TMFH: Beef Jerky

Three words: Ralph's Packing Co. This small company in Oklahoma produces "Mexican Bandits" Beef Jerky, the most incredible beef jerky ever created. I can guarantee that once you've tried this, all other beef jerky will be ruined for you. Somehow my dad discovered this particular brand, and I love it. It's delicious, spicy, addictive and only available in Oklahoma. So, we might be sending money to my dad in the future to get us some of this goodness. (Yes, I am eating it right now as I am typing this. SO GOOD!)

TMFH: I speak Spanish

Since I spend the majority of my day speaking Spanish with my students, sometimes I'm not sure which language I'm thinking or speaking in. So, beware. It would be incredibly convenient if your spoke Spanish, but it's not a requirement.

TMFH: Match Maker, Match Maker!

Make me a match!

I'm 27.

And I did it.

I moved out of Provo.


...aaand, I signed up on match.com

Oh dear.

Just know, I did it for you.

You're welcome.

Your loving future wife,

Me

Clone me

Wish I could clone myself, and make me into three of me.
One for sleeping, one for teaching, one for living all my dreams.
So full of exhaustation. Yes, that's a word that I coined.
Careful manipulation brings me to this melting point.

I want to do everything.
I can't. No, I can't.
I have to do everything.
This ticking clock is killing me.

Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep.
I just want to
Dream, dream, dream, dream, dream.
And fall into a
Deep, deep, deep, deep, deep
Coma
But for now I breathe.

Park City In The Fall!

Fall is here! The trees are changing colors, and it's breath-taking. I took a few shots. Join the fall madness:

TMFH: Soccer

I'm super intense when it comes to soccer. Some guys can't handle my intensity. I'm glad you can.

Wait... CAN you? Bwa ha ha ha!

TMFH: Church

This past week was horrible and stressful for me. I went to church today feeling down because of it, but by the time I left I felt wonderful, full of hope and ready to tackle another week. Having a good relationship with God is the best way to cheer me up. So, if you ever see me down, pray with me, take me to church, take me to a place that will bring me closer to God.

TMFH: Car Registration

One thing I dislike about Utah is how much trouble I have to go through to register my car every year. This is why I usually avoid the process until I get a ticket for expired registration. I hope you will do this for me one day. I'm terrible at it.

TMFH: Chocolate, Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is divine. If you do not agree, I will gladly eat all of your dark chocolate for you. If you do agree, we can share.

TMFH: Teaching

I'm afraid the longer I am not married to you, the more I am becoming married to my job. What am I in love with? Teaching, among other things. I love helping my students learn. I guess it fulfills the human need to make a real connection with people, to help people, to have a positive impact in someone's life.

TMFH: New things

I love new things. New books. New pens. New places. New friends. New shoes.

They completely belong to me. I get to read them, annotate in the margins, and highlight my favorite parts. I get to write while the ink is still smooth and thick. I get to experience them for the first time. I get to make my own judgements. I get to wear them in to fit.

TMFH (To My Future Husband): Music

I will likely write several songs about you and inspired by you one day. Hmmm... come to think of it, it would be cool if I wrote one about you now, at least I think so. Coming soonish.

TMFH: Late nights

I was born a nocturnal creature; ask my mom. And I laugh that the profession I chose requires me to get up rather early. So, enjoying my last week of summer here, I am writing to you at 12:30 am, relatively early for me... late for a teacher.

I just think well late at night. And sometimes though I'm dog tired, I can't fall asleep because my brain is awake. If you stay up late enough with me, you'll witness my five stages of tired.
Phase1: Staring at the wall about to fall over
Phase 2: Laughing at everything and mumbling about nothing
Phase 3: Hyperactive frenzy (beware)
Phase 4: Fuzzy numb feeling in brain, achy muscles in body
Phase 5: Total collapse and peaceful, deep sleeping

TMFH

To My Future Husband,

I have a friend who started writing to her future husband about a year ago. She is now married to him. So, I figured I better get on the ball. Now that I'm writing you, I'm positive that we will discover each other soon. You will fall deeply in love with me, and then you'll realize just how quirky I am. I'm assuming you'll be equally quirky though since I will also be falling hopelessly in love with you. I'll try to write you as often as I have something to write about.

Today's topic: Singing birthday cards

Today while killing time at Walmart I encountered the most beautiful thing: a singing taco in the form of a birthday card. After five minutes of shamelessly and repeatedly obeying the tiny paper button that said "Push me. I sing.", I finally decided that I had to buy this card. Standing in the Hallmark aisle of pure genius, I tried to think of a good reason or person to buy it for, and it was then that I made an important self-discovery. Deep down I wanted to buy this taco for me. And so I did.

I've decided though that this joy was meant to be shared with others. I will therefore be singing this in my Spanish classes all year to the birthday students. And I'm likely to one day serenade you with it as well.

A preview of things to come:

The more the better

Slurpies
Some people might get just one fountain flavor pumped into their slurpie. Well, I need seven all in the same cup. Have you ever tried it? It's delicious! And you learn which flavors to stack on top of each other. For example, the Crystal Light flavors are always the most tart and therefore go well next to incredibly sweet or weak flavors such as cherry or pina colada. And you ALWAYS have to have pina colada in there somewhere.

Frozen Yogurt
Same concept. I have found a way to get 6 different flavors into one cup. I rarely am in the mood for just one.

Music
Ever had someone ask you, "So, what kind of music do you like?"
I remember as a freshman at college feeling incredibly intimidated by this question. Coming from a small Texas town where Country, Rap and Christian Rock were the 3 genres most commonly listened to, I felt like I had not yet fully explored my options to really know what I liked listening to. And so I would try taking cues from others. Often I would hear people either narrow down their preferences to a few genres or they would just names their five favorite bands. The intimidating part was the discussion which usually followed where question asker would agree or disagree with the choices. Depending on the person, you could really have to defend your selections.Well, after years of exploring genres, I have thus far concluded the following about my own music preferences.
Jazz
It's all good except for elevator type music (too smooth can be too bluh) One day I want to learn to scat.
Pop
 Love singing it. Love dancing to it. It's best quality is that it is usually upbeat.
Hip  Hop
 Dancing. It's all about moving that body with no inhibitions. Dancing to Hip Hop is my chance to feel like a diva.
Rap
 Goes well in my run mix. I can easily propel my body forward in rhythm to Snoop Dog or Drake. Ever tried dancing while running? Ever tried rapping?
R&B
 Great for singing. Great for a cool down at the end of a workout. I love the trills and the emotion.
Heavy Metal
There are very few of these songs I can tolerate. But when I find one I actually like, It is usually desired as music once every 3 years for unknown reasons. I suppose there is a dark monster in us all that occasionally needs recognition. Sometimes you've just got to scream your head off without reservation or decibel consideration.
Opera
 Andrea Bocelli anyone? I enjoy opera in foreign languages. A. Because I love foreign language. and B. You can't understand what they're singing anyways. So, it can only add to the experience.
Classical and Instrumental
Light instrumental is great for working on thinking things. In fact, I am listening to it right now. I plan lessons to it. Makes me feel smart and helps me focus my mind.
Alternative Rock
I call this boy music. I enjoy it. So do boys. I usually tap into this playlist for my guy friends. I am aware that not everyone enjoys singing to Justin Bieber, and I'm ok with that.

Travel
I once dated a guy who didn't see the point in traveling because he loved his home state so much. I was disgusted. When I was younger I used to tell people that there are two places I really want to see in my lifetime: Hawaii and Australia. They both appealed to me because of the different culture and atmosphere I might find there. I still haven't made it to either place, but I am determined to do so along with the rest of the world. Why limit it to two places when you have so many options? I literally want to travel the world and learn 10 different languages. So far I have been to every US state except about 6 and I have been to 10 countries outside the US: Mexico, Canada, England, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. So, if you have plans to see the world, I am more than happy to be your traveling buddy.