So long, old friends

As I write, my old sewing machines in my classroom are being taken away.  The new ones will be installed later in the summer.  For now, they continue to sit in their boxes in the storage room.

I asked the guys from Dave's Bernina in Provo what their plan was for these.  They said they've already sold about half of them.  HALF!  They haven't even left my room yet!

That means there are still about half (20) of them left.

If you've been waiting to get a deal on a Bernina, you might want to give them a call!  They told me they'd be about $499.  I know that sounds like a lot, but it's a great deal for a Bernina.  These go new for probably $800

They're pretty great machines.  It's Bernina model 1008 if you want to do any research.

Or just ask me because they've been my constant companion for 5 years.  I know them pretty well. :)  They are mechanical, instead of the newer electronic models.  But they're Berninas, which means they're pretty amazing!  If they can handle junior high kids for years, they can handle anything!  Dave's Bernina will fix them up and make them all nice and "new"...minus the occasional smiley face one of my angelic 8th graders carved into it with a pin.

Anyway, if you're interested.  Give them a call.  You can ask for Christopher...or Richard I suppose.  You can tell them you heard they might still have some 1008 machines left from Timberline Middle School.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Dear Parents

To my friends who are parents or may someday be parents:

School is important.  Please make your children go.  Just because they're tired in the morning doesn't mean they should be able to sleep in until noon.  Their classmates and teachers are probably tired too, but they come.  I can understand maybe once or twice a year, but it's going to be a problem when your child only comes to first period three times in an entire term.  And if you do decide to let your child sleep in almost every day, please don't be surprised and shocked when your child gets a C-...that is probably a generous grade.

On a similar note, just because your child is getting an A doesn't mean they can stay home. 

Also, maybe you can help me with something....if your child cheats (let's say, for example, they forge YOUR signature...four times), would you defend them?  Would you go to the teacher and ask her to still give him credit for the assignment?


Just some thoughts.


Sincerely,

A teacher with 5 days of school left

(FYI, these aren't all from personal experience, but they've been discussed among co-workers. I could go on all day) :)

Teacher Show and Tell

What makes a junior high sewing teacher happy?

How about two cute delivery guys bringing 38 brand new Bernina sewing machines to my classroom?  

I wasn't even mad that they forgot one.

  Or maybe it's this beautiful denim shirt that a student bedazzled and puff-painted for me.

 

Either way, it was a great way to finish off the last Monday of the 2010-2011 school year!

8 more days!

Single Digits

9 days of school left!

For any of you who might be a teacher or know a teacher (which would be all of you), you know this is a pretty big deal.

Get excited!

I am!

A random day to remember

I've never been known for my stellar memory.  I was always the one who forgot everything 5 minutes after finishing a test.

That may or may not be because I was one of those procrastinator crammers when I was in school.

But every now and then, I remember some random fact, date, name, etc.

May 19th is one of those dates.

9 years ago today, I graduated from high school.

I can't remember most of my good friends' birthdays, but I can remember my high school graduation date?

What's my problem?

Why I remember that date, I have no clue.  It was probably because I knew about it half way during my junior year.  My friends Kate, Kara and I created a paper chain with several weeks left of our senior year and strung it down our high school hallway (Yes, hallway is singular.  You should go to Drummond High School...it's a social experience you shouldn't miss.  Add it to your bucket list).  It never got ripped down because the rest of the seniors were excited for it, too.  And the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors were probably too scared to do it because we would shove them in a locker.  And the teachers wouldn't rip it down because they were excited to see the class of 2002 out the door after dealing with us for 13 years of K-12.

I can't believe it's been 9 years.  I'm getting old!  But it's been a great 9 years!

Hawaii Day 7

Friday

Aloha (the goodbye kind), Kauai!

Aloha (the hello kind), Oahu!

We woke up at 4am to catch our 6:30 am flight.
Sick.

We started out at Pearl Harbor.  

 

We didn't do any tours and were only there for maybe 30 minutes.  But it was a very somber place!

Then we went to a session at the Laie Temple.  It was BEAUTIFUL!!!

We spent the rest of the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

 

 Okay, this is sideways, but these hats were sweet!

 Natalie and Justin, I hope you see this.  I took a picture of this guy just for you!

 

 

 

 Mmm

 These pina colada drinks were so good!

  Just being crazy

We got a little wet when it started to rain (okay, we were soaked)
Before

After

 

We got leis.  Real ones.  They were BEAUTIFUL!

They had a show at the end (no pictures allowed), but there was a lot of fire throwing and attractive Polynesian men.

That night we stayed at a hotel in Honolulu.  It wasn't quite as nice as our house on Kauai...okay, that's an understatement.  I was scared to take off my flip-flops. :)  But we were so tired and only there for a couple hours before we had to leave, so it was fine.

Hawaii Day 6

Thursday

This was kind of a low-key day.  And it was fantastic.

We started off the day at Tunnels Beach for a little snorkeling.  When we got there, we were a little confused because we didn't see any tunnels.  Then we got in the water.  The tunnels are UNDER the water!  So cool!

 

 

After a little time on the beach, we headed into Hanalei to spend a little time being tourists.  

 

We had lunch at the Dolphin Restaurant.  Fish tacos...mmm.

 

 Then onto shave ice.  It wasn't the best, but it was still tasty!

And just enjoying the beauty of the North Shore!

 

 We crossed this bridge quite a few times.  They have a lot of one lane bridges, so you have to take turns going across the bridge, 5-7 cars at a time.

That night, we had honey lime enchilladas at the house.  They were so good!!

Then onto our final sunset at Hanalei Bay.

You might remember this post with our great jumping pictures.

 

 

 A little yoga on the beach.

 

I wanted to cry when we left.

Mahalo, Kauai!  It was AMAZING!

Now onto Oahu!

Hawaii Day 5

Wednesday

We started this day off with a little snorkeling back at Poipu beach.  We stopped by a local shop and got some snorkeling gear.  

So much fun!

Sea Turtle!

We even saw Gill from Finding Nemo. Don't you think they look the same?

My roommates and I got matching bracelets.  Aren't we cute?

That afternoon/evening, we went on a catamaran up the Na Pali Coast

 

Incredible!

They pointed out a lot of places where movies have been filmed.  I hadn't seen most of them, but a little clip of Indiana Jones was filmed along this ridge.  And the upcoming Pirates movie (coming out THIS WEEK!) was also filmed here.

I've never seen anything so beautiful.

 

 King Kong.  Can you see the ape face in the rock?

 "Hey did you see that [water] today?  Talk about blue."

(bonus points to whomever catches the movie reference)

 

 

After going up the coast, we stopped while they fed us dinner.

I even tried poi--steamed taro root, pounded into a paste.  It was nasty.  But it was purple, so that was cool :)

On the way back, it got a little stormy.  The waves started coming.  With waves comes sea sickness.  Luckily, none of us got too sick, but there were definitely a lot of sicklings on the boat!  It was sick.  

(Not real...but funny!)

Annie watching the sick people while Kelli tries not to get sick herself.

We stayed up top most of the time since the sickies were down below.  As a result, we got a bit wet :)

 

If you're ever going to Kauai, I HIGHLY recommend a catamaran tour.  Just make sure you take a little Dramamine before you go. :)