Christmas Time in Arizona

We recently had a very fun weekend, and I'm very sorry that I don't have a single picture to document it! On Friday Dec. 11th, Dean and I and Lacey and Bille went to a Virgin of Guadalupe party that my friend Maria from school threw. She is the best! She works in the cafeteria in the mornings and cleans rooms in the afternoons, so we always talk when she's in my room. It's great because she doesn't mind that my Spanish is bad since her English isn't great either- you might wonder how we communicate but I think we make a great pair! We always laugh a lot and have a good time, but when she invited me to this party at her house, I was worried it might be awkward. I (correctly) assumed that I'd be the only white person there, and I didn't know anyone else who would be coming, etc. etc. Still, she was very excited about it and told me to bring my sister and her boyfriend, and anyone else I wanted, so I decided to take her up on the offer.

SO glad I did! First of all, I didn't know that regular people (not restaraunts) could own pots that big. Also- where does one store such wonderful monstrosities? Maria kept feeding us til we were bursting, Lacey had someone give her the fascinator (hair thing) she was wearing at the end of the night since Lacey had said she liked it, everyone was super friendly and we got to hear a lot of praying the rosary. We ate (in no small amount) each of the following: Homeade beef tamales, posole, rice with corn and chiles and cheese, Mexican macaroni and cheese, mole, red chile, nachos and chapurada (sp?) which is the best homeade hot chocolate of all times, and another hot drink that tasted like rice pudding in liquid form. Needless to say, it's a miracle we managed to roll ourselves out of there after all was said and done.

Then, on Saturday we drove ourselves (and Henry) down to Tucson to see my little brother Jake star in his high school production of Cyrano de Bergerac. It was wonderful and he was AMAZING! My family is so neat and talented, and I was so proud of him. The rest of the weekend we just spent hanging around our family's houses. It was fun to see all the Christmas decorations we grew up with and spend time with family. Unfortunately for me, it has made it very difficult to return to the last week of school. I voted for just staying in Tucson and not finishing my last week of school before break, but Dean thought that might not be the best idea.

Being at home (even for a short time) especially around Christmas makes me think of how good I had it growing up. Sure life wasn't always perfect, and there were occasional family stresses, but basically I had nothing to worry about! No bills to pay, jobs to go to, major decisions to make, church callings to fulfill, or other major stresses. Life is great now too, but every now and then I get an urge to return to being a kid, when life was simpler and I had no real responsibilities. Plus-my parent's pantry! Being at home really makes me appreciate the power of a well stocked pantry. Any snack you want is available and probably a few you don't want are available as well! :) I'm sure Dean is hoping that someday our pantry will be that full, but he might have to wait for that wish to come true. That's about it, just a brief update- I'll try and find pictures that I actually took for my next post!
Merry Christmas Season!

Mexican White Supremacists and other 7th grade happenings

So this is not funny, it is rather horrible. But, it is also funny because it is so stupid and it's like the Dave Chapelle sketch has finally come to life right before my very eyes in my own classroom! Recently, a fellow teacher confiscated a paper airplane created by three-four students on our team. This airplane had some especially disturbing/entertaining (depending on how you view it) designs on it. And by designs, I mean swastikas! Elaborate ones! Swastikas that clearly had time and effort put into them. (Keep in mind that I can't even elicit this kind of effort from these kids on their warm-ups let alone major assignments). Now, I have 150 students and only two of them are white. The rest are Mexican, Native, or Black. Ready for the kicker? The swastika airplane was taken from 4 of my Mexican students. Confusing? I think so. I'm not sure how it's possible that they've been in MY class since August and think that Swastikas are okay, but I'm also confused on this fact- do they not realize that Mexicans cannot be in the White Supremacist club? Not only are they uninvited, they are vehemently abhorred. Somehow this fact has been lost on my four little anti-semite students who I can only conclude think that Swastikas mean anti-Jew without realizing Swastikas are anti everyone. When I tell my students not to do something, they sometimes think it's because it's against school rules or it offends me personally. While both of those things are true in this case, the real point is that my students are making themselves look like complete morons. SO my question for you is...how can I facilitate a realization in my students that Swastika drawing, confederate flag waving Nazis do not like them? I wish to remain silent so that students don't continue drawing this stuff in an effort to be defiant. Plus, I've already spoken my peace on this kind of stuff. What could I get away with having them read that would deliver the message loud and clear? If you have an idea that works, I'll try my hardest to capture their shocked little faces. Thank you so much dear readers. I hope this post has been simultaneously hilarious and disturbing.

Can I live in Pottery Barn and/or Crate and Barrel?

Please? I need to ban myself from looking at their websites, or going to their stores (which I did recently.) I really think they are like drugs. Now that I have a beautiful new place setting complete with dinner plate, salad plate, bowl, silverware and beautiful new non-broken glasses, am I satisfied? No! My appetite has only been whetted. (I think I just made that word up?) Now I'm spending my time dreaming of the beautiful couches, beds, kitchenware, and holiday decor both of these stores offer, instead of grading riddle poems written by 7th graders, doing laundry, going grocery shopping, setting up visiting teaching appointments, cleaning my house, or any of the other productive activities I had planned for today. Sigh... Take a look for yourself, I think you too will be delighted.

Halloween 2009

Pick a pick a pumpkin from the pile,

You can give it eyes and a great big smile,
Pick a pick a pumpkin round and clean,
then you'll be ready for Halloween.
Ha-llo-ween,
Ha-llo-ween,
then you'll be ready for Halloween!

A belated happy Halloween to everyone! We didn't do anything too exciting, and though we did dress up, (Taylor as Bellatrix LeStrange and Dean as a deranged hockey player) we forgot to take pictures of our costumes. Oops. Here are some shots of the rest of our low-key but enjoyable festivities.

We carved pumpkins together!
(Henry was extremely curious about the whole process)

A shot in the light and
A shot in the dark

He's the Devil in Disguise

Bloody steaks, ice cold blood to drink,
salad, and popcorn balls rounded out the evening.
Until next year!
(For Halloween that is...hopefully it won't be that long until I post again)

Trip of Destiny

Dean and I recently headed to Las Vegas to see if we could strike it rich, quit our jobs, buy a dream house on a private beach and travel the world for the rest of our lives. As it turns out, the gambling was a lot less glamorous than some of us had envisioned. (I was thinking more Guys and Dolls, and less sweaty fat people in flip flops and shorts sitting alone, pressing buttons on an I Dream of Genie slot machine.) In fact it was so un-enticing that we decided against blowing our millions in the casinos altogether. Luckily, there just happened to be a U2 concert in Vegas the weekend we were there, so the trip wasn't a total waste. :) Below are some pictures of our exploits for you to enjoy. Yes, we went to an aquarium, yes I'm pretty sure that is the real Elvis, and yes we saw my boyfriend there, but unfortunately we didn't get a picture of him. (He was about 65, wearing HUGE sunglasses, several gold necklaces and a pair of purple velour shorts with a matching velour top. Come on people, how could I resist?)

PS- Those are Joshua Trees Dean is pointing at, for those of you who are U2 fans...

And another comic worth reading...

Hahahahaha!

The great TV debate...

Sigh...Television is trying its hardest to reenter our lives. I haven't lived in a house with a tv, in over two years, and I rather enjoy it.* Furthermore, I take a sort of elitist pride in not only telling people that, "I don't watch that show" , but in fact, "I don't even own a television." Still, despite the joy I receive from delivering such lines, I'd like to believe that there are deeper motives for my crusade against tv. I shall list some of these reasons below, in an attempt to convince myself and others of the wasted time, money and energy that the box we call TV really is.

1. Children who have televisions in their bedroom score seven to nine points lower on standardized language and math tests than children who do not. (This statistic was used by Rafe Esquith in his most recent book, Lighting Their Fires) In other words, TV has the potential to make us stupider. And yes, I just used that word.

2. Many shows (not neccessarily most) on TV are extremely graphic. Violence, offensive language, and sexually explicit material are rampant on TV, even if they can be carefully avoided by discerning viewers. The point is though, I would be buying into something that I fundamentally disagree with on many levels.

3. Aside from simply being offensive, many other shows are mind numbingly inane. I haven't watched MTV for years, but if it has "progressed" at all since 2002, I can only assume that the entire channel, and many others like it, have become so ridiculous that I'm actually concerned that human beings exist out there who are willing to subject themselves to watching such idiocy.

4. It will suck up my time. I haven't checked my personal email in weeks. My laundry pile is overflowing, I have stacks of papers to grade and the bishop has called my house twice in the last week...(I feel a calling coming on.) Why would I invest in anything that would potentially suck away any of my time? Between facebook and blog stalking (which I do more frequently than actual blog writing) I already spend a frightening amount of time getting very little accomplished. It seems that TV would only add to this problem.

5. We have this thing called the internet. The internet is so great. Not only can you waste hours on it doing nothing at all, but occasionally you can waste 1/2 hour increments on it too, by watching your favorite television shows on hulu. Look, I'm not proud of this point, but I'm just saying, I can watch The Office online, and Dean has discovered a questionably legal way to watch numerous Hockey games online, so what real advantage does a television set offer?

6. Televisions are unsightly. I find the idea of flat screen tvs extremely appealing. They are small, out of the way, and do not have to be the centerpiece of the room. And yet, my fundamental opposition to TV will prevent me from ever shelling out the kind of money required to purchase one of these babies. As a result, I'm left to choose between the other TV options which in my humble opinion are bulky, ugly, dust collectors.

7. TV is expensive. Even if you do not buy a TV (and have a free, functional one offered to you as we have had recently) cable is expensive. In my mind, as a non-tvite, I see no point in buying a tv but not having cable. But, a cable package that has any worthwhile channels is expensive. Even if that expense is only say...$50 a month, that is still a lot of money! I keep trying to figure it out in my mind. If we theoretically had $50 a month to blow on a cable bill, does that mean that right now, without TV we have enough for me to spend $50 on new clothes each month? The possibilities are staggering... Plus, cable is not the only expense! If you get a TV, you have to have something to put it on. If you get something to put it on, you have to buy something to plug it into, etc. It reminds me a little of that delightful childhood favorite, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, only that was a book and therefore worthwhile.

Well I guess that about does it for my TV con list. There are a few small pros to getting a TV. I have yet to decide if they measure up to the rather impressive list given above.

1. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Best part of Thanksgiving minus the food. Haven't seen it in 3-4 years now. Sounding really tempting...Plus, it's part of the Basic cable package.

2. Larger, legal access to televised hockey games. The legal part might be overrated.

3. Food Network. I admit, they too have succumbed to a lot of ridiculous inanity, but still, there has to be something that is still good and holy in the land of tv.

Well, that's all for now. I'll let you know which side wins out.

*Okay, that's not entirely true. In Sandy, we had a huge hulking TV in our living room for quite some time, but it never worked and we didn't have cable so I'm not counting that.

So, we're in Phoenix...

Ok, it's been a long time coming, but here we go. We are officially in Phoenix and providing the photographic evidence right here. After a long and arduous journey south, we arrived on a late July night and camped out on our floor with Henry. The next day Dean's parents and a local known only as Jack helped us unload all of our worldly possessions. We love our new apartment; there is ample room for Henry to romp and it even has a handy breakfast bar. We are located just north of downtown Phoenix which puts us right between Taylor's school and the Phoenix Zoo. Flashforward almost 3 months and we are finally feeling like Phoenix is our home. We now know where most of the major sub-cities are located and we've even found a few delicious spots to dine. Dean has also found stupendous mountain biking 10 minutes from our home and a hockey rink where he can not only play but also watch NHL teams practice. Taylor is loving being constantly warm (even in October!) and thoroughly enjoying Arizona sunsets. Not too shabby.

Post for an unnamed critic who is also a Baltimore Orioles fan and works at Banana Republic

So, recently this blog has received some unjustified criticism from an avid reader. It seems that just because it's been a few days, weeks, or even months since I last updated this blog, I've been maliciously labeled as an "unblogger" or one of those horrible people who sets up a blog only so that they have a convenient place to find the links to all of their friends' blogs, and not so that they can actually make a contribution of their own to the literary/ bloggerary world at large.

So sue me. Maybe I do use my blog only as a superficial connection to my more ambitious and literary friends who by the way, I consider to be the creme de la creme of the blogging world. Maybe I don't update consistently. Or even semi-regularly. But where else can you find pictures of George W. Bush mountain biking? Or Will Ferrell commenting on the state of the current health care crisis? Or my random, disconnected ramblings, regardless of their "few and far between"ness?

Yep, that's what I thought. Now that I've added this, I think it's time to return to lesson planning. Yes, that is my only update. I assure you, any lack of posting is directly correlated to an increase in lesson planning, grading, and falling asleep- book in hand- at nine-thirty PM or earlier. I know, I know; it's an exciting life I lead. But please, try not to be too jealous. And try, just try, to wait a little while more, for details galore on our new lives in AZ. They might be just around the corner.

Then again, I may not post again for months and months! So don't hold your breath, and go read something interesting in the mean time.

An interlude

I know there are other supposed events that I should catch up on (moving etc.) but I had to add a snippet of an endearing conversation I had with my husband tonight. I was rather irate to begin with and started ranting about people who appear to have 0% compassion in their very souls and our conversation started to turn towards general political trends and philosophies etc. We were talking about how many times voting comes down to choosing someone who you hope will be a good decision maker. Often times people vote based on shared ideologies etc. Then, just as I am gaining more momentum and getting more irate about various things, Dean says indignantly, "Here's the thing. George W. Bush is a mountain-biker, but I still think he's a moron!" hahahahaha. I love that man. (Dean, that is, not George W.) I don't know if anyone else thinks that is even remotely funny, or if it was just one of those things you had to be there to appreciate, but I thought if was funny enough to immortalize on the pages of this blessed blog. Welp, that's all for now. Have a good night!

Fourth of July

Let's go back in time shall we? I know that it is actually July 25th, but I plan to keep blogging as if I had made multiple, separate entries during the busy month of July, instead of making one long catch up post...So, here we go! We had a fun but low-key Fourth this year. Dean and I had our own BBQ dinner and then friends came over to watch fireworks and eat root beer floats. Alas, the root beer wasn't homemade as I had originally planned on, but maybe next year right? Turns out I don't have any containers big enough to make five gallons of root beer. Not sure how such a tool slipped my mind when I was creating a wedding registry, but somehow it did. Anyway, I admit we picked probably the worst possible spot to watch fireworks from, but it was still fun to spend time with our friends! Right after this eventful evening, I drove out to CA to see my family and Dean followed by flying down a few days later. It was great to see both of my parents and spend some time in beautiful southern CA. Dean was also able to see his good friend Devin-and we've included photographic evidence for those of you in Provo who were beginning to wonder if Devin really exists or not. Yes, People, he does. That's all for now!

The housing hunt

So, finding a house is turning out to be more difficult than I would like. It's hard to get motivated to pack up our whole house now, when we don't even have the prospect of a new place to move to. I'm headed to CA on Sunday and then Phoenix to look for housing, so hopefully I find some prospects by then. As you can see in the picture, Henry is also on the hunt; but I don't think he's having any luck either.

On the Road Again...

Well it's the day you've all been waiting for...EMPLOYMENT! Yahoo! We thought it might never happen, and we were sort of relishing in our plans for homelessness 2009 (and beyond) but it looks like it won't come to that after all. Heavenly Father has blessed us and reminded us that He really does hear and answer our prayers. 3rd Nephi 13:25-33 says,

“Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? ...And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin...Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

I like what follows in the account of the Savior's sermon found in Luke Chapter 12. After the passage quoted above it reads, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." I love that! It is a good reminder that even in uncertain times we don't need to fear. Heavenly Father will help and bless us because He loves us and wants us to be happy. We are especially grateful for his blessings in our life at this time. And now, where are we moving to you ask? Well, I will give you a few hints.

Hint #1: It is warm. All year.

Hint #2: There is no snow during the months of October-April. (Or any other time either.)

Hint #3: It is a city with a population of almost 2 million

Hint #4: It is home to delectable restaurants such as this one and not too far away from other favorites like this one

Hint #5: It is in Arizona

Hint #6: It rhymes with Kleenex

That's right all-- Phoenix, AZ here we come!*

*Assuming that all goes well with my references and getting my AZ fingerprints and teaching certification! Keep your fingers crossed people!

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day! Today we went and visited my great-grandparents over at Wasatch Lawn cemetery. This might sound weird but I think Memorial Day is a great holiday and I love that so many people go to cemeteries. It's fun to see people go with their entire families, from grandparents to little kids who are running around all over other people's graves- ha ha, you gotta love it. We saw lots of people bring picnics and Dean and I thought that was pretty sweet as well. This is the second year we've gone, so I guess as long as we're living somewhere with kin nearby we will make it an official Watanabe family tradition. We also try and clean off the grave of one other person whenever we go, someone who looks like they don't get too many visitors. Now we are back at home reposing with good ol' Henry. Nothing else too exciting to report for now, so I guess we'll leave it at that.

Graduation!

Well, we are finally real live grown ups! Ha ha. Not really. But we have officially graduated from BYU now, and we feel much more intelligent and qualified for well...anything. We were so lucky to have both of our families here (or most members of them anyway) and it was fun to spend a silly (though hectic) weekend with everyone. Hopefully we'll be able to spend some more time with everyone soon. We also tried Pizzeria 712 in Orem, per Diana and Kate's recommendation, and it was fabuloso! I thought so at least. Not mind blowing, but delicious, simple, and delightful, even if the service was only so-so. Now, you might be thinking- graduation?! You two must be on to really great, exciting adventures now! Well, not so fast. We Watanabes like to take our time before embarking on new adventures which may explain why we are both lacking promising job opportunities for the near future...not to worry though, we are confident something will come up soon! Right now, we're just filling out applications and basking in the glory of graduation before we get too worried about silly little things like the FUTURE! :) Health Insurance, smealth insurance- who needs that when you could just be a professional graduate?! Below are some highlights from the big day(s):

update

Well...we're in that very place that the last post talked about. It's a nice basement apartment in Sandy only it's less like a basement and more like a normal house. Our heads don't touch the ceiling or anything! We're excited that it's finally starting to get warm, and we're looking forward to planting a garden and flowers again in a few months. Setting up our porch is our newest project to prep it for ultimate barbecue extravaganzas! Also, we have a new addition to the Watanabe family. We now have a puppy named Henry. He is a white boxer and he is totally and completely deaf. Still, he's doing an excellent job of learning hand signals and he just peed on the kitchen floor. That last part was inserted by Dean. Okay well he did pee, but after a delightful hiatus outside he's doing much better. He especially likes to lay in the sun (shoot...I think that should be lie...I guess as an English teacher I should know those sorts of things) on his doggy bed. Today we took him to the park and watched Little League baseball try-outs. It was very fun and Henry met a Great Dane which is the only kind of dog he hasn't jumped on. We think that the Great Dane's size had something to do with it! Dean is working at a pet store now (which is how we ended up with a cute and lovable pooch) and Taylor is finishing up her student teaching. She's teaching 9th graders English at a local middle school. It is fun but there are some times when she wonders what she's signed up for! That's all for now but here are some pictures of Henry for everyone to enjoy!