The Crazy Things We Do For Roommates

It's 2:30a.m. What in the world am I still doing awake? Oh, yeah, my roommates and I waited for Natalie to get home from a date just so we could live vicariously through her.

Apparently, it was a good date. Apparently, it was worth it for me to stay awake. Apparently, I'm going to be sleeping through church tomorrow.

*Ruth reminded me that we'll stay awake in church due to the fact that we have combined RS/EQ tomorrow. I don't know why she thinks this will entertain me...

Another Day Another Dollar

I took my students bowling today, which is usually the highlight of the week. This day turned out to be especially unique, however, when my student came to school with a diarrhea accident. We changed him quickly enough to get him on the bus for the field trip. Now, I usually pride myself in being ultra prepared for field trips (I always take a bag with gloves, wipes, spare diaper, purell, band aids, bottle of water, camara, etc). However, I foolishly only brought one extra diaper. My student had yet another diarrhea accident while we were traveling to the bowling alley. We changed him AGAIN at the alley, only to have him go AGAIN! Obviously, this poor child is not feeling well. Not able to get a hold of his mother, I called his grandpa who doesn't speak English. My mind kicked in to foreign language mode, which wasn't exactly helpful considering the grandpa spoke Spanish and not Romanian.

Rachel and I spent 15 minutes calling all our friends, trying to find someone who could speak the language. (you think it'd be easy considering how many return missionaries there are around here.) After finally finding someone, we have him call the grandfather and explain that his grandson needs to be picked up asap.

Then, to make matters even more messy (and stinky), the poor little fella went again! huge blowout. Long story short, he went shirtless until his mom could come get him.

There's never a dull day with my job.

I must be mad!

My alarm clock went off at 5:15am, as it always does on the weekdays, screaming for me to wake up and get to the gym. I turned it off and proceeded to lay in bed awake telling myself, "Get up...get up...get up." My mind said yes, my body said no. Did I get up and go to the gym as I do every morning? nope.  Did I got back to sleep? Nope...I laid in bed watching "Stewart" skits from MadTV on youtube. 

All in all, it was a very productive morning. (I tell myself as I drink my diet coke at 9am trying to stay awake)

AFL

My sisters and I went to an AFL (Arena Football League) game on Friday with Pete and Jerry. It was my first time watching the Blaze in action, and honestly, I'm ok if it's my last. There's nothing more pathetic than a bunch of washed up football players "living the dream." Hmmm...I take that back...watching Jerry hit on the girls sitting behind us was pretty pathetic too. It's a toss up.

Happy Birthday, Best Friend!

As it is Beth's birthday, I'm giving yet another shout out on my blog. In no particular order, here are some reasons why I think Bethany Rae Campbell is absolutely fabulous and my best friend:

1. She knows me better than I know myself. (Case in point...one time someone asked me what my favorite candy bar was and I said snickers. Beth heard this response and said, "Nope. It's reeces." and she was right!)

2. She can always make me laugh and no one laughs harder at my jokes than she does!

3. She has such clarity on life. She puts things in a wonderful perspective.

4. She's so dang optimistic.

5. She listens to my endless rantings and ravings and isn't afraid to tell me I'm being ridiculous.

Pretty much, she's irreplaceable.

love ya, best friend! happy 26th!

I'm losing my mind!

First I lose my precious Ipod Shuffle (it may be just a shuffle, but I used that baby everyday). Now I can't find my wallet! What in the world is wrong with me?!?!

Ward "Talent" Show

For our ward talent show, we had a peanut butter/jelly eating contest. We paired up and you had to eat all the sandwiches that your partner made for you. The first picture is of the 3 teams. Paul is my partner. I thought it was a sure win.

Paul and I making sandwiches for each other.

And finally, here I am about the throw up from so much peanut butter and no beverages. I was dry heaving a lot. Why do I get myself in these stupid situations? I'm too old for this.
*For the record, I was able to finish all my sandwiches first. I'm not sure if I should be proud of this or ashamed.

The Haitian's Baptism

Richard, the Haitian, got baptized on Saturday!!! It was a beautiful event. Richard was so excited, and of course, so was I! I was surprised at myself...I started crying when Mike started to baptize him. I also cried yesterday in church when he was confirmed. There was an amazing spirit present. I have no doubt that he is going to make an amazing leader and impact many people for good both here and in Haiti. I am honored to call him my friend.
I am also very determined to go to Haiti someday soon.

What is this World Coming to!?!?!

My para-educators and I were discussing recent current events this morning before my students came. Here's what's going on in America right now, just in case you were wondering...

*An honor student in CT was suspended for a day, stripped of his title of student body vice president, and was not allowed to attend the honors dinner b/c he bought a bag of skittles from another student.

*A woman's skim molded to the toilet seat after staying in the bathroom for TWO YEARS. The boyfriend finally called the authorities to remove the woman from his toilet seat. Medical personnel had to remove the toilet seat with a pry bar and then it was removed from the woman's skin at the hospital.

Seriously, what is this world coming to?!?!?!

A Shout out to the Missionary Mall!

I took Richard the Haitian to Missionary Mall on Saturday to buy church clothes. A girl in my ward had previously talked to the manager, and in explaining the Haitain's situation, he agreed to give us a discount.

We got a suit with 2 pairs of pants, two white shirts, shoes, socks, and ties all for (drum roll please!)

$145!!!!

Can you believe that! It was such a steal of a deal!

I want to publicly thank the Missionary Mall. Thank you for your generosity and service. No doubt you will be blessed for your kindness.

*Anyone looking into buying a suit, I now recommend Missionary Mall over all other stores*

Best Job Ever

I've been contemplating my job. Really wondering...is it worth it? All the emotional and physical stress for so little pay? With the exception of this year (bless my sweet sweet students this year), every year I get bit, peed on, thrown up on, hit, kicked, hair pulled...you get the picture. Again I ask myself...why am I doing this? Is it really worth it?

Elder Zwick came to our stake conference. His son, who has a mental disability, bore his sweet simple testimony. Elder Zwick then asked the congregation, "How often are you in the presence of someone who is ready to meet their Savior at any given moment?"

I am in the presence of multiple people on a daily basis who are ready to meet their Savior at any time. I have the opportunity to teach 10 beautiful children with autism. And although I have the title of "Teacher" and they are the "Students," I have the sneaking suspicion that those roles really are reversed. I learn so much every day about what kind of person I want to be, how I should be treating others, patience, the necessity to service, and to not judge a book by it's cover.

Although my salary may be minimal, my job is priceless. Is it really worth it?

Absolutely yes.

really?

Sometimes I look down and think, "Wow! That's a really far way down."

and then I remember, oh yeah, I'm tall.

Spring Break!

Guess who just booked a flight to florida!!! That's right! I'm going to be getting on a plane in 6 weeks to go to beautiful, warm Orlando to go play at Disney World with my bestest friend!

Go ahead. Be jealous. I would be if I were you.

good old pastimes

There's no better way to completely waste time like taking random, pointless quizzes on facebook. I took the quiz, "Which Hills Character Are You?" This was my answer...

I'm Whitney.

"You're beautiful and educated. You're the best listener of all the girls and you give a concise, honest answer. A little shy, your taste in men is impeccable. You are the ideal relationship type gal although being single is a fun option. You're Whitney!"

All I have to say is THANK GOODNESS!!!!

Crucial Conversations

We had stake enrichment today. Al Switzer came and talked to us about dealing with crucial conversations. Here are some lessons I learned:

It's ok to confront your roommates about doing the dishes. Good thing Ruth was there today, otherwise she'd have never seen this conversation coming...

Don't work in construction...the foremen can get a little physical. I don't want to get beat up.

It's important to learn how you react to crucial conversations so that you can improve your skills. If I had to guess how my some of my past students react, it'd be to attack. I should help improve their skills...maybe then they would stop biting me.