Sicky

The pros of being sick:

1. Boyfriend brings beaUtiful flowers. (my favorite kind at that)

2. Boyfriend brings yummy clam chowder.

3. Boyfriend snuggles when everyone else runs away.

4. Abs are sore from coughing. (more sore than Tim's "ab" workouts)

5. Don't feel bad wearing sweats and not doing my hair all week.

6. It's much easier to do a deep voice for my frog sock puppet performance in drama class.

7. Get to use my cute little, colorful tissue packets.

8. Coughing keeps me awake in class.

9. Got to try a new flavor of cough drops.

Hey, at least there are pros right?

Fish-like

I often wonder why I became a swimmer. Of all the sports that I am aware of (sorry if I offend) swimming takes the most time and effort to be good at it. I've done it year round for about 12 years now with only August as a break or an occasional ankle surgery. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I had chosen a different sport. Anyways, needless to say, my life is going to be very different when its all over in a couple of months. I'm so grateful for the talents that my Heavenly Father has given me, especially to swim. I'm pretty sure my life would much more miserable without those much needed endorphins that I get on a daily basis. Although I may complain from time to time about my sore muscles or lack of sleep, I really do enjoy swimming. The people that I have met because of swimming have been great influences in my life and I love the many happy memories that come with it all. Hopefully my athletic motivation continues throughout my life. I don't know if I'll be a stellar triathlete, but we'll find out. :)

This past weekend I went to Stockton, California for a swim meet. It was so much fun to swim outside and get a tan! I feel more confident in my racing then I did last year. Training during this past summer certainly helped with that. My times were much better then last year at this time, probably due to my recent ankle surgery then, but still good nonetheless. Hopefully the meets to come will be just as fun and successful!

Peace. Love. Swim.

Weeord

Sometimes I feel like have a lot of weird tendencies, just insignificant things. Like how I always have to push 22 on the microwave instead of 20. Or how I randomly get a cramp in my pinky or second to last baby toe. I always have to put make up on my left eye and then my right eye and I'd much rather pluck my right eyebrow than my left, it's just easier for some reason. My toenails are always painted no matter the season, I just can't stand to have bare toes. If "Party Rock" is on, I have to sing no matter where I am, it's just one of those songs. Supposedly I leave the kitchen cabinets open all the time, I think its just sometimes. Turning off lights are more automatic to me than closing cabinets I guess. My unique fact during get to know you games is that I can pogo stick. I bet lots of people can pogo stick, its just that they've never tried it before so it makes me look more awesome. And of course, there are countless other instances of weirdness. It make life interesting.

But the best compliment I've gotten from Sterling lately is when he told me, "You're weird and he's weird." Yes, Sterling I do have a boyfriend who appreciates my weirdness and I appreciate his. It's fun.

How Many Lbs to Drown?

So I recently discovered how many pounds it takes to make me drown...about 20 pounds and 15 yards in a dive tank. This was not a grand discovery, you see. I just happened to go to swim practice one day. Two bricks were handed to me, practically strapped to my chest and I had to kick, not swim to the other side of the dive tank. You don't dare drop a brick because 14 feet below is quite the distance when you're gasping for breath and have another brick to carry. Instead there was an unnatural desire to glue myself to those bricks even as I sank below the surface despite the ferocious kicking. I choked a few times and looked a lot more vertical than I was horizontal. Needless to say, I understand the concept of drowning quite a bit more, unfortunately. Oh, how I dread Tuesday and Thursday mornings. But need not fear, I'm sure I'm getting stronger...hopefully.

Wish List

Sometimes I make wish lists in my head. I know its not a very good thing to do because I can never have all the things I want nor should I be wishing them in the first place, but then again it's healthy to dream right? So I decided to write down a very short wish list so as not become an unhealthy wisher.

I wish...

1. I had jeep liberty. They're really cute, ya know.

2. Ice cream was good for you.

3. My family lived closer to me.

4. I could dry instantly after being wet. It would be an awesome super power.

5. I could remember everything a teacher ever said to me.

6. I was instantly an amazing photographer with all the expensive gear.

I Can Do It

So I have a crazy life, pretty much like a lot of college students. I work 12+ hours a week, I swim 20 hours a week, and I go to school. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, but not too bad so far. I just have to take one day at a time. Recently I had to write a paper for my health class about consciously observing my positive and negative actions and thoughts. My paper was pretty honest and I just put down what happens to me on a daily basis. Sure I have my ups and downs, but I think its more important to concentrate on the ups. I had a couple of rough days during my observation, however, and it showed in my paper. At the end of my paper my teacher wrote, "Wow--how do you do it all? work and swim and school?" It was so nice to have a professor of all people to notice my busy life as an outside observer and respect me for my hard work. It was such a nice comment to me for some reason and really perked up my day and attitude. I like the motto that Sister Susan W. Tanner said, "I can do hard things." It makes me feel so good when I accomplish a "hard thing" and just reflect on it.

Teaching

Surprisingly, I feel like I'm becoming a better teacher. I miss my gospel doctrine calling and LOVED it when I got to teach relief society. I taught my drama class a poem today and it totally flowed naturally. Things come quickly to me and I just feel like be a teacher was a life calling for me.

I wrote this little list for my TELL 430 class based off an article I read for fun. I feel smart. :)

Important Things to Remember When Teaching ELLs:

(according to Karalee Fuller)

1. Repetition is key. Just like you and me, they don’t understand everything the first time. Mix up the ways you teach important concepts to help it stick. (multiple contexts)

2. Just because a student can speak to you does not mean they understand the textbook or certain academic vocabulary. (BICS vs. CALPS)

3. English words are hard. Sometimes a word can be deciphered, but often times not. Would you know what the word interpretation means by just looking at the word?

4. Every ELL needs help outside of the classroom. In order to catch up to their peers they need more academic time. Ex: after school programs that support academic learning

5. Visual support helps ELLs. Pictures are the universal language.

6. Every lesson should be engaging and motivating.

7. Practice, practice, practice.

8. Relate new concepts to things they already know/prior knowledge, whenever possible. (scaffolding)

9. Group work has been seen to help with confidence and learning. The teacher doesn’t have to be the only one teaching.

There is not one “right way” to teach something.