100 Things About Me (Richie)

I am writing this only because my mom and Angie requested it.  So here goes nothin'.

1. I only like 4 things: Religion, Family, BYU Football, and music

2. In high school my two favorite kinds of music were rap and classical

3. I never thought that I'd marry a white girl

4. I am 4 years younger than Angie

5. Of all the dates I ever went on, I was younger than the girl on all but two

6. I love teaching Gospel Doctrine in our ward

7. I love studying the scriptures

8. I love reading articles on farms.byu.edu

9. I read cougarboard almost every day

10. I think I am more obsessed with BYU football than anyone else in the world

11. I graduated from BYU

12. I am going to graduate school at the University of Arizona

13. I really don't like school

14. I like trying to be funny

15. I am really shy around people I don't know but then I'm crazy around people I'm comfortable with

16. I worked in the Wymount Family Housing Office for 2 and a half years

17. I was a secretary at Wymount but I made everyone call me a desk attendant because I didn't want to feel like a girl

18. When I was a secretary at Wymount I was also the secretary in our Elders Quorum and wanted people to give me presents on Secretary's Day

19. I used to have a gap in my front teeth so I'd never show my teeth when I'd smile.  

20. My dentist once told me to push my teeth together with my fingers every day to fix the gap. My brother-in-law Matt is a dentist and told me not to do that

21. The eye doctor once told me I was red-green color blind but I don't believe it

22. I draw pictures at a 1st grade level

23. I'm really excited to be a dad

24. I love playing with little kids because I act like them anyway

25. I love Angie Whitaker

26. I've always felt like I'm a lot dumber than my brother Ryan

27. I once had a dream where Angie let me in on a secret that everyone thought I was really ugly

28. I burned a rap CD with songs I wrote from junior high up until my freshman year of college

29. I've always felt that I make friends easily

30. I feel like the dumbest person in my class of 10 at the U of A

31. I feel like the other students all like Audiology a whole lot more than me

32. I've always felt very close to my dad even after he died of cancer when I was 8

33. I sometimes dance like a little kid to get Angie's attention

34. Angie tells me to "stop it" a lot

35. I went on my mission to Curitiba, Brazil

36. My favorite number is 36

37. My least favorite number is 7

38. My two least favorite movies are Beethoven and God's Army II

39. My two least favorite songs are Cotton Eye Joe and Mr. Jones

40. I have never seen the movie Titanic

41. I had never eaten a Pop Tart until I married Angie

42. My biggest fear is failure

43. I hate playing baseball/softball but Angie loves it

44. I used to be really fast

45. When I was 9 I honestly thought that I would win the Heisman Trophy some day

46. One time I tried to fake sick to stay home from school.  My mom gave me a thermometer to check my temperature and when she left the room I put the thermometer up to a light bulb to make it hot and it exploded.  I went to school that day.

47. I have never broken a bone (except for maybe toes, I don't know)

48. I try to avoid eye contact with Angie when she flosses at night because I'm afraid she'll make me floss too

49. The image I have of myself in my mind is a lot more handsome than the one in the mirror

50. I like to call my classmates in class to try to make their cell phones go off

51. I used to work at Orange Julius in high school

52. That was my least favorite job ever

53. Sometimes I wish I never would have learned how to walk because then people could just do stuff for me

54. I like to ask people who they think is better looking between Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington and then call them racist no matter who they say

55. I could put ranch dressing on almost everything I eat

56. I used to call myself Asian by Association because I had so many asian friends

57. My favorite video game of all time is Tecmo Super Bowl

58. My mom used to call me Pooder when I was little but now denies that she ever did

59. Indiana Jones/Han Solo were my childhood heroes 

60. In my school picture for kindergarten I tried to do a little half smile to look like Indiana Jones but I really just ended up looking weird

61. Europe is the continent I would least like to visit

62. My favorite home cooked meal is chicken and rice

63. I also love cheeseburgers but only fast food ones, restaurant cheeseburgers are gross

64. I am very sensitive to other people's feelings

65. I worry about stuff a lot on the inside but I almost always act calm on the outside

66. When I was a kid I thought that I didn't like corn on the cob and would complain to my mom when we'd have it.  When I tried it however, I really liked it so I told my mom that I would just eat it to make her happy because I was too proud to admit that I'd changed my mind

67. I don't believe that salmonella exists because I've never met anyone thats ever had it

68. I might like cookie dough better than the actual cookies so that might be why I refuse to believe in salmonella

69. In general, I think that guys are funnier than girls

70. There is a little boy somewhere in Brazil named after me

71. My favorite state is Maryland

72. I've only been to Maryland once

73. I am the youngest grandchild on the Whitaker side of my family

74. I can't eat breakfast right when I wake up because it makes me sick

75. I've had the same hair cut since 1998

76. I gained 15 pounds on the honeymoon (1 week)

77. I've lost 10 pounds since moving to Tucson due to stress, heat, and starvation

78. I think I'll probably die from cancer

79. I hate swimming, ice skating, bowling, and roller skating, all things that most people like

80. One time I bowled a 36 

81. I like to call my brother-in-law Troy and say mean things to him

82. I once made a New Year's resolution to not yawn for the whole year.  I yawned about half an hour after midnight

83. I performed in the Stadium of Fire in 2006

84. When I was a little kid I used to go hiking in the foot hills next to my house and collect animal bones.  I would bring the bones home and put them in my closet.  So my closet was full of dead animal bones until my mom told me to get rid of them because it wasn't sanitary

85. My sister Patrice used to call me Cardboard Brainless Wonder

86. I can watch old BYU football games over and over and never get bored of them

87. I am really good at doing nothing

88. I can do a really good gorilla impression

89. I tried to run for Student Body President as a high school senior, which you can't do because you have to be a junior to run.  I was planning on winning and then respectfully declining because I had to move on to college.  I would have won but then I got kicked out of the election

90. I have sniffed pepper up my nose twice just to make people laugh

91. I used to go kick a school trailer every Saturday night at Orem Junior High with my friends

92. I can Russian Dance really well but one time I possibly broke my toe doing it after my friend Steve beat Street Fighter with the Russian guy

93. When I was a kid I refused to dress up for Halloween after about age 9

94. I would save all of my Halloween candy because I didn't want to waste it so quick.  Then I'd never end up eating it and would end up throwing it away

95. I save up money and don't like to spend it, possibly related to how I would save my Halloween candy.  However, I will not be throwing away my money

96. I've told Angie that when I die I am giving all of my money to BYU football

97. One time the FBI came in to Wymount and interviewed me.  I told them my title was President Desk Attendant

98. When my boss Kecia would start to ask me to do something at work I would pick up the phone and pretend like I was helping someone.  She could see on her phone that no one was on the line

99. When I was in 6th grade I waited for hours to meet Michelle Pfeifer and then when she came out from filming she hid behind someone and got in a car and drove away

100. Little kids love me

100 Things You Don't Really Need to Know About Me!

It has been very fun to read some of my friends 100 things about them. I hope I can entertain you with at least one of the things the way I have been entertained to tears with some of yours!

1. I love Richie Whitaker.
2. I floss my teeth every day.
3. I love having girlfriends.
4. A student at my school found out I was pregnant. He told his mother he thought I was just getting fat.
5. I like my feet but Richie makes fun of one of my toes. He says it's flat on top.
6. I want to get my ears stapled to my head so they don't stick out.
7. I am crazy about my nieces and nephews!
8. I don't have a middle name.
9. I love music that my parents listened to.
10. I never want to have a pet.
11. Actually I would want fish, but wouldn't ever want to clean the tank out.
12. I had a hamster when I was younger. I went on vacation and forgot to get somebody to take care of it. When I got home, it was dead.
13. I have a long board that is almost as tall as me!
14. I love to do anything outdoors except rock climb. (I went once and couldn't do it. I have NO upper body strength.)
15. I am really close to my grandparents and relatives.
16. I went to Ricks College, BYU-Hawaii, and UVSC.
17. I wish I could dance.
18. I wish I could write.
19. I love to put Vasaline in my nostrils before I go to bed.
20. When I move to a different home, I can't "rest" until everything is unpacked and in its place.
21. I love shopping so much. I can't go into stores anymore because I can't say no to something I want.
22. I hate when anything touches my nose!
23. The freckles on my face have faded since I was a kid, but now I'm already getting aging marks on my skin!!!
24. I love to read but never do.
25. When I was little, I found a large, flattened, dried, dead toad in the middle of the road in front of my house. I decoratively put toilet paper in the bottom of a box, placed the road kill neatly in it, wrapped the box, and gave it to my mom for Mother's Day!
26.This is a short story I dictated for my mom to write when I was 4 years old. "There was once this man and he was poor. He was sad and lonely. But one thing he couldn't wait until his wife could have a baby. And one more thing, he couldn't wait. It was a boy and he was so happy about that and he wasn't poor anymore. And he had a horse and he was so happy. But one thing he hated and he hated the scissors. The end."
27. I am scared to break rules.
26. Besides Christmas, my favorite holiday is the 4th of July. (In Utah).
27. I love chick flicks.
28. Actually I love pretty much every movie I see.
29. I love having people over but I always feel like I am a horrible entertainer/hostess!
30. I absolutely HATE drains.
31. Some of my favorite places in the world are: Lake Powell, Havasupai Falls--Grand Canyon, Switzerland, Italy, Ecuador, home, and my parents' home.
32. I love to ride my bike.
33. I took skiing classes during college at Grand Targhee.
34. I lived in Ecuador for about 6 months total and still stink at Spanish.
35. I don't think I am smart at all.
36. I am very self-conscious about my unsmartness. (See, that's not even a word...)
37. I can sleep any time, anywhere.
38. I once fell asleep on a plane before takeoff and didn't even realize we took off!
39. I fell asleep in front of my departure gate at the airport another time. I didn't wake up when everyone got on the plane. After everyone had boarded, somebody tapped me and asked if I was supposed to be getting on that plane.
40. I went skydiving, and it wasn't even scary, but I thought my ears were going to explode!
41. I have to use the restroom more than anybody I have ever met. (Even before I was pregnant!)
42. I want to name my daughter Mylie Joleen.
43. I took many types of lessons and sports growing up--piano lessons, singing lessons, guitar lessons, clarinet lessons, ballet lessons, jazz lessons, tap lessons, swimming lessons, soccer, softball, and volleyball.
44. If I could be anything besides a teacher, I would want to be a guitarist/singer, an artist, or a photographer.
45. I can't really decide what my favorite color is.
46. I wish I could sew.
47. I "ran" track in high school for social reasons. I tried hurdles. After my first meet, my coaches never made me compete in a meet again, (that's how good I was) but I continued to practice and work out with the team so I could socialize!
48. I've never had a bloody nose.
49. I've broken my collar bone 3 times, my arm, and my ankle.
50. I got a skin graft when I was 4. The docs took skin off my bum and stitched it onto my ankle.
51. My favorite sports to play are soccer, volleyball, and softball.
52. I didn't watch any tv from Junior High until I met Richie. Now I'm addicted!
53. My favorite tv shows are: So You Think You Can Dance and The Office. My fave used to be Full House.
54. A few people have told me I look like Kristen Johnson from 3rd Rock from the Sun. The sad part is I think she is very unattractive.
55. Two of my favorite movies are foreign films.
56. I've been to 21 states.
57. I don't wear my seat belt in the back seat.
58. I put the shoulder strap of my seat belt under my armpit.
59. I put my metal eyelash curler under my armpit to warm it up before I use it.
60. I check my friends' blogs every day.
61. I got married in the Manti, Utah Temple.
62. I'm usually photogenic in my face, but not my body. =)
63. I eat chocolate every day.
64. I love to eat.
65. I often feel guilty eating.
66. This is my last year teaching--5 years down!
67. I've had the nicknames Angelina, Angelina Concertina, Angie Baby, AJ, Angelica Divine, Ang and Little Sh_ _!
68. I like to feel in control without looking like I am.
69. I used to play with worms and cut them in half with safety pins.
70. I always had a trampoline in the backyard growing up. I can do front and back flips and hand springs on the tramp!
71. I want to live in California.
72. I am a Gospel Doctrine teacher in my ward.
73. I've never disliked a calling until now.
74. I love camping.
75. I call Richie "Stinky Boy" and he calls me "Sweetie." (He's nice even when I'm not!)
76. I'm the meaner one in our marriage.
77. I am very feeling oriented, but often feel awkward expressing my feelings--especially to the people closest to me.
78. I'm very sensitive to smells.
79. Richie thinks I am overly sensitive to sound as well.
80. The sun makes me sneeze and my eyes water.
81. Black licorice, even the smell, could possibly make me throw up.
82. I'm usually kind of cold.
83. I love to wear makeup and jewelry.
84. I experienced culture shock moving fro Tucson, Arizona to Oklahoma.
85. I'm scared of breast feeding...it seems so WIERD!
86. When kids or my siblings express their talents, it usually makes me cry.
87. I've never had braces.
88. I've recently become more conscious of our earth. I've started with recycling plastic bags.
89. I get startled easily.
90. When people try to scare me it always works. Then it makes me mad.
91. I am a horrible back seat driver.
92. Growing up I always thought I would be married by 19. Thank goodness that thought didn't work!
93. If I married Richie at 19, he would have only been 15.
94. I think it would be nice to adopt a kid or two from another country.
95. I need to go visiting teaching in 30 minutes.
96. I'm terrible at recapping experiences or retelling something somebody has told me.
97. I want to own a scooter to ride around town and the mountains.
98. I have a lot of clothes in my closet that don't fit me anymore, yet I continue to hold on to them in hopes that I will lose weight!
99. It bothers me when people breath loudly--unless they are sleeping.
100. I'm done! Tag, you're it!

Gratitude

Thank you, muchas gracias, obrigada, merci, danke, mahalo, grazie, arigato, sha ja! I am not normally outwardly very sentimental, however as I am feeling very blessed, I feel it is quite appropriate that I share my thoughts and feelings. As many of you may know, we are expecting a baby in July. And as many of you may NOT know, we are also expecting a lot of debt due to student loans, as we have decided that I will stay home with our baby instead of being the breadwinner of the family. On that note, stress levels in our home have reached an all time high, money has become a serious issue, but our belief in our decision remains to be what we feel is the right thing for us to do.
So why all the gratitude? I tell you what, when you're striving to do what's right, the Lord really looks out for you. The way He is blessing us at this time is through others' love, generosity, kindness, and Christ-like characters.
At the beginning of our pregnancy, reality began to set in. We'd have a lot we needed to get, and with what money? A crib, mattress, bedding, bassinet, baby tub, car seat, stroller, bouncer, clothes, bottles, pump, dresser, etc, etc, etc.
Blessings have been poured upon us. Truly! My parents purchased us a crib. Richie's sister Rachel and brother-in-law Troy have given us a crib mattress, bassinet, and clothing galore! My sister Cassie has given us a tub and a baby bouncer! My Aunt Maxine made us a darling blanket and burp cloth. A lady in my ward offered us a brand new stroller she said they never used. A man I work with donated a dresser to us. Richie's brother Ryan helped us by picking it up in his truck. A grandmother of one of my students offered us a wonderful slider/rocking chair. Richie's classmates gave us a couple gift certificates, baby clothes, and wash cloths. One of my students gave us a gift bag full of baby necessities and fun things. My sister-in-law Schuyler's mother Deniece made us a darling blanket. We have been blessed. And I don't even think this is the end of it.
I have no doubt in my mind that if you are truly striving to do what's right, the Lord will bless you. He wants to. I realize I often don't give as much recognition in this fact as I should, but the truth remains. He loves me. He loves you. He loves us. And for that knowledge I am incredibly grateful. So again, Thank you, muchas gracias, obrigada, merci, danke, mahalo, grazie, arigato, sha ja! I love you all!

HAPPY SPRING!!!

Spring in Chicago--2005

I LOVE spring!!! Some of you may be thinking it's not spring yet...you've still got snow on the ground don't you? And cold weather. And disappointing clouds. Well I don't really know when the first official day of spring is, but with Easter approaching, it is spring to me! And not to mention the beautiful weather here in Tucson. Something I will thoroughly enjoy before June, July, August, and September hit. That's when it's unbearably hot and completely miserable. Hope spring springs for you soon!


Spring at Thanksgiving Point in Utah--2007

The Best Day Ever!

You may think this is a random time for a wedding day blog, considering it's not our anniversary or even Valentines Day. Well you're right. It is a random time. However you can never talk about the best day ever too much. Who wouldn't love the memory of a mariachi band playng in your grandparents' backyard while eating taquitos, churros, and sipping on a virgin margarita? Since it is already so warm here in Tucson, and Richie's latest talent has been to imitate excellent Mexican trumpet songs with his lips, I can't help but think of the best day ever--our wedding day. So my friends, if you missed our wedding day, shame on you. You missed the best wedding reception ever created by man. Actually mostly women. We'll give credit to my parents, my mother-in-law, my grandmother, my Aunt Donna and Uncle Darryl, my sister-in-law Rachel, my long-time friend Mariah, and of course myself.

Our Wedding Day

It's NOT Funny!

Saturday afternoon, my grandparents and I set out on a "city tour" of downtown Tucson. Our main goal was to find the memorial statue of my great-great-great-grandfather, Captain Jefferson Hunt of the Mormon Battalion. On such a beautiful sunny day, it wasn't too hard to find. He's the guy sitting down.

Now this may look like a normal memorial, however, as I was approaching, I noticed red all over his fingers. Blood? Why? What was going on here? Go ahead. Take a look.

Oh my gosh! Did somebody REALLY put red you-know-what's all over his fingers? That's NOT funny! That's disgusting!
Well what was funny was this...

Should grandpas REALLY be climbing up a huge slab of cement to remove a plethora of nasty red condoms from statues? Isn't that something the young spry granddaughter should be doing? Not this grandpa. You go old man!

It's a Girl!

That's right folks! Now nobody has to worry about Quatro. Quatrina is the new idea. We'll see how that flies.
I have come to the realization that Richie is the pickier one when it comes to choosing names. We had two perfectly adorable names picked out for about two months each, and at the end of that two months, Richie suddenly decides he doesn't like those names anymore. Is that LEGAL? I mean sheesh, we can't agree on anything else, why change it when we did actually agree in the first place?
On that note, we need some ideas. What girl names do YOU like? We'd love to hear from you. However, Richie has a few stipulations: 1--no names of countries (like Aja or Kenia or something.) 2--no names that are too far "out there." If he hasn't ever heard it, he probably won't like it.
We'd love to hear your ideas!

Pusch Ridge

Only in Arizona can you hike on a snowless mountain in January. How lovely!


Look! You can see our apartment complex!


Pretty tough guy aye?

And his name will be...Quatro!

It's finally been decided...if we have a boy, his name will be Quatro! At least that's what Richie has been telling everyone. For days now, Richie has been telling me the name of our future son, and I have just been laughing it off. Today he told his entire class at school as well as his family that our boy will be named Quatro. The best reactions came from his family.

Around noon, Richie called his brother-in-law to inform him of our newly decided name. Between laughs and Richie saying, "I'm serious Troy!" Richie finally convinced Troy that we had really decided on that name. Troy said that he would back Richie on any name he chose, but Richie's sister Rachel was not so supportive.

Minutes after hearing the news, Rachel was dialing Richie on the phone to voice her disapproval. She told Richie she was definitely putting her foot down on Quatro! After all, we weren't having a black child! Richie informed her it was a Spanish name, so it didn't matter if the name was black or not!

While Richie was in class, word somehow got to his mother, who also tried to gently sway Richie away from our precious name. She mentioned she was just worried that he would be made fun of--it would be just like naming our son Four! Richie reassured her that living in Tucson, people would not make fun of the Spanish name Quatro, and not to worry about it.

After some sincere thought on the issue however, we have come to the conclusion that perhaps Quatro is not the right name for our son.

We will name him Cinco.

The Graves Family

Over Christmas while we were in Oklahoma, my parents took us all to get family pictures!



The family has one nephew down, and one niece or nephew on the way! No wonder Kolby looks like our little prince. We sure treat him like one!

A HORRIBLE Attempt

Hey Folks. In a horribly failed attempt to make my page cuter, I lost much of what I had, including all your blog links. If you could kindly email me those again, I would be extremely grateful! Thanks! angie.mail13@gmail.com

Pay It Forward

A blogging game...This one involves getting free stuff. Nice huh? I signed on through Jeanine's blog. She owes me a handmade gift. The first three people to leave a comment on my blog will receive a handmade gift from me. You most certainly will not get it tomorrow and probably not even next week, but you'll get it! Here's the catch...if you want to get free stuff, you have to pay it forward and make the same promise on your blog. (You must have a blog to participate.) So if you want to get something from me, you have to give to three people. Who's it gonna be?

Off-Roading

How you can you explain the excitement, the joy, the whole feeling of being home for Christmas? I looked forward for a year to going home to Oklahoma for the holidays and spending time with family. As the time grew closer my excitement magnified and I could barely contain myself!

The drive was very long and the roads were slick. So slick in fact that as we were rounding a corner to enter a turnpike, our wheels just wouldn't have it. They decided to slip off the road and slide sideways down the dead grass, wet, icy, muddy, mushy, 20 feet steep hill! The car worked relentlessly to work its way back up this unforgiving hill in hopes to make it back on the not-so-kind road (for it would literally die if it missed the BYU bowl game.) After getting stuck a couple times, mud covering our car, and several attempts to 'gun' it up the hill, our car finally made its way to the top of the road, unharmed, yet with a new, darker appearance. Maybe it thought it was some sort of off-roading vehicle, made to defeat the rugged terrain!

We're still here in Oklahoma and don't want to go back to Tucson! Going home just means going back to work and waiting another 6 months for the baby to come.

Christmas Cheer

Mom, Cassie, Lisa, Kolby, Michelle

Last Christmas my mom was working part-time occasional in admissions at a hospital here in Oklahoma. She loved it because she pretty much got to choose when she worked and didn't work. Perfect for a mom putting herself back into the world of work after 27 years at home raising children. She still needed her freedom and time. Well, the Christmas schedule came out and of course she wasn't on it, though she felt bad for those who were. One particular lady who told she wouldn't have to work on Christmas, was indeed scheduled to work first thing Christmas morning. This may not seems as horrible as it was if you didn't consider she was a single mother of 2 little boys. In a frenzy she emailed everyone in the area she worked begging for a miracle. My mom's first thought was "Phew I'm glad it's not me that has to work!" But her conscience got the better of her. After consoling with my dad, they decided that my mom would offer to work for this woman Christmas Day. Since my 12 and 16 year old sisters, 21 year old brother, and dad were home, they also decided to take part in going to the hospital. They wanted to bring Christmas cheer to some of the patients there. They borrowed some elf costumes from some people in our ward, (which were actual costumes from the movie ELF) and went on their way with a guitar, songs, and goodies. They absolutely loved the experience and have decided to make this a tradition on Christmas morning. Thus, the pictures of the elves Christmas morning 2007!!!



Cassie and Michelle

Lisa and Kolby

Our Baby

Well I've been waiting for something exciting to happen so I could post again. Seems like the only exciting things going on around here are, well, nothing really. But I did go to the doctor today and I did get to see my little baby through the ultrasound! Now I realize this is not quite as exciting to you as it is to Richie and me. But here's what we saw.


The baby seems somewhat real now. The only thing that really felt different before was the constant (no not just morning) but continuous nausea. I am really enjoying it.
We got 3 pics, so why not share them all? Picture number 2:



Wow not much different hu? Well it is when you're watching it live! Yeah, we saw it moving its...can I call it arms and legs?...appendages I suppose may be a better description for now. It even turned a little, and we saw its little heart beating! Richie thinks it's a boy and keeps calling it "him" and "little dude." I really have no clue what it is, but I'm going to say girl so I have a 50% chance of being right and saying, "See! I told you! I knew it all along!" It feels so good to be right sometimes.
Here's the last picture. Thanks for reading!

I'm Pregnant!!!

Yay!
It has finally happened. I am pregnant! I am happy! I am thrilled! I am ecstatic! I know in my brain that I am pregnant, but sometimes it's just hard to really believe it. I feel only 3 differences in my body:

1. I'm tired A LOT
2. I have continuous cramps
3. My back aches

Luckily the cramps are bearable, just more annoying than anything!
According to some website's calculation, I am due July 13.

Here's what my baby looks like:



Isn't it CUTE!? =)

Tag, I'm It!

Okay all you people who are able to think up 6 interesting things about yourselves so easily, that's not fair! This was quite the challenge for me, as I realized I am not that interesting, not that original, and not that creative. I even had to get some ideas from Richie! Here's what we came up with. I'll dedicate numbers 1 to Richie, as he is the creator of the idea.


#1 I am VERY conscious of my personal dental hygeine. I actually love to brush and floss my teeth. By the end of the day, I often comment to Richie, "Oh I have GOT to go brush my teeth, they are so fuzzy!" He thinks that's that strangest thing. Haven't you ever felt like you have fuzz growing on your teeth?

#2 I remember faces VERY WELL. I often see people I "know" by their faces, and I usually go right up to them and say, "I know you!" And I really know that I do know them somehow. I often can't remember how. But the response I get 99 percent of the time is, "Oh! Hmm, I don't think I know you!" Richie's laughs all the time and comments, "You think you know everyone!"

#3 I absolutely HATE drains. I refuse to clean one out, get too close to one, or reach my hand down one to retrieve something I dropped. I would rather clean 25 toilets. Drains are DISGUSTING.

#4 I have a super sensitive sense of smell and sound. EVERYTHING smells! (Good or bad.) I smell stinky kids every day--especially in the morning when they haven't brushed their teeth. I smell their fabulous body odor in the afternoon after recess, and I just smell STINK when I re-enter my classroom at the end of the day. I smell other teacher's coffee breath too(that's one of the worst). I smell funky smells outside--dog poop and such. And I always think I smell smoke in my house from the residents above us. I am always asking Richie to talk a little more quietly, turn the tv down, turn the radio down, etc. The strange thing is, I am always saying "WHAT?" becuase I can't hear, or miss parts of conversations somehow. Go figure.



#5 I secretly love 70's music. I don't know why I get embarrassed about that, but it's probably one of my favorite types. (I really love music PERIOD) To name just a few, I like James Taylor, John Denver, Jim Croce, Bread, Chicago, Stevie Wonder, Carpenters, Ann Murray, Jonathan Edwards, Harry Nilsson, Billy Joel, The Eagles, BJ Thomas, Carole King, America, Abba, Beach Boys, Beatles, Jimmy Buffett, Phil Collins, Neil Diamond, Fleetwood Mac, and Simon and Garfunkle. I can't think of any more. My parents are proud of me. =)



#6 I want a scooter. BAD.

I tag Rachel, Amy, Kim, Brooke, and MY MOM, as soon as she gets her page! Have fun thinking up 6 interesting things about yourselves! Can't wait to read them!

Halloween

For Halloween I was a pirate. I wore a ratty black wig that looked totally great on me. So great in fact that one of my students asked me, "So, you didn't brush your hair this morning Mrs. Whitaker?" To which I responded no. She continued, "Well I guess that makes sense. Pirates never brushed their hair anyways since they probably didn't have brushes." I nodded in agreement.

Another student asked, "So, did you dye your hair or something?" Again I said yes. He looked closely and pointed to the side of my head commenting, "Well, you missed a spot!"

Football

Well, Tucson is quite hot. I don't remember it being this hot when I lived here before. Perhaps that was because we went to Utah every summer. I don't know. But it feels like you step into an oven every time you walk outside.
Teaching here is great! The district I am in is awesome. I love the principal and teachers that I work with. I love my little 3rd graders too. They are so sweet!
Today was the first 2007 BYU football game again the University of Arizona. I woke up to Richie reading Cougar Board on the internet. When he saw that I was awake, he started doing a BYU dance. The way he moved was the same way Fui Vakapuna moves after he makes a good play. He puts one knee up at a time, stomps them down, makes fists, and shakes...and grunts...I guess I can't really explain it. But it's funny. And what made it even funnier was that he was doing it in his underwear. I asked him if I could put him doing that on Cougar Board, but he denied my request. Then he talked, and talked, and talked, about all his excitement, worries, concerns, players, etc. He read cougar board again, watched a highlight video of last season, then called his brother and brother in law to talk about the upcoming game. His brother Ryan came over, and they continued to discuss BYU football, the game, the players, the coaches, the conference, and last years' game against Arizona. THEN they watched the highlight video again, and listened to a song they chose as this year's theme song for the cougars. We made our way back over to Ryan's place, where we listened on the internet radio to KSL News Pregame Show...for 2 hours. Then we watched the game for another 3 1/2 hours. There was a lot of arguing with refs, shouting, shaking of the head, jumping around, cheering, and all the time, Richie was standing practically the whole game. Don't you worry, after the game wasn't the end of it. Then it was on to the post-game stuff. Interveiws, radio stuff, Cougar Board, and who knows what else? The next many phone calls were made to people Richie could talk football with. And he did. And this addicted, psychotic, behavior is ongoing, and you wouldn't believe it, but I love it!