Tyler and Janae: March 2009

Okay, this “spring’ weather has really got me annoyed and depressed. I get really irritated with Mother Nature when she teases me with one warm spring day in the middle of many snowy, windy days. I wish it would just be spring already. Actually, if I am going to be wishing for things, I wish it was summer - now and always. So, in an effort to turn my frown upside-down, I have made a list of some things that can still make me smile.

1. Black nail polish. No, I am not Goth or satanic, I just like the way the color looks. I have also become pretty good at painting my own nails. I don’t think I’ll be opening a salon anytime soon, but at least now I can cut down on the professional manicures.

2. Scentsy Candles. I just placed my first order (thank you Allyson!), and I am very eager to get mine and join that bandwagon. No, I am not going to start selling - just smelling!
(Been there, done that, and forever have unnecessarily negative feelings towards Arbonne.)

3. Pedicures. I had one this last week, thinking I would be able to start wearing open toed shoes. Boy was I mistaken. However, I was very excited to find out that my favorite place to get them, Trendy Nails, is opening up in Rexburg. Now I don’t have to drive to Idaho Falls to get them. Hooray!

4. Music. I am one of those people who can’t stand silence (unless I’m in school, and then I demand it!) Whenever I look out the window and see snow being blown by 40 mph winds, I simply turn on one of my new favorite CDs, and it all seems to go away.

Don’t judge me…it has some really good songs on it.

Tyler bought us tickets to go see Taylor Swift in Boise!!! I can’t wait!!!

5. First graders. This is my favorite time of the year to teach. The children are able to do so much more than they could at the beginning of the year, which means we get to do so many fun things. Even though the school district has no money for field trips anymore, my class will NOT miss out on any of the fun. Right now we are growing caterpillars into butterflies, and they are SO excited about it. Some of the future fun includes more animal fun, homemade ice-cream, picnics, etc. Don’t you wish you were in my first grade class? Probably the best thing about first grade is how loving they are. I have one girl who has started to write “I love you Mrs. Ricks!” on all of her papers. It is so cute. Another girl, one of my shyest-never talks-cries if you call on her to answer a question, walked up to me the other day and said with a big hug, “I love you so much, Mrs. Ricks”. I will admit there are times when I want to paddle a few of them, but I just wait until I get home and take it out on Tyler. It really is such a rewarding career, and I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.

Wow, that makes me feel so much better! Now I just have to close the blinds and blast some “Hoedown Throwdown”. :)