my pants ARE on fire

You're right. I said I would post pictures, and I have not.

I can't find my camera cord. I'm still looking.

But in the meantime, if you want to read a really depressing book, read The Weight of Heaven. So well written but seriously so depressing. And I rarely find books depressing. Sad, yes. Depressing, no.

If you want to read a really excellent book, read Sold. It's about a girl who is sold into prostitution, so you would think that it would be depressing, but it's not. It is excellent. Love it.

The end.

socal ragnar

For those of you who were wondering, california was lots of fun.

even though our team captain did not like me, ashley was there, so how could i NOT have fun? seriously.

i did very little sleeping, lots of running, and lots of sister time. exactly what i needed out of my weekend.

i will post pictures tomorrow. i promise.

teenagers are funny

In the middle of class last week, (while I was wearing my favorite, very large necklace) one of my students raised his hand:

"Ms. Reed, what would happen if you fell over and couldn't get up because your necklace was too heavy?"

good news, guys

in case you were worried that i might be running out of things to do, i am flying to california next weekend to run ragnar with ashley. luckily my principal thinks running is awesome and will give me a day off of school. sometimes i love him.

born to run

has anyone read it? if not, you should. it'll make you love running.

now, maybe this means that i'm easily swayed, but after reading it all day long saturday (while sitting on my porch basking in the sun) i decided to get up and run 8 miles. it turned out to be the fastest 8 miles i have ever run. (i know because i have the awesome garmin wristwatch. it told me how fast i was. i wanted to hug it.)

then today, after my regular run, i ran 1.5 miles barefoot through the grass. it just might have loved that 1.5 miles more than any other 1.5 miles i've ever run.

now, i know i say this a lot, but this book just might change your life. seriously.

2010 books

As you know, when I turned 29, I made a list of 30 things I wanted to accomplish before I turn 30, including reading at least 30 books this year. Easy.

So far I have read:

1. Into Thin Air

2. Rules of Survival (kind of heartbreaking)

3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

4. The Girl who Played with Fire

5. I am the Messenger (one of my favorite books EVER)

6. Ender's Game (also one of my favorite books ever)

7. The Maze Runner

8. Eat, Pray, Love (delightful)

9. The Glass Castle (fantastic)

10. Left Behind (surprisingly good, considering it's a "Christian Lit" novel. It's the only book my co-worker has read cover to cover, so I obviously had to read it out of curiosity)

11. The Great Gatsby (again)

12. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (not as good as I had wanted it to be)

13. Catching Fire? (maybe... I can't remember when I read this one)

up next:

Born to Run. Everybody at work has been talking about it, and I feel left out. Especially since I run. Supposedly this book says it's okay (in fact, preferable) to not spend a lot of money on running shoes, which is awesome because, let's face it, I don't like spending a lot of money on anything.

Utah

Besides the fact that it snowed, Utah was awesome.

I played with Violet every day, securing my spot as favorite aunt. Brandon thinks that she loves me more than she loves him, which might be true. I mean, I don't want to brag or anything, but I am a pretty awesome aunt.

I consumed all-you-can-eat french toast from Magelby's Fresh, had dinner with some old friends, and took a nap pretty much every day.

correction

For those of you who read Ashley's blog, "extremely high grooming standards" is not a downfall.

And yes, having a poodle as your best friend is SO totally worth it.

travel

So my list of places to visit this summer keeps growing.

Now Ashley and I want to go to Sicily and Greece.

And then from there I was thinking of meeting up with Emily to visit Veitnam, Singapore, and Indonesia.

And then from there I might come home. We'll see how things go.

Considering I do not have a summer job, I have no idea how this is going to be paid for. JCrew probably won't pay me enough to cover the whole trip, but might make me the well-dressed world traveler ever. (Good thing I have my priorities in line, right?) Thankfully, tutoring helps a lot, and I currently have two tutoring jobs.

I'm pretty sure this summer is my 30th birthday present to myself. No summer school. Lots of sunshine and happiness, and lots of trips. Brilliant.

so rise, and shine....

Today, I got a phone call from our stake's girl's camp director. I'm pretty sure I am going to be a leader this year. I am currently flipping back and forth between excitement and dread....

BTB

Today, we had our annual "Beyond the Books" day at school, during which we held no classes and instead had heartfelt discussions about life. It was awesome. Although it kind of freaked out our Chinese exchange students when all the sophomore girls started crying during a particularly emotional break-out session. Apparently in China, people don't talk about their feelings. They told me they would way rather be in Physics class.

At the end of the day, we showed the movie Gossip to our Senior girls. It might have jumped up to my favorite movie of all time.

remember when....

Hey, remember when I used to be an awesome blogger? Then I stopped being quite so awesome. I like to think it's because I got a life, so I no longer have to blog to make myself feel important. That may or may not be true, but it's what I tell myself.

At any rate, I recently promised a co-worker of mine that if, at some point in his life, his liver were to fail, I would be happy to share mine with him. (He is convinced I have an awesome liver. Don't ask how these conversations get started.) The next day, I stole his parking spot and reminded him that I have a greed to share my liver, so he owes me. This is awesome mostly because he can never get mad at me. Ever. (And I probably won't ever actually have to give him my liver.)

this summer

i'm pretty sure i'm taking a trip to indonesia.

(go ahead, be jealous. everyone else is.)

ironic

For somebody who owns so many clothes, i find it ironic that i do not own a single long-sleeved white tshirt.

smrt

One of the math teachers at our school received the following email from a student two days after a major project was due:

Dear Mr. Math Teacher,

I have finished my project. I would send it to you, but my internet is down, so I will have to give it to you tomorrow.

Thanks,

Your Favorite (and smartest) math student

NYC

Last weekend, after a week of being snowed in, we decided to head up to New York City. It was awesome.

We spent a lot of time in Times Square

Bought cheesy I Love NY t-shirts

Ate some really good food

and went to the top of the Empire State Building. (Since it was Valentine's day and all. Meg Ryan was not there. Neither was Tom Hanks. Such a let-down.)

things i love:

Since it was valentines day and all....

Mostly I just love the snow. Simply because I had 6 snow days that (we have been told in secret) we will not have to make up at the end of the year.

I also love that my mom sent me a valentines card with the word "ass" on it. Hehe. Thanks, mom!

Dear Mabel,

Let's make a deal. I'll visit you if you visit me.

I'll take you to the Zoo and the National Children's Museum and we can have a picnic by the river. It'll be awesome.

Let me know what you think.

Love,

Poodle

PS - Don't let your mom bribe you. You can ask for me to come visit any time.

good news

I don't have school today, because DC doesn't know how to plow streets. Reason #452 I am in love with DC.

We also don't have school tomorrow.

And we're supposed to get more snow tomorrow night.

Bad news: I was supposed to go sledding today, but everyone bailed. We're going bowling instead. I have lame friends. (I like them anyway)

cupcake

So one of my students is missing two weeks of class to kayak in Costa Rica.

Her parents made me cupcakes to make up for it.

They are the best cupcakes I have ever eaten in my life. I stole one of her math teacher's cupcakes. He doesn't know what he's missing out on.