...you guessed it..."The Final Countdown" by the hit 80s hair band Europe...I can't say it any better than them! And the only video that I could find of the song that was not restricted to use was this "Armageddon" video on youtube!



As things are blowing up and earth is in complete peril, just imagine I am one of the astronauts that is saving the world from utter destruction and doom!
Thats teaching...the fate of the World depends on it! :)
Hope y'all are great!! Love you all!

PS: I secretly want to be an astronaut anyways!

The Response!!

Here is the response I got back today from Rice-a-roni:

Ann Marie:

We're sorry you feel Rice A Roni is not a San Franciscan treat.

Rice A Roni was first created in San Francisco as a family treat with the DeDomenico family. While Quaker Oats Company (headquartered in Chicago), bought the DeDomenico family's Golden Grain Company in 1986, Rice A Roni is still a treat that originated in San Francisco. However, we're sorry you were disappointed and we will share your comments with management.

For more information about the history of Rice A Roni, please visit: http://www.ricearoni.com/rar_aboutUs/foundingFamily/

Thank you for your business, Ann Marie, and for sharing your comments with us. We hope you will continue to be a valued loyal consumer. We have mailed a full value coupon, good on any Quaker family product, and it should arrive in about a week.

Theresa
Quaker Consumer Relations

Hahahahahahahaha!! Thats awesome!! I'm looking forward to my full value coupon that shall be arriving in the mail!

PS: I'm still disappointed its not really made in San Francisco...I'm just sayin...

The San Francisco CHEAT!!!!

Ok...so I bet you're wondering what this title has to do with anything..let me set the scene for you...
So this onetime tonight I decided to make some yummy Rice-A-Roni, I was real excited cuz I was real hungry. So I am singing a song I made up about the days of the week that went something like..."Today is Tuesday..Today is the day of Tues...why is this so? We do not know! But yet it is the day called Tues." And it pretty much continued on this way til sunday...than I was just so excited about my rice-a-roni I made up a song about rice-a-roni...not the one on the commercials...this one is the original A-Marizzle masterpiece from my mind. So it was pretty much awesome! So I keep thinking, hmmm...San Francisco Treat...I wonder if this stuff is made there...which of course it should be! Hulllllloooo?? San Francisco Treat!! Makes sense right??
So I take a gander at the box and guess where this stuff is made...Its made in flippin CHICAGO ILLINOIS!!! WHAT?? I know, I know...I was totally shocked and utterly outraged and shared my disbelief with my roomie! I than shared it via text to various other friends! Than I put this energy to work and wrote an e-mail of frustration to "Golden Grain" the company that makes Rice-A-Roni in Chicago...this was my e-mail:

"Hello, Thank you for your product...I greatly enjoy rice-a-roni products. But as I was making a box of rice-a-roni tonight for dinner and singing a very catchy song I made up about rice-a-roni I glanced at the box and saw that rice-a-roni is actually made in...wait...where?? CHICAGO!!!!! Ummmm....WHAT?? San Francisco Treat...San Francisco Treat!! Last time I checked San Francisco was in California!!
I for one feel deceived by this new found information...for years and years I believed that rice-a-roni was made in San Francisco...I mean who wouldn't...it says right on the box SAN FRANCISCO TREAT!!!
Anyways morale of this comment is that I for one feel taken advantage of and like you have been lying to the World with your San Francisco treat when your product is actually made in CHICAGO!!! Maybe you should change the box to say Windy City Treat...Cuz right now I feel that the San Francisco Treat...is just a Big San Francisco CHEAT!!! I for one am very disappointed and I feel hurt and led astray by this false advertising and LIE!!!!
I don't know how you sleep at night!
Thank you for your time!
Ann Marie"

And yes you bet I actually sent this!! I will let you know if they respond!! As I write this blog and eat my Rice-A-Roni, I feel somewhat let down by something I loved so much...I trusted that rice-a-roni really was the San Francisco treat.
Next thing I know I'm going to find out that Keebler cookies aren't really made in a tree by elves and that lucky charms aren't really at the end of a rainbow...
What is the World coming to!!!

THE LIE!!!!!!


THE TRUTH!!!!

Whoa! Another one!

So my old roomie/dance party pal tagged me in a post! Wow! This is twice I have been tagged pretty much within a week!! This is outta control :) Ha! So here is another survey tag thing! Enjoy!

I am: a child of God.
I want:you..to want ME!!
I have:a cat named fred.
I dislike:rude/mean people.
I miss:my friends.
I fear:creepy bugs, and losing loved ones.
I feel:pretty dang blessed and Happy :)
I hear: My roomies tv show, on the comp.
I smell: very good!
I crave: cheeseburgers and steak...and french fries!
I cry:when I am hurt emotionally.
I usually: eat pop tarts for breakfast.
I search: google :)
I wonder:where I'll be and what I'll be doing in a year.
I regret: never giving a book of mormon to a certain friend.
I love: Everyone!! And I love my life!
I care: sometimes too much.
I always: wear my retainer every night.
I worry: about certain people sometimes.
I am not: a crook.
I remember: names and faces and where I know that person from, pretty well.
I believe: in Christ!
I dance: like no one is watching :)
I sing: pretty much all the time.
I don't always: eat the best.
I argue: not very much.
I write:letters very frequently!
I win: all the time...in my heart :)
I lose: my marbles in neverland
I wish: I was a lil bit taller, I wish I was a balla!
I listen:to music pretty much ALL the TIME!! Music Rules!
I don't understand: why more people don't absolutely LOVE HS Musical??
I can usually be found: at BMMS, in my apt, walking to the mail box, at church on sundays..on facebook!
I need:some money...and some candy!
I forget: almost nothing...I have a very sharp memory!
I am happy: pretty much all the time! Fo real!!

I tag: well I just tagged some peeps in that other post, so I just tag whoev wants to do this and has never been tagged.

Tag!! You're IT!!!

Check it, I was tagged to do one of these things by Hillary, I feel its an honor...I won't let her down!!

5 Things I was doing ten years ago...
1.I was in 8th grade...13, prob playing school Volleyball
2.At this time I had nice braces and long bangs in my eyes that covered my glasses sometimes
3. I was playing the trumpet in band!
4. I was trying to get my beehive personal progress recognition completed
5. I was watching Dawson's Creek every week with my Brother...hahaha!!

5 Things on my "to do" list today...
1. Teach
2. Go to the third student teaching seminar
3. Eat food
4. Start my work sample
5. Call somebody...or not!

5 Snacks I enjoy...
1. Pretty much all candy..I'm not joking.
2. Lately, Pretzels
3. Cereal
4. Otter pops or Popsicles(when its hot and I have em!)
5. Brownies/cookies/good stuff

5 Things I'd do if I were a millionaire...(after paying tithing of course!)
1.Pay off my student loans
2.Buy everyone I know a house and some cars, including myself
3.Save money for my kids missions and schools and all my friends kids stuff too
4.Go to Cocoa Islands with cort and buy one of those house boats(the kind in that picture!) And travel in general!
5. Pay medical bills of people(random people or people I know)


5 Places I've lived...
1. Spokane, WA (millwood, blue house)
2. Spokane Valley, WA (Green house on the corner)
3. Rexburg, ID (like 7 different complexes)
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. That's all!

5 Jobs I've had...
1.Wintech inc warehouse worker
2. Huckleberry's Paper Patch(scrap booking store!)
3. Student Teacher, Bob Miller Middle School
4. Wal-Mart(cashier and ladies apparel)
5. Rigby High Assistant Softball coach!!

5 people I tag...
1.Cort
2.Melissa Keymer
3.Michele Graham
4. Your Mom!!
5. Whoev else wants to do it!

PUMPED UP!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY!!! ARE YOU ALL TOTALLY EXCITED??
High School Musical 3 comes out in pretty much 10 days!!!!!!
Just in case your excitement level isn't quite matching mine..... Watch this and be pumped!!!



Oh Goodness!! After seeing this I know you now all want to be first in line to see this flick!!! I FLIPPIN LOVE HS MUSICAL!!! I'm so excited for this you have no clue!! I'm counting down the days!!
And are we having a High School Musical Marathon before the movie... you better believe it!!! Am I slightly obsessed...no comment :)

I only wish you were all here so we could have this experience together!!

"So what are we gonna be.. T-E-A-M...TEAM!!!!!!!!"

Love y'all!!!

OCTUBRE!!!!

Wow! Can you believe it's october already?? Smokes! September just flew by!! Maybe its just me!

That being said its still in the 90s down here! Next week its finally supposed to cool down to the 80s! So cross your fingers!!

So life is going good down here. Teaching is keepin me pretty busy! The days go by pretty fast which is nice. I'm enjoying student teaching. It sure is an experience. I have wonderful teachers and an excellent school so that makes things really good! Only less than 2 months left! WORD!

I'm still not super positive on my plans once I'm done here, but they go like this so far....finish here, go back to spokane and substitute teach for a while than perhaps move to the East Coast with a friend for the summer. Than I'll move back to spokane or move somewhere else.

Who knows what I'll actually do though? Things can change! I'm taking suggestions in case I forgot to mention that in an early post.

October will be a good month, High School Musical 3 comes out and I am totally PUMPED!! I love HS Musical!! I know its so super cheesy, but its so cheesy that its great and I will most likely see it opening day!! Who doesn't love teenagers that break into song to deal with the stresses and joys that High School throws at them?? HOLLA!! Ok I'm real excited!! That Zac Efron is so hot right now :) Haha!!

Anywho I hope everyone has been doing radical!! Did y'all go to the RS broadcast last saturday?? Wasn't it amazing?? I loved it!

Well...I have just one question for y'all.....

"Would you like to swing on a star? Carry moon beams home in a jar? And be better off than ya are?....Or would you rather be a mule????"

I'm just sayin....

TRUTH

I had a really cool experience this past Saturday. I should prob start at the beginning...it's a very good place to start!

So Friday night me and my roomies had tickets to this really awesome Time Out for women conference/concert type thing for LDS women! We were able to hear Hilary Weeks perform and a band called "A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet Joseph Smith." Both were super amazing and wonderful. "The Nashville Tribute" was pretty powerful! I greatly enjoyed it all. So it was also scheduled for Saturday like all day, which I was planning on going to when.....

I was walking out of the Cashman Center(where the conference was) and I check my voice mails...two new V-mails from an unknown number. So I listen to the messages...and it was my best friend SISTER DITTO!!! Holy Smokes!! I was freakin out! So her messages were something like, her and her comp were going to a few appts. Saturday morn and they couldn't get a member to come with them so she wanted me to come with them to these appts. Ummmmm.....HECK YES!!! So I called her back and got all the details.

Saturday morning I head up to N. Vegas and we go to the first appt. It was with a lady named *Heidi(names have been changed) The mishys had tracted into her before and every appt. that Sis ditto had set with her she had always cancelled. So as we knocked on the door we hoped she would answer. Well she totally did! Anyways so we sat down and we wanted to give her some information about The Book of Mormon so we read part of the introduction with her and than we read the 1st chapter in 1 Nephi. After we talked with her a little more, I was able to share my testimony with her about the importance of going to church and why I go to church each week. As I was sharing with this lady who I had never met before in my life the things that are near and dear to my heart and the things that I know to be true, I just felt the spirit so strong. And I could tell that she felt it too. I think she may have some mental issues, but as I bore testimony of the Love that the Lord has for us and the Spirit that can be felt at church, she wasn't moving all around or changing the subject(like she did before) she was focused on what I was saying and her countenance changed, and I knew she felt the spirit witnessing to her that what I spoke was Truth!

THAN...we went and visited another investigator, lets call him *Nathan. So here's the DL on Nathan, he has been investigating the church for over a year, he knows the gospel is true and he knows it's the Lords will for him...but why is he not baptized? I don't know! But I know that he knows whats right, and he knows what he needs to do, he is just hesitant to commit. So we talked with him about why baptism is important, and that you don't have to know everything to be baptized, in fact we don't know everything right now either! I could see that he still might have some issues that he needed to take care of. I was able to bear my testimony to Nathan about how I came to know The Book of Mormon is true. It was a very amazing experience because here I am again telling this pretty much stranger something that is so personal to me and pretty much the basis of my life. Again I felt the spirit so strong and I know that Nathan did too. I don't even remember exactly what I said, but I basically said that if he trusts in the Lord and follows in faith than the Lord will bless him and he will overall be happy. The Lord isn't going to give us commandments to make us miserable, his plan is one of happiness because he loves us! Don't we all want happiness for the ones we love? And the Lord out of anybody loves us the most of all, of course he wants us to be happy! I said some other stuff and after I finished Nathan told me how he had been feeling that exact way and how he needed to hear that. It was just amazing for me to see the impact my testimony can have on someone who I don't even know and someone who is not a member. I don't really take advantage of bearing my testimony frequently. But as I bore testimony to Nathan and Heidi of the Truthfulness of the Gospel I could feel the spirit present and it was reaffirmed to me that what I was saying was the Truth and from the Lord. I could feel my testimony being strengthened.

It was just an amazing experience! I hope that I will be able to share my testimony more often with everyone around me. I know its a gift from the Lord that should not be kept to myself. It is strength. And I will strive to share that strength and truth with others and hope that it will strengthen them as well.I know the spirit is present every time a sincere testimony is born.

I only think it appropriate to share with you all what I know to be true and a little bit of my testimony.

I know the Gospel is true and that it is of the Lord. I know The Book of Mormon is the word of God and as we read it we draw closer to Him. We can know of His will for us through the scriptures and through the Prophet. I know Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet on the Earth today. He gives us counsel and direction straight from the Lord. I know that Joseph Smith restored the Gospel to the Earth and that he translated The Book of Mormon. I know that Jesus Christ lived and died for me. He atoned for my sins and He is the only one that has made it possible for me to return to my Father in Heaven. There is no other way except through Christ. I know that the Lord knows me and Loves me more than I can possibly comprehend. I am His Child and He will never leave me. He hears my prayers and He answers them. I know that by following His will for me I will be truly happy in this life.

If you take anything from this blog, I hope its that I know these things to be true. I hope that you may know for yourselves that they are true as well. The Lord loves you!

I love you all!

Friends we are and friends we'll always be!

HOLLA!! So I was able to see my best friend Blayre Ditto who is serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, down here in Las Vegas. One of my friends from Spokane Nycole Nelson(used to be Brower), was feeding the missionaries from her ward this past Tuesday, and one of those missionaries just happened to be Sister Ditto. So Nycole being the wonderful person she is, invited me to come to dinner as well.

On Tuesday night I was reunited with my best friend! It was so AWESOME!! I loved it with all of my heart! I forgot how much I missed her. It has been about a year and 2 mths since I last saw her, so I was pretty dang excited! I was actually shakin pretty good outta pure excitement! Anywho it was wonderful! We talked and laughed just like old times! She is a most amazing missionary and individual. I love that girl so much!! She is such a great friend. I'm so grateful I was able to see her and have that hour with her, it was a blessing I know. She is a blessing to me! It just made me so so happy, and I'm still way happy about it! I could prob burst with happiness right this second! But I'll refrain cuz that would prob make a mess all over the lappy :) Life is good!

Yeah for Sister Ditto!! Thumbs up for missionary work :)
Yeah for Nycole and Blayre..and me...and Roanoke Virginia..and Spokane!

Anywho I just feel like I am extremely blessed with wonderful friends! I have so many friends that have made me who I am, and who make me so happy everyday! I love them all so much! My life is so great and fantastic because of radical friends and family! I know the Lord loves me because he has blessed me with amazing people in my life. No joke! I don't know what life would be life without them all. It would suck, I'm sure of it!

So anywho...school is going well, I'm teaching about an hour each day so far. Next week I'll teach 2 and so on. I like it! I'm getting less nervous everyday! Its good!

This weekend my friend Jill is coming with my friend Tessa as well!! I'm super duper excited to see them! Jill is my best friend from this past summer in Rexburg. She really made the summer great for me, we had a lot of fun times and good memories were made. My summer would have been major trash if it wasn't for her. I'm very happy to see her again! Last time I saw her we went to Mama Mia at the theater and it was OUTTA CONTROL fun! We pretty much just rocked out to ABBA the whole time...it was AWESOME....doesn't ABBA completely Rock!!

So to sum it up... a. Blayre is amazing and I love her b. Teaching is good c. Nycole is the best d. Jill is rad and I'm excited to see her e. Tessa is coming too and I'm real excited to see them both...and f. I love my life and I am DANG blessed with wonderful friends and family, I love them all so much! Oh...and G. ABBA ROCKS!!!

PS: Where can I get that cape?? ;)

It's gettin Hot out here...

...So eat a popsicle!! I am getting so hot I wanna eat a popsicle!!

Hello one and all! Member how my lappy doesn't like to connect to the internet very well?? Yeah thats still the case...luckily my roomie is kind enough to let me use her lappy! Thanks roomie! You rock!

Ok, so school started this week for me! Its going great so far! I'm teaching 8th grade Health and 6th grade spanish, and I'll also prob teach 8th grade spanish as well!! So I have a full day!! But its wonderful, my cooperating teachers are really awesome and help me out a lot. I'm not actually teaching this week. I'm just observing...next week I'll start teachin an hour or two each day. That will increase each week and than by the end of Sept I'll be teaching all day by myself. YIKES! I hope these kids are ready for me :)

It shall be good times!!

Everyday I come home from school, change, grab a rainbow popsicle...either blue raspberry, watermelon(green), strawberry, or lemonade...and than I walk for what feels like 4 miles to the mailbox to check the mail...most the time the box is empty...which is sad...but at least I'm getting good exercise and nourishment(the popsicle!) Its good times...good times. Anywho those popsicles pretty much make my mouth totally colorful! When that happens...ya just gotta rock it!

ROCK ON TO THE POPSICLES!!!

I hope y'all are doing so wonderful and that life is so super splendid! I love ya all!

Peace out from Vegas!!

Viva Las Vegas!

Hey all! Sorry its been a while since I posted...but I moved down to Las Vegas! I got here on Friday and it has been good so far! My mom and sister drove down with me and helped me get settled in and than flew back to spokane on Monday. I'm glad they were able to come down with me. It was nice to have them here.

Anywho so now that I live in Vegas I'd have to say that it is way ROASTY TOASTY!! It is so hot here! I keep telling people its like living in a hairdryer. Sometimes its not so bad but other times its just insane!Today is one of those days! I had to wear long pants and a nice shirt for my student teaching orientation meeting, which is what I will prob be wearing to school most days now, but man those long pants in like 110 degree weather is just outta control!! Oh well guess I'll have to get used to it! Thank Heavens for AC!!

So I also found out my placement today, I'm going to be teaching at a Middle School fairly close to my apartments. So far I know I'll be teaching health...I'm not sure what grade, so I guess we'll see! Anywho its exciting times for me down here! I'm on my own beginning a new experience! I think it will be ok. I'm still nervous but I'm excited as well.

Well thats pretty much all thats going on with me right now. I'm sure I will have more to post later! Some things have occured, I bought a digital camera, so maybe there will be more pics on here..but I can't promise anything because I also am borrowing my dads lappy for the fall, and it has a hard time connecting to the wireless internet, so if my blogs are few and far between than you will know why. But I will try my best to keep y'all posted, cuz I really do enjoy blogging.

Ok, also I saw the movie Mama Mia! And I LOVED IT!! That movie was so so good and me and my friend Jill had a radical time rockin out to ABBA!! Next I wanna see the play in real life, I know its playing down here and my friend can get cheap tix so I might go see it, but I would like to see it on broadway in NYC perhaps too, however I would rather see Wicked if I saw a play in NY. Maybe I will see Mama Mia down here, but one downfall of being in Vegas as a student teacher is that I am really poor, so even tho there is a ton of fun stuff to do, I am limited because of funds. Now everyone please cry for me for a moment :)
Anywho loved the movie!

Well hopefully I can get some more stuff posted on here! I hope everyone is doing very grand!
Much love!

Ocho-Ocho-Ocho

Yesssss...it is the all 8's day! Today the Olympics start! Is anyone else really excited about the Olympics?? I sure am!! I love the Olympics they are totally wonderful! I just hope America can pull it through in Softball!! Did I ever tell you I love Softball?? Well...I love softball!! Olympics WOO WOO!!

So wednesday night I was able to go up to Girls Camp for Bishops night, my mom is the ward camp director, so I had the total hookup! But dang, I miss girls camp! It was great to go back and have a flood of memories come back! Girls camp was such a wonderful time for me! I have a lot of friends that were made through girls camp, people who are my real good friends still! Anyways I loved it. I think everybody I know who has gone to OUR girls camp...camp Na-Bor-Lee/Liahona, has only good things to say about it! It seriously was the best!

Also wednesday I got my hair cut! Its still long, but its shorter than it was, and for me its a big difference, I got like 7 inches cut off...I prob could have even gone a lil more. I don't like short hair but I was feelin like I could pull it off, but I didn't go short this time...maybe next time! I like it a lot though! I got hightlights as well, light brown and blonde! HOLLA! I mean I was Hot before but now I'm like HOTT with two T's...I'm just sayin ;)

Ok last night I went swimmin at lake coeur d' alene and DANG it was fun!! I went with some new friends...Cossette(who happens to be my BFF's Blayres cousin!) and her friend John!! It was super fun though! I really like swimming, its just a good time! Anywho good times were had by all! Its kinda a bummer that I'll be leaving in less than a week cuz I can see many more memories that could have been made with these peeps! HAHA I just had a flash back from last night..and I'm laughing! It was pretty funny! Lets just say Cossette knows how to explain through interpretive dance :)

Well...so who knows what the future holds for Ann Marie...Can you believe I'm gonna be a teacher?? Holy Smokes!! Do you think its too late to become an astronaut?? Thats actually my real passion...I would be the coolest astronaut EVER!! No doubt about it! I once heard about a teacher who became an astronaut who was a lady, so I guess I shouldn't give up hope right?? ;)
"Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon!"

Hope life is peachy for everyone! Do something awesome on this 8-8-08!
Much love!

PS: Song of the day is "Grace Kelly" by Mika. "Why don't you like me? Why don't you like me? Why don't you walk out the door!"
PS: Dance of the day is "Cupid Shuffle"