The Romero's

Where to even begin.....

2011-07-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, I failed at the quick update. Thank you for ridicule Mom, and Liz.

So, basically a lot has happened since March, so I will do my best to recap the events of the past 3 months. This in an insanely long post (with many pictures), so beware. It will be worth it in the end, I promise!!

Let's take a look at April.....

We celebrated Cam's 25th Birthday on the 26th. In true Lindsey fashion, there are no pictures. Well, actually there were but the never made it to the computer because they were on my phone that took a swim in the washing machine. Oh, well. I like this picture better than the one I took on his actual birthday.

On the same day......Cam took his very last final of nursing school......which lead to the next event in May.....

Graduation from Nursing School!!!

Yes, I cried the entire time. He finally made it!!!

Lauren, Cam (the Nurse), and Karine

The Nurse and Big Dan

Cry Face, the Nurse, Dad, and Cort

Tayler, the Nurse, Cry Face, Mom, and Wes

Karine, the Nurse, Greg, and Lauren

To celebrate, we had a little party with family and friends at Millcreek. Again, no pictures. This time, it was because I was being the "hostess with the mostest". We had a great time celebrating Cam's years of hard work, and also giving thanks to everyone who has helped us along the way!!

After graduation, came the NCLEX (nursing boards). After 5 hours, and 275 questions....he passed and is officially a Registered Nurse!! The department of licensing iPhone app proves it!!

I'm so proud of all the hard work he put in over the past 2 years. A long time ago, we made a plan.....we will call it our 5 year plan (since we are now in our 5th year of being married). Through a lot of hard work, sweat, many tears, and sleepless nights.....we made it. Who knows what the next 5 year plan will include!!

While Cameron's graduation in May was probably the highlight of the month, we also did something pretty substantial.

We became parents......

To this handsome little guy......Bruce Wayne Romero.

(he looks like a bat when he lays on his back....hence the name.)

I have always had an incessant need to mother something.....that is probably why I became a teacher. Well, since we aren't really ready for a human child (yes, I will have one sooner than later, please don't fret), we decided to get a puppy. I begged, and pleaded for a really long time, and Cameron finally gave in and we found this cute little Puggle (Pug/Beagle mix) on KSL and couldn't resist.

We absolutely love him!! While he can be a menace at times.....remember, he is still in the ragging puppy stage....we can't imagine life without him. He has so much personality, which is hard to miss.

Just look..........

I know I am biased.....but I think he might be the most adorable dog on the planet!! And, he really is pretty smart. For only being 3 months old, he can sit, lay down, almost roll over (not consistently just yet), and he is almost 100% potty trained! We have an accident from time to time, but it is usually our fault.

I can't get over how much he has grown since we got him.

June finally came, which meant the end of another school year. It blows my mind to think that I have taught over 125 students now. The last day of school is always bittersweet for me. While I love my class, and what I do, I also love my summer break!!

June 16th was our 4th anniversary. Seriously, where has the time gone?

As usual, we kept things low key and went out for sushi to celebrate. No need for gifts or fancy vacations for us....we just like hanging out together. However, we would really like to go back to Mexico (where we went on our honeymoon) next summer for our 5 year anniversary.

Hopefully, we can make that happen.

This summer I have a new obsession, but it is a good one.....

Bountiful Baskets Food Co-Op

Yes, I got all of these goods for just $15!! In an effort to be more healthy, and eat more fruits and veggies I signed up for a basket in June and fell in love. Saturday morning is almost like Christmas for me! I go and pick up my goods for the week.....and can't wait to see what I get since they are always different!! Everyone should do this!! Click here for more info. You won't regret it!

Most of you know (or at least I think you know) that my step mom Cortney was diagnosed with ovarian cancer earlier this year. Not going to lie, but this has been a real source of stress and anxiety for all of us. Well, she began her chemo treatments the first week of June, and is now more than half way finished with the cycle. I am not going say that this process has been easy for anyone, especially Cort. It has actually been hell. But, Cort is a trooper and one strong cookie!! This process has made me realize just how string she really is. We knew the chemo would cause her to loose her long, gorgeous hair, so she decided she wanted to shave it off before it started falling out on it's own and donate it to Locks of Love. To make the experience a little lighter, she decided to have a head shaving party.

Cort, Meg, and Beau pre-shave

The donation......

Mohawk?

Yes, 2 mohawks!!

So many friends, co-workers, and family members came to support Cort and shave their heads too. My family has been showered with love, support, prayers, and well wishes in the past few months. We so appreciate everything everyone has done to help!

Especially this............

Last month, one of my best friends in the whole world, ran in a Ragnar race raising money for the American Cancer Society. Cancer has impacted so many people, including Liz, so she decided to run, and ran in honor of those battling cancer currently, previously, or for those who lost their battle. This seriously made Cort's day, and even made her cry. Thanks Liz for running for such a great cause and including Cortney in your experience!!

I also decided to take a leap of faith in June and go back to finish my Masters' in school administration. I was hesitant after the previous bad experience I had (which I won't go into), but after a lot of research I decided to become a Phoenix.

I have been so impressed with the University of Phoenix thus far. The class sizes are small (only 11 people in my cohort), and the seem to really care! I get a call weekly from my academic and enrollment advisors to make sure I am doing ok, and if I have any questions.....which is so different from my previous experience! I would highly recommend this school to anyone interested in higher education! The next year of my life is going to be CRAZY....but in the end it will all be worth it.

Finally.......

My sister was named the U23 National Time Trial Champion a few weeks ago at Nationals in Augusta, GA!!

And....she is off!!! Finishing 40 seconds faster than the next rider!!

Stars and Stripes.......and the GOLD medal!!!

I am so proud of Tayler and all her accomplishments!!

And, I am SO excited that I get to see her race in person in 2 weeks in Bend, OR!!

Over the 4th of July, we went to Cameron's family reunion/stay-cation at his aunt and uncle's house in Farmington. It was nice seeing his family all together and in once place. Brucey had a great time playing with the kids and Matt and Shar's dog Baxter. Eventually, he went to sleep and I couldn't resist taking this DARLING picture of Edward and sleepy Bruce.

Good food, family, and fireworks.....how can you go wrong?

Like I said in the beginning, this was the longest posting ever!! But, I am all caught up!!!

Thanks for reading!

Come back next time to hear about our adventures in Bend!!!

Hello?

2011-06-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am alive.

An update is in the future....like within the next 24 hours.

I promise!

Homework must be done first!

Stay tuned!!

Why I Love Today

2011-03-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

2 Reasons........

1. It is Cameron's last day of clinical here.....

And last day of clinical....EVER!!! We plan on celebrating when he gets home!!

One more month of school, and he will officially be DONE!!!

It's been a long road.

May 6th is the big day!!!!

2. It's Race Day!!

Today is stage 2 of the San Dimas Stage Race in California. Tayler is the 4th one back, in her stealth red "Terminator" glasses. (This pic is from Merco....but you get the idea.) Wish I was there to cheer her on! All 4 of the parental units are headed to Redlands next weekend to watch her race before she heads to Europe for the Spring Classics.

It's looking sunny outside, perhaps I will head out for a ride on Flosser.

But if the wind picks up, Mother Nature and I will have words!

Hooray for today and SPRING BREAK!!!!

Life's Challenges

2011-03-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

I created this blog back in the day as a means to keep family and friends informed on the happenings in our lives. While it has done this, and done it well, it has also become a means for me to sort through a lot of challenges in life. I find writing relaxing, and very calming. And in all honesty, I need all the calming outlets I can have right now.

When they say "When it rains, it pours", they truly mean it. While this year has brought me a lot of personal triumphs, it has also brought several trials. Life is hard, and takes many unexpected courses. I hate to say that I have always had the "oh, it will never happen to me" mentality, but I have. While I have been faced with rocky roads in the past, part of me has always been slightly in denial.

Well, I am adult now (gasp!), and can no longer be in denial about the curve balls life throws at me.

Luckily, I have the best support group around to help me through all of these "super fun times".

First, and foremost.....this handsome guy.

Anyone who knows Cameron, loves Cameron. While he is so busy with school and work, he is always there to listen, cry with me, pick me up, and make me laugh. He is truly my best friend, and I so appreciate his patience with me, and at times, my crazy emotions. Love you babe! Here is to the future!

Second, my other best friend........my sister.

While she is off traveling the world, and making a name for herself in the cycling world, I know I can always count on her to listen and offer sound advice. While I am the "older" sister, and am supposed to be the one who offers her advice, she is usually the one offering me advice. For that, I am her biggest fan! Literally!!

Third, my parental units........

Mom and Wes

Dad and Cort

These 4 are my biggest fans, and are always there to support me in decisions, cheer for me from the sidelines (figuratively, since I am not the most athletic fish in the sea), as well as offer me 4 more shoulders to cry on. I love all of you so much!! Thank you for being my parents and being 4 more "rocks" that I need. I hope in the upcoming months, I can help be your "rocks".

Fourth, my in-laws.

Greg and Karine

A lot of people complain about their in-laws. I love mine. The accepted me into their family and love me like I am one of their own. I know that I can always count on them to help Cameron and I with anything we might need. They always know when I need something, even if it's just someone to talk to. I love you guys!!

Lastly, my girls.

Liz, Jaynann, Kim, and Stacy

(Now THAT is a blast from the past!)

We've been through a lot together! Weddings, babies (well, I guess only one baby, but I am sure there will me more in the future), cancer, college, careers, and more! These girls are my "sisters" and I love each of them as if they were my "real" sisters. Regardless of where life takes us, the 5 of us will always be friends. Someday, I hope to roll around in my jazzy, causing all kinds of trouble with these girls.

Today, I am facing life square in the face. I refuse to run away from life's curve balls anymore. As of today, I am going to face them head-on. If I get hit, I get hit. I will just have to pick myself up, dust myself off, and get back in the game.

Lessons Learned.....

2011-03-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

So, today I took this little lady on a ride.....

This is Flossie, the mountain bike that my cycling sister is letting me use to increase my fitness, and give me some variety in my exercise. Secretly, I think she is trying to turn me into a crazy cycler like her! I was going to ride to Greg and Karine's later tonight to dinner, but it looked like it was going to rain so I decided to ride earlier. Well, on this first "real" ride (not just around my apartment complex) I learned some valuable lessons about riding a bike.

1. Eat Before Riding Flossie

This morning I had some toast and 2 poached eggs for breakfast. Well, that was not nearly enough to get me through the morning and my ride, so I crashed (not literally) on my way home. So, I learned I MUST eat before I ride or my body will give out on me and my legs will turn to jello and refuse to pedal! Just experienced what that feels like, I now have a greater respect for my sister riding more than 100 miles at LOTOJA without food or water, after her slacker feeders failed to meet her at the feeds zones TWICE!

2. Take Water When Riding Flossie

Duh! Right? Well, I didn't. I had fully intended to, but the bottle on Flossie was a little nasty, and slightly rusty, so I opted to leave without proper hydration. I go to the gym all the time without water and survive...why not out riding my bike? Bad idea.....another item that led to my burn out.

3. Head Wind = Death

Why I chose to go for a ride when it was super windy, and to start riding while I had a tail wind, is beyond me. I think I lost some brain cells in my sleep last night. I went North on the Jordan River Parkway from my house to about 59th south, and decided to head back home. The ride there was great, my butt didn't hurt (thanks to my squishy-butt pants), and I was feeling pretty good. Then, I turned around and I knew I was in trouble. For seasoned riders, the wind probably wouldn't have been an issue. But, since I haven't been on a bike for YEARS it was not. I wanted to die. I actually had to get off and walk for a few minutes until the wind died down.

But, I finally made it home. I am sure many of the other Parkway cyclers, and runners had a good laugh watching me make a fool of myself coming home.

To recover from my ride from.....well, you know where.....I am currently eating this with a spoon.

And it is mighty delicious.

I'm wishing I had an apple to dip in it.

Then I would be in heaven.

Seriously, if you like peanut butter (and mind you, I really don't) you have GOT to try some of this (and no, this is not a shameless plug for Tayler's team sponsor). It's just delightful! The White Chocolate Wonderful is my fav, but the Cinnamon Raisin Swirl is a close second.

On a completely unrelated note, I wish I had gone to see her last night.....

I would have loved to glitter myself out and dance my rear off to some Gaga.

Tis the Season......

2011-03-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

For cycling!!!

The first race of the season for my favorite cyclist, my sister sue, began this week in California at the Merco Credit Union Cycling Classic. I have been religiously checking my twitter account today for updates on the final stage on the race.

My favorite part if the race.......

Going into today's stage Tayler wears the Young Rider Jersey!!

And, this happy text I got from her yesterday.......

"Best crit of my life!!!! I worked on the front for the team and was in the lead out for the sprint, just drilled it for the last two laps to string it out!! Coryn got second to Ina which is awesome!! And we kept the yellow (leaders jersey)!! Amanda is in the sprinter jersey so I'm in the young rider jersey! :)"

Wish I was there to cheer her on!!

Keep you fingers crossed for a strong finish for the team!!

Support the team here!

Life

2011-02-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, I have been doing more than just exercisng lately. So, for once I thought I would let you know more about the day to day existence of your favorite Romero's.

I wish I had something exciting to post about.....like a vacation. But, unfortunately we are held hostage in SLC until my beloved husband is finished with nursing school....which will be here before you know it!! Let the count down to May 5th begin!!! I know I have said it before, but I am so proud of him! He has worked so hard the past 2 years! He has sacrificed so much to get this nursing degree, and there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. He is so smart, caring, and patient, and will be an asset to any hospital that he might work for. I don't normally get all gushy and smushy here, but Cameron melts my heart. Have I mentioned how smart he is? He hasn't gotten below a 90% on any test yet this semester. I'd say that qualifies his as a smartie pants! 67 days until graduation! I like the ring of Cameron Romero, RN.

I've been left feeling a little uneasy about my job lately, thanks to the legislature and the way they are dealing with education. The 4 years of funding for full day kindergarten will run out at the end of this school year. Unfortunately, this is a program that they may consider cutting in order to pinch pennies, leaving me wondering what I will be doing next year as far as teaching. I love kindergarten, but don't think I could ever go back to teaching 2 1/2 sessions of kindergarten now that I have tasted the "full day kool-aid".

Now, I am going to go on a teacher tangent......

The standards for kindergarten continue to increase, and it is becoming nearly impossible for 1/2 day kindergarten teachers to teach these vital skills to mastery. As someone who takes their job very seriously, I would feel like I was doing an injustice to my students if I taught 1/2 day kindergarten again. They deserve every opportunity to learn and should have to opportunity to MASTER the curriculum. So, with that, I must ask you all, whether you are a parent or not, to do something to better the education of Utah kids. Not only is full day kindergarten potentially going away, but also our K-3 Reading Iniative, which helps tutor struggling readers as well as provide classrooms with paraprofessionals during our literacy blocks. Take the time to write your legislators. I normally am not a political person, but when it directly impacts something that I care so deeply about, I feel like I need to do my part! The legislature's website allows you to look up your representative and email them. I wrote mine at the beginning of February, and she wrote back the same day. They are there to represent their constituents, so do your part and BE HEARD!!!

Ok, I am done with my teacher tirade!

Hopefully you all aren't bored by now because this next tidbit is pretty exciting. You all know what a super-rock star athlete my sister is. She is officially a professional cyclist, and can now add another item to her impressive resume......commerical model/actress!! You heard right, my sister will be in a commerical featuring DZ Nuts products (who is one of her team's sponsors). What is DZ Nuts you ask? Well, I think this description, taken directly from their website, tells it all............

"Proper MAINTAINTANANCE of the perineal area is essential during high level training and racing. Nothing can ruin stage race success faster than an infected saddle sore."

--Dave Zabriskie

They also have other products for women from their BLISS line, like shaving cream, and something else Tayler told me (but I can't remember). As soon as I hear when and where the commerical can be seen, I will let you know. Until then, enjoy some pics from the shoot I took from the Peanut Butter & Co Team TWENTY 12 Facebook page.

Much love to you all! Can you believe March will be here on Tuesday?

Only 19 school days until Spring Break Bliss!!!

Lighter

2011-02-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

The past 2 weeks haven't been easy. I've had ups and downs, but ultimately have been successful in my endeavors. While I have been sick this past week, and the pounds have not melted off as much as I would have liked them to, but so is life. I feel good, and I think I look good, and in reality that is all that matters.

To make myself feel better about the bumps in my road, I needed a visual representation of my successes. So here it is......5 pounds of fat.......you do the math.

Times four.......

While success can't be measured on the scale, it sure does put a smile on your face.

20 is a beautiful number!

To mix it up a bit, today I did this instead of going to the gym. It almost killed me.

I can only imagine what my body would feel like if I did this for 8 hours a day like they do on BL.

While I was hoping to reach 25 lbs. this week, I can't complain.

I think I can get there by March 1st!

My Favorite Things....

2011-01-23T12:51:00.000-08:00

This year, I have embarked on a new journey in life. This new journey has lead me to have a few new favorite things.......some of them might actually shock you!

So, as of today these are my favorite things.....in no particular order.

1. My iPhone 4.

Yes, I have always LOVED my iPhone but it now has a new purpose.......other than reading my celebrity news (my guilty pleasure), and Facebook (and making calls, obviously). Music. It gets me moving, and motivated. Which leads me to my next favorite....

2. Music

It must be loud, and make me happy. My little sis introduced me to David Guetta while she was in Europe racing and I haven't stopped listening to him since. And, love him or hate him, Kanye sure does know how to make music you want to movie to. Thank you gentlemen for getting me going each and everyday.

3. The Elliptical

Now if you have known me for very long, you know that the gym and I don't tend to get along. But as a new part of my journey it has to be my friend. Now for the crazy part......I actually like going to get my sweat on. I wanted to cry the first day I went......not anymore. Cameron even told me today I might becoming addicted to it. I could think of a lot worse things to be addicted to. When the going gets tough, I imagine Jillian screaming "LAST CHANCE WORKOUT" in my face, and I manage to make it to the end.

4. The Social Network

I've said it before, and I will say it again. I LOVE this movie. People make me crazy who say the won't see it because it's about Facebook. People.....it's not a movie about Facebook!!! Get over you hate of social networking and rent this movie!! It is one of the best movies I have ever seen! Perhaps now that it has won some awards all of the haters will go and see it. It also has a phenomenal soundtrack.

5. Lil Critters Gummy Vitamins

I am not sure who to thank for this.......Karine or my friend Lauren (her blog is private, or I would send you there to see her in all of her cute, prego glory). I have always hated vitamins. They make me sick. Lauren told be she had the same problem at the beginning of her pregnancy and her OBGYN told her to take 2 kids gummy vitamins instead. Hmmmm.....I thought I should try them and see how they make my guts feel. Well, Karine just happened to have some at her house and gave me some to try. They seriously taste like candy, and are a nice little treat I look forward to every day.

6. Costco Whole Grain Goodness

This new journey also included some changes to things I love.....white anything. Goodbye white bread, regular pasta, white rice, and delicious lard filled flour tortillas. Lucky for me, I found these delicious substitutes that can both be purchased at Costco (make sure you buy the "Good Seed" bread....it's better than the other one). By now, you might think I should be institutionalized because all of these "new" things are very un-characteristic of the Food Network loving Lindsey. Well, you might say that part of the old Lindsey is now gone. I still love FN, and watch it pretty religiously, I just don't cook like Paula Deen anymore. Butter doesn't necessarily make it better, Paula. Sorry to burst you bubble. Instead, I have been making these delightful treats........

You can find the recipe for these guilt-free gems here. They are the perfect substitute for the butter laden cookies I used to make.

7. The Scale

Probably the biggest shocker on my list! This piece of bathroom furniture used to be my worst enemy. I hated going to the doctor and seeing the number on the scale. Now, I don't mind hoping on. The numbers only continue to get smaller.

12 pounds smaller to be exact. By no means are they "Biggest Loser" numbers, but I am proud of each and every one of them. They are 12 pounds I will never see again.

Corn Dog Anyone?

2011-01-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

This week, wasn't all that bad. It was just interesting....and really cold.

Tuesday morning, I was at school hard at work molding the young minds of my kindergarten students, when the fire alarm went off. A number of things went through my mind in a matter of seconds......

It's Power Hour (Our intense literacy center rotation: guided reading, word work, fluency, and handwriting). They NEVER do fire alarms during Power Hour.
Martha (my principal) isn't here. Who is in charge of this drill?
It's like 15 degrees outside. We never have drills when it is this cold outside.
Why didn't I know about this drill?

So, I rounded up my broad of children and we headed outside to our designated spot, which is currently cover in about 5 inches of snow. We went outside, without coats because (it's part of the whole "drill" procedure....because if there was a real fire the goal is to get out as quickly as possible, right?) and tromped through the snow to line up. I counted heads (17 to be exact), looked around the playground to make sure that the special ed department had 3 more of them, and that the ESL ladies had the remaining 3 students....for a grand total of 23 students in all. 18 boys....5 girls. Got them all!

Well, we stood there, and stood there some more with the alarm blaring for what felt like an eternity....remember we were coatless. I was freezing, and the kids were freezing, so I took our frigid moment to teach them a lesson about penguins....which is what we are currently learning about. We huddled together, and I proceeded to tell them that this is how the penguins in Antarctica keep warm. We moved around, having them take turns being in the middle to absorb the heat our frozen bodies were creating. The kids thought it was great! It made the time pass a little more quickly.....but I was still quickly becoming a popsicle.

Moments later, with the alarm still blaring, our PE teacher came running around the building motioning for us to come inside. Were we really expected to accomplish anything with the fire alarm still going off? But, my feet were numb so I lead the troops back inside (who were covering their ears the second we got close to the building).

Upon entering the school, there was a distinct burnt smell lingering in the air. My first thought....what food did the kitchen burn? And my thought was correct. Last week, while cooking corn dogs for our 550 students, one fell off of the tray and into the back of the oven. After a week of cooking, the poor oven corn dog had enough, and finally caught on fire.....thus smoking the kitchen out, and setting off the alarm. Our poor kitchen manager was mortified!

The alarm finally went off, and we were able to go back to our daily routine. We all huddled in my classroom bathroom and turned on the hand dryer to warm up, and bundled up in our coats to try and heat back up. It was a very interesting, but cold start to our week.

Lesson Learned: Make sure you check the oven for run away corn dogs!

And, baptism by fire for my student teacher. She saw just how much one little thing can disrupt a significant amount of time in any classroom.

Other than that, out week was pretty great. Cam can officially check one more week of off his nursing school semester....bringing him closer to graduation. I think I am more excited than he is! I wish his instructors were a little more nice. Telling a group of students on the first day that "this course will chew you up and spit you out", isn't exactly motivating.

Well, until next time America!

I hope you all enjoy your long weekend!

More News!

2011-01-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

Look who is in the news.....again!! Aren't those boys darling!

School Children Participate in Holiday Service Projects

By Julie Slama

(taken from http://www.MurrayJournal.com)

For about two weeks in December, Horizon kindergartners donated socks to The Road Home shelter. It's one of several service projects Murray students performed over the holiday season.

"I decided to collects sock because it is an item that The Road Home is always in need of, especially in the cold winter months, and is something that parents can purchase for a relatively small amount," teacher Lindsey Romero said. "The biggest thing I hope to gain from doing this service learning project is that my students, no matter how young they might be, can help to make a difference in their community."

Romero also included the project as part of her class: "We are talking about the difference between things we want and things we need. We will talk about how some people don't have homes, places to live, or clothes, and as a class work to make someone's life a little better by sharing items with them that they don't have access to for one reason or another."

Clothing was the common thread at several schools.

At Grant Elementary, 16 families with children received needed items as part of their annual Angel Tree, said school counselor Christin Jacketta. Murray High students also gathered clothing and shoes for families in need.
Riverview and Hillcrest junior high students tried to raise $5,000 at each school for their annual Sub-for-Santa drives.

RJH students held a penny war, where they donated coins in their homeroom as a contest to bring in the most funds, said Amy Roberds, who has coordinated the school's Sub-for-Santa program for 14 years.
"I would hope that students would understand that even donations as small as pennies can make a world of difference to someone who has virtually nothing," Roberds said.

Hillcrest teachers Missy Rose and Lindsey Adams coordinated their schools' home-room class competitions.
"We want the kids to come up for the donations themselves," Rose said. "It can be as simple as going without chips or soda or something extra in their lives and saving that money to give to someone who needs essentials."
Giving essentials is what Liberty Elementary students did. Students created coloring books, art kits and games for the kids at the Midvale Road Home, said PTA president Desirae Ogden. All-day kindergarten students also donated coats.

"Making a difference is our theme this year and when we help others, we can see the difference we're making and our students look forward to finding other ways they can help people," she said.
Liberty, Viewmont, McMillan and Longview students all held food drives for the Utah Food Bank.
Kierra Van Beekum's third- and fourth-grade McMillan class was so pumped up with its food drive that they brought in 434 items, more than any other class.

"They were so excited and I was floored at the amount they brought it," Van Beekum said.

Counselor Anne Smith said that donating food is a Longview tradition.

"We've done it since the food bank disperses to everybody in need," she said. "We want the students to do extra chores to earn the money to buy the food. It also ties into our virtue of the month of service and we've put up students' drawings and writings which illustrate that and we tie our reading into it as well."
Smith also said that faculty and staff at the school donated gloves earmarked for Midvale's Road Home teen-agers.

Caption — Horizon Kindergarten students contributed socks as part of their holiday service project. Pictured are, front from left, Bryce Hennessey and Raydon Smith; back from left, Micah Fredrickson, Tyson Averett and Sam McKinney.

1 More.....

2011-01-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

Do you remember how I said it was going to be a big year for the Romero's?

Well, that all begins tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the first day of Cameron's LAST semester of nursing school!!!

It hasn't been an easy road, but he has been so successful!!

I am super proud of my little nurse!!

So, the count down is on.......to graduation!!

On another note, my student teacher starts tomorrow. I am flattered that I am viewed as a quality teacher who can train pre-service teachers, but this always makes me nervous. Wish me luck!! I always learn something from having other teachers in my classroom. It should be fun!

Let's just hope my class doesn't eat her alive, since there are days I nearly don't survive!

Determination

2011-01-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

Because I need this today.....

"Keep you dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember, all things are possible for those who believe."

--Gail Devers

Twenty-Eleven

2011-01-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

How is it the new year already?

First of all, how cute is my new blog template?!?! I'm loving the owls! Not sure why, but I love them!!

2010 flew right by, as well as my Christmas vacation. While I have loved every minute of my time off, I am ready to go back to work on Monday and get back in my normal day to day routine. I know that sounds absolutely crazy, but my nearly 2 week break was just what I needed. I feel totally re-charged.

Cameron and I had a wonderful holiday season this year.....beginning WAY back in November. We had an awesome Thanksgiving with our families. Our day began early.....when it was about 8 degrees outside. The fam (Dad, Cort, Tayler, Cam, Mom, Susan, Gerry,Melanie and myself) headed to City Creek Canyon for the Cold Turkey 5K.

Tayler, Cort, and Me heading to the race!

It was the coldest morning we had had in a long time, but we still braved the cold for some good old fashioned walking/running fun.

This year we opted to only do one dinner, and alternate between my family and Cam's every year. We felt like last year we spent the day in the car and didn't get to spend enough time at every place we went. Since Susan and Gerry were here from Boise, we decided to start the rotation with my family. We had a great dinner and Stuart and Melanie's house, followed by a few games and dessert with Cam's family at Greg and Karine's.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I got in some much needed "FuFu" time with my girls since we were all around. We hit up the Cheesecake Factory (our usual meeting place), and Cam and I had the opportunity to introduce Stacy to In n' Out. On our way to our delicious cheeseburger extravaganza, we had a mini adventure.....thanks to my quick acting, nurse-in-training husband. We were driving down 45th South after we picked up Stacy Lou when we saw a hug puff of snow. I thought someone was blowing the sidewalk or something....but I was SO wrong! A car actually was run off the road, and slammed into a tree, which created the huge puff of snow all over the place. Without thinking twice, Cameron flipped the car around and parked the car....to go and provide medical assistance. It all happened so fast, Stacy and I were left staring at each other wondering if we should get out of the car and go "help" (since we are all knowing when it comes to providing medical assistance), or if we should stay in the car. We opted to stay in the car and leaving the care-giving to Cameron. Needless to say, it was a proud moment for me. Only one more semester and he can get paid for his nursing skills!

I just love this picture of Cam. He looks so official!!

We did a lot of celebrating this Christmas. Christmas came early to our house this year because I got new ornaments for our tree for my birthday (Thanks Karine!). I broke my own rule this year and put up our tree before Thanksgiving....the day after my birthday actually. Our tree caused us a lot of grief this year, so this was the best picture I got of it. The lights on different parts of the tree kept going on and off at different times, so I had one shot to get a picture of it all working.

Our Tree.....which is now in the dumpster. Stupid lights.....

We did a lot of celebrating this year, which began with out annual Angel Tree shopping night/dinner with Dad and Cort. Each of us kids had the name of one of the kids from the Angel Tree to shop for. In lieu of gifts for us, the parentals give us each $100 to buy clothes and a few toys for our Angel Tree kiddo. We had so much fun shopping for our kids! We got them clothes, shoes, socks, undies, and at least 1 toy. Being the teacher I am, I had to buy one educational item for my little one. She is 5 after all....just the right age for ABC puzzle cards!! Her teacher would thank me! After shopping, we had an AMAZING dinner at Aristo's. I had lamb for the first time (which was delicious), and some of the most delicous pita bread I have ever had. I could have eaten just that!! It was a really fun night, and one of my favorite holiday traditions! We have what we need, and it makes me feel great to give to kids who don't have the basics they need. You know I'm a softy for the kids.

Jan and Byron were here from Washington for a wedding in early December, so the Boam's gathered for some delicious seafood and a cookie swap at Bryan and Janalee's house in Farmington. You know how I am a sucker for all things that come from the sea....crab especially. It was fun seeing all of Cameron's cousins at the same time, performing some pretty interesting talents during the Talent Show (a Boam Family holiday tradition), not to mention leaving with a whole bunch of delicious cookies....which I also am a big fan of. The cookie/recipe swap sparked an idea with all of us amateur chefs in the family, so we decided to create a family recipe blog so we can share all of our recipes with each other. I added it to my blog list if you are interested in some delcious recipes! Right now, there isn't much....but I am sure everyone will be posting some delicious things shortly!!

We celebrated with the Gehrkes as well. I made a fabulous prime rib for that shin-dig. Cameron was sick as a dog that night, so we didn't stay long (I'm not sure if I brought home his illness from school, or if his body was just beat do death from the fall semester....but be got hit HARD!). We don't do gifts with my mom's side of the family either. This year, we Sub for Santa'ed another refugee family from Africa. Tayler found this family, and organized all of the shopping, wrapping, and delivering of the goods. We were able to get them some warm clothes, a lot of food, as well as some fun things for the kids to play with outside when it gets a little warmer. Giving is my favorite part about the holiday season.....it really makes the holidays a lot more meaningful for me.

We also partied with the Ogzewalla's, Cort's side of the fam, which is always a good time. We ate some more.....no wonder the average American gains 6-10 lbs between November and January.....played pool, and watched a picture slideshow/iMovie that Cort made for everyone. You know she did a good job when she get's Roger (her dad) to shed a few tears.

We also celebrated my Dad's 9th "Birthday".....also known as the 9 year anniversary of his sobriety. I made a turkey and all of the Thanksgiving sides (since we didn't have t-giving with Dad and Cort), and we hung out at our house celebrating. I am really proud of the changes my dad has made in his life. 10 years ago, I spent a lot of time and energy worrying about him and his well being. Now, I know he is great! I am so happy he was able to take control back of his life so he could be the Dad I always know he wanted to be, and that Tayler and I always needed.

Dad and Roger (Cort's Dad) at our Wedding

We also had a MHS reunion of sorts over the break! Kim and Nick hosted the party at their clubhouse and we spent the night eating more delicious food.....pasta this time....playing Rock Band, and some other game Liz planned....can't remember what it was called but I laughed a lot while we played it! Cam was at work that night, so Stacy agreed to be my date for the night since everyone else there had their spouse and/or child. Good times were had by all (Kim, Nick, Liz, Josh, Jaynann, Adam, Emma, Brett, Amber, Josh, Emily, Chloe, and Stacy and I of course)!! Liz was the designated photog of the night, so you will have to see her blog for pics.

Finally, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we were able to spend a little time with each side of our families. We ate more, laughed a lot, cried a little (happy tears of course.....there are always tears when we do stockings with Dad and Cort), and were spoiled rotten by our families. We really are so lucky to have such great families. We spent Christmas Eve at Cameron's Grandparents house eating more prime rib, reading the Christmas Story from the Bible, exchanging White Elephant gifts, as well as Santa gifts for the little kiddos. We then ventured to Dad and Cort's to open stocking (which were HILARIOUS this year), and watch a movie....which we all fell asleep during.

Christmas morning we opened presents and Greg and Karine's and had a delicious breakfast of cinnamon rolls, breakfast casserole, hashbrowns, german pancakes, and other goods. We were spoiled and got a new TV for our bedroom......which went along with the PS3 we bought off KSL. I think we are officially set up now in the technology department.

Our new bedroom set up! Thanks Greg and Karine!

We also went to see a lot of movies over the holiday break.....all which were pretty good. Little Fockers was probably my favorite! We were skeptical because it only got a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes, and we tend to agree with their reviews.....but this time they were wrong!! It was hilarious!!

We also took Lauren to see True Grit.....which was also pretty good. We tend to like Cohen Brother's movies though. Cameron wants to take my Grandpa to see it.....we will see if that happens. My grampy doesn't like to go to movies too much.

And, Tron.....which wasn't my favorite. But, I may have gone into it with a bad attitude.

I also got to spend a lot of quality time with this darling little lady during my break...............

I love snuggling with Jinxy on cold afternoons...and we have had a lot of those in the past 2 weeks. She doesn't complain about what TV shows I want to watch, and loves me unconditionally! I just love this little cat!! I mean, how can you not?!? Look at that face!!

All in all, I think this was one of the best Christmas's Cameron and I have had. Was it busy, yes. But spending time with all of our families is always a good time!

I am kind of glad the holidays are over though.....I am not sure I could cook/eat another big meal or bake another cookie!! While I love the holidays, my waist line does not!!

2011 is going to be a big year for the Romero's......stay tuned!!

Happy New Year!!!

New Addition

2010-11-13T18:16:00.000-08:00

As Gina the Civic's lease was coming to an end, it was time to look into adding a new addition to our family. And here she is.......

I am now officially taking suggestions for her name!

Look Who is in the News!!

2010-11-10T13:33:00.001-08:00

All-day kindergarten extends, expands learning opportunities

By Julie Slama (Murray Journal)
November 10, 2010

Horizon kindergarten teacher Lindsey Romero helps Josue Godinez pour sugar while making applesauce as part of the extended-day kindergarten program. During the exercise they talk about the concepts of more and less.

Three years ago, Madison Wold entered kindergarten knowing some letters and sounds, but couldn't match colors with their names.

Madison entered the optional extended-day kindergarten as one of about 24 students who needed the extra help at Horizon on the three-year program. Similar kindergartners entered the program at Liberty and Parkside, the other two funded programs, partially from the legislature and partially from Title I funds Murray School District channeled to the kindergarten program, said Asst. Supt. Steve Hirase.

"It made all the difference," Madison's mother, Nikki Wold, said. "She learned so much in Mrs. (Lindsey) Romero's class. She knew everything — her colors, numbers, reading. She just thrived and loves school. She knew so much more and was prepared to go into first grade. Kids absolutely need all-day kindergarten. They need the extra time to work and learn."

Madison now is doing well and is performing grade level in Horizon's Spanish Immersion program, her mother said.

Her kindergarten teacher credits the extended-day program with the time needed to cover more curriculum.

"It taught the half-day program before this option," Romero said. "It's nearly impossible to cover everything. This allows more time and the mastery of skills, instead of just the introduction and general coverage."

In all three extended-day programs, the teachers emphasized more time for literacy skills. By the end of the program, students were reading on grade level or above. Math mastery with number recognition and patterning also were explored.

This is the last year of the legislative funding and the future of extended-day kindergarten is uncertain.

"Unless the state funds the program or we have money from another source, we don't have the funding option to continue," Hirase said. "This program has closed the gap to almost non-existent between these students and those in the normal kindergarten program."

At Parkside, 23-year teaching veteran Rachelle Peterson said that at the start the year, many don't know their names, and some have never held scissors or a pencil.

"I read them a book and when I was done, there was just silence and eyes full of wonder. Many have never been read to. Then, one of them asked me to read it again," Peterson said, and she read the book again.

Art, music, poetry, folk tales, science, social studies and other areas are introduced and enriched in their curriculum during the day, often integrated into literacy and math lessons. But the teachers agree it's the small group and one-on-one attention, with the help of a full-time aide in each classroom, that makes the difference.

"It's the extra time that we have for literacy in the extended-day kindergarten that we don't have in the two-and-one-half hour kindergarten that makes the difference," Peterson said, adding that attendance has improved with all-day kindergarten students. "We can't make up for the lack of opportunities in five years without the extra time in schooling now."

A few days? Ya right!!

2010-11-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well, in my previous post.....which was WAY too long ago.....I previewed some of the happenings in our ever so busy lives. I said I would treat you all to those items in a day or 2....whicth turned into a week or 2...maybe even 3. So, I thought that as I sit here and wait for my Parent Teacher Conference appointments to come and visit me in my cave (also known as my classroom in the forgotten hall at my school) I would do my best to update all of my adoring fans on the happenings of your favorite people in the entire world....being Cam and I (obviously!!)

Let me begin by sharing with you all a little bit about my bout with pneumonia a few weeks ago. It all started with what I thought was yet another cold. Everyone says that after your provisional years as a teacher, your immune system is tough and you won't get sick all of the time. Well my friends, that was a lie. I think this school year, I have been sick more than in years past. Cold, after cold, after sore throat, and throw in another cold! Hopefully, I have rid myself of all future colds, pneumonia cases, and hopefully the flu (Thank you MSD employee flu shot clinic!). All I can say about pneumonia is that it SUCKS!! I literally sat hovering over my humidifyer for 3 days....it was the only solution to my cement filled (seriously, that is what it felt like) lungs. I took a day off work (3 days would have been best...but you know how I feel about leaving my little darlings), got some medicine, and spent UEA on my couch trying to get better. It was a very unpleasant experience that I hope I don't have to deal with anytime soon. I truly feel for people who have chronic breathing issues now. Feeling like you are breathing through a straw is miserable! Luckily, my lungs are pretty clear now, and coughing is the only issue. Let's hope that was my "killer" bug for the year!

As we all know, I am an avid amateur chef. I love to cook, and to eat (hence my amazing physique), so naturally when Satan (AKA my sis) asked my mom and I to compete in the annual "Fall Harvest Smackdown" (which is an Iron Chef inspired cooking competion that Satan's man friend (The Gimp....read his blog....it is quite entertaining)spear heads) last year I was totally in! Well, since all of the Bradley's have a gazillion children to bring and stuff the ballot box when voting on the best dishes, we were shut out last year. I was really miffed about the whole situation to be honest. First of all....what the HELL is a jelly melon?!? And, what kind of secret incredient is that?!?!? It tastes AWFUL!! What can you make with this that won't be VILE?

Even after last years competion, and in my opinion rigged results, my mom and I decided to participate again this year. I was literally afraid of what the secret ingredient would be after last year. How could it get any worse? Well, to my surprise (and I think it is safe to say everyone who participated surprise), that this years secret incredient was this....

Yes, the spicy, yet delicious habanero pepper! I was actually pretty excited about the ingredient this year. I can deal with spicy! Last year we only entered 3 items (an entree....which was the bomb, BTW, an appetizer, and a dessert), we decided to go for 4 this year. For our entree we made a habanero lime marinated salmon with a garlic habanero compound butter. Yum! Our side dish was roasted corn with garlic and habanero. Also Yum! The appetizer we made, which wasn't my favorite but everyone else seemed to love it, was sweet potatoe fries with a mango habanero dipping sauce. And finally, the big hit of the night was my dessert. It was a delicious peach trifle with habanero whipped cream....and boy it was sinful!! We had a lot of fun cooking and getting ready for the competion....and our hard work paid off this year. Team Pneumonia (thank the Gimp for that team name) took home the prizes for best side dish and best dessert!! That's right, we took 2 prizes!!! Now, Seth (the ultimate Bradley smack talker) thinks we rigged the competition this year (because we requested that there be judges....to be true to Iron Chef). What I have to say to that is....may the best chef prevail....and prevail we did!!

And to Seth the smack talker.....did you misplace your trophy? Next year you should take better care of your winnings :).

Now, on to more serious things of note.....

In the past few months, I have learned some valuable life lessons. As many of you know, Cam is finishing his last year of nursing school. And with that, comes a lot of school work. I am amazed at what Cameron is able to do. I watch him study and listen to his online lectures to prepare for tests....and to be honest, I feel like I am listening to someone speak in a foreign language. All of that medical talk, and prescription names make my head spin! I could never survive nursing school, let alone all of the yucky hospital stuff. To get Cameron through school, we have had to make a lot of sacrifices....mostly financially. As strange as it sounds, money has never been an issue for me. I have always worked (since I was 15....wow, almost 11 years now) and bought myself what I needed/wanted. The first two years of our marriage, we seemed to be able to buy everything we wanted and needed....clothes, any Apple product we could get our hands on, basic day to day necessities....you name it.....we needed/wanted it, we bought it. Well, that all changed when Cameron started school. We had to change the way we viewed money. I will be honest, it was hard. There were many months that near the end....I was afraid. Cameron is going to kill me for sharing this....but I have learned so much in the past year. Like everyone says....that which does not kill us makes us stronger. I am now a firm believer in that. I also learned how to grocery shop without spending a fortune! Cooking is my stress reliever. Some people read, or run, or meditate.....me, I want to cook. So coming home from work, and cooking dinner really helps me calm down (and with my job, there are days that I need a lot of calming down). Unfortunately, some of the things I like to cook are not cheap....and I have had to learn to make do with what I have. I have also learned that cheaper, store brand foods taste almost the same as the more expensive name brand items. I know that may sound silly, and make me sound like a total snob, but lets face it.....sometimes I am. So, not only am I so incredibly lucky to have such a smart husband, who is giving up so much to go to school to better our future together, I am actually appreciative for the experience it has given me. It in a way, brought me back to reality....and somewhat made me a more grounded person who appreciates the little things. Too bad it too me almost 26 years to figure that out. Today, I am a stonger, and more fiscally responsible person which will help me greatly in the long run.

Well, I began this lovely post at about 2 PM this afternoon, and it is offically 8:20 PM now. I am officially DONE for today! Only 2 more conferences tomorrow!

Until next time America!

Just a taste of what is to come......

2010-10-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

I've learned some valuable lessons lately....

Had pneumonia...........

And cooked with A LOT of these little hot mothas'!!!

That is just a taste of what is to come in the next day or so..........

The Social Network

2010-10-03T13:14:00.001-07:00

Last night, Cam and I went to go and see the movie "The Social Network". It was awesome!! For those of you unfamiliar about the movie, it is about the creation of Facebook by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg in 2003. I had no idea there was so much drama (and multiple mulit-million dollar lawsuits involved) surrounding it's development. I am not sure if the movie is 100% correct, it is Hollywood after all, but it made for a great movie!! I would highly suggest you see it, especially if you are a fan of social networking.

So, who wants to help me come up with a 25 BILLION dollar idea like Facebook?

As promised...

2010-09-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the long awaited update! Well, I like to think it is long awaited anyway. I am not even sure where to begin.

So I have run into some major stumbling blocks as far as my administrative/grad school program goes. To make a REALLY long story short, after them "accidentally" putting me on academic suspension (yes, it was by mistake.....how you accidentally put someone on academic suspension is beyond me!) over the summer, the final straw came at the beginning of September. Well, I was taking an ESL class (which after finishing, I found out I could have bypassed because I have an ESL endorsement!!), and in the last week of class I contacted the instructor about why several of my assignments had not been graded and returned. Well, it too her a while to get back to me....and the course ended in the mean time.....but she said she hadn't graded any of my assignments because I didn't appear to be in the class!!! I called my advisor (who actually is pretty nice, and helpful.....or so I thought) and he said he would look into, and not to stress....there was probably just a glitch in their system. Well, I have yet to hear from him about it......and the class I "supposedly" was not in....well somehow, I got a grade.....a failing grade! Tell me how you get a grade in a class you aren't in....yet paid for? So, understandably I am really annoyed with GCU.....therefore, am not going to finish my masters degree with them. I am not going to keep paying for classes I may or may not be getting credit for. So, I am going to take a break for a while to weigh my options. I'm going to a meeting in a few weeks about the U's program, and have looked into the University of Phoenix (the Murray location). It all comes down to who will transfer the most credits.....because I can't afford to take a bunch of classes over again. I think it will do me some good to take a little break (no matter what decision I make, I will be school free until May. That way we can focus on getting Cam DONE with nursing school!

Which leads me to our next happening.....nursing school. So, Cam is off and running with his 3rd semester of nursing school! He always amazes me with how much he can retain so fast!! They seriously cover so much material in a short period of time! But, he is doing great! He is constantly studying or working on care plans, but all in all, I think he is off to a great start! He is more than half way finished with his clinical rotation this round, then can focus on the assignments and tests. He is SO close to being finished!! May cannot come fast enough!! We have been super lucky to have so many people helping to get Cam done!! He keeps trying to tell me he isn't going to graduation.....but he has worked to hard to not go!!!!! So, give him some grief about not wanting to go! I know he will end up going.....he just needs to be harassed a little :).

School has been officially back in session for about a month now. I wish I could say it has been an easy start. Everyone told me that having a group of boys (19 of them....and 4 girls) was going to be easy.....no girl drama or whining or crying. Well, I would rather have a whining and crying group......instead of the fighting, rough group of boys that I have. Don't get me wrong, I do have some good kiddos, but I have so many rough, tough boys who think that slugging kids in the face, or stomach is how to deal with problems. Friday was probably the best day I have had all year.....so I am hoping we are turing a corning with them. If you have any ideas that might help me get these little people to to quite beating on each other.....please let me know. I am not sure what more to try.....calling parents, taking away things, and rewarding the good ones hasn't worked yet, so I am open to any ideas! Other than the fighting, the year is off to a pretty good start. I think if I can get that under wraps, the year could be a good one. Next week we are learning about apples.....one of my favorite weeks of the year!

I love fall, and all of the fun school themes that come along with it.....apples, pumpkins, leaves, fire safety, and Halloween!

I really do like Halloween......and this year I am not going to cop-out and just wear Cameron's scrubs to school as my costume. So, if you have any great ideas....please share!! I am looking forward to it cooling down (mostly so my power bill goes down), and all of the other things that come with fall......like delicious pumpkin flavored things!! And, the most exciting yearly fall activity......my birthday! Although I will be 26 this year.....I still love my birthday like a 5 year old (they really do rub off on me I suppose).

Ohhhh.....I almost forgot about one fabulously exciting school related item! In July, I created a Donors Choose project, where people could donate money to help get materials for my students. Well, 2 weeks ago a nice donor from Illinois, donated the final $83 to fully fund my project!!! And, I have already received the materials I requested!! I want to give a special THANK YOU to everyone who made a donation (no matter how big or small) to my classroom project! I am so excited to use these materials in my class to increase their sight word fluency!!! So to all my teacher peeps out there......go and create a project to help get materials in your classroom! It is SO easy to do!! And to all those out there who donated to my class.....keep donating to help the classrooms around the country! Donors Choose is a great organization, and I am so glad I heard about them!!!

Along with the fall season...comes the return of some great television shows! While I love mind numbing reality TV, there are some great sitcoms out there that help keep me sane after a day of chasing small children! Some people like to listen to music while they clean the house....well not me....I need the TV on in the background to motivate me to do my chores. I have a few favorites that have returned this week..........

While Hoarder is technically a reality show.....I LOVE it!! I am fascinated with how these people think this way of life is normal! I get that it is a mental illness.....and I think that is why I am so interested in it. How do people live this way?!?!?

Who doesn't love The Office? I wish Jim and Pam were real people so I could be friends with them!

LOVE me some Criminal Minds......again I think it comes back to the mental illness stuff. Maybe I should have been s psychologist!

And.....Modern Family. If you have never watched it.....YOU MUST!! Cameron is by far my favorite character on TV! He makes me laugh every episode........and so does Manny. I think I need a Columbian son!

And now....for the story I know you have all been waiting for.....puke on the stairs. Everyone knows how I feel about puke. I hate, hate, HATE it!! I truly live in fear EVERY single day that one of my students will puke and I will have to see it. It is sickness. But anyway, last Saturday Cameron went to take his car to get washed and vacuum it. When he came in, he was laughing. "Well, someone puked on the stairs outside.....and just left it there to rot." Seriously?!?! In my mind I thought......"how will I ever go outside to my car now!" Yes, I hate puke that much!!! Well, I braved the puke and went to the grocery store. It really wasn't that bad......I think it was probably a dog and not a human.....but it was still puke. The best part of the whole story is........someone.....possibly the offender.....tried to scrape it off on Sunday night.....but failed MISERABLY!! So, a week later there are still remnants of the puke on the stairs. So gross! I thought about taking a picture of it......but refrained as to not gross everyone out.

Well, there you have it. The past month of our lives in a nut shell, I promise I will be a better blogger in October.....as hopefully we will be more entertaining.

I will blog again.....I promise!

2010-09-22T07:31:00.001-07:00

It has been too long.....but my life is a never ending marathon. I promise my blog will get some love this weekend.

Here are some things to look forward to:

--School Drama (Grad school that is....)
--New School Year
--Boy Drama (5 year old boys that is......)
--3rd Semester Nursing School for Cam (Only 1 more to go!!)
--Puke on the Stairs (This is a good one.....)
--The Return of Good TV.
--And much more :)

Until then......I will leave you in suspense!

Sweet Video

2010-08-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

I found this SWEET video this morning of my sisters first race in Italy! Watch for her cute face when they check out Team USA!!

Seriously, so cool!!

Team Chirio Forno D'Asolo

2010-08-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Tayler's time in Italy has been extended for a bit! She was asked to ride with a new Italian team.....Team Chirio Forno D'Asolo! She raced with them this weekend in France, and is headed to Holland later this week for another! We don't have official race results yet, but we anticipate a 9th place overall finish for her today!! AWESOME!! She will be home in just over a week.....and I can't wait! I miss her little face!

Antennagate?

2010-07-28T22:57:00.001-07:00

Let me begin by saying how annoyed with blogger I am. Since they made all of these changes, I converted my blog to their new "design" mode. Well, I can't change a lot of my settings now. I can't change the font or font color, center my text, and create links to other websites or blogs.....annoying! My other blog, the teacher on (the link is on my blog list if you care to read it) let's me do all of that, but this one doesn't. Ok....enough with my ranting.

This week has been pretty busy. We have spent lots of time with family at BBQ's and chatting. Susan and Gerry (my auntie and uncle from Boise) came down for a visit. It was good times as usual! We were hoping to get to iChat with Tayler (she is still in Italy), but the internet at her hotel was not working. It was sad! I miss her face a lot and can't wait for her to come home. She was supposed to be home Tuesday, but was offered a chance to stay longer and race with an Italian team!! What an amazing experience for her! I wish I was there with her to take it all it! I told her next time she goes, I will need to go with her and be her personal assistant/PR person. Great idea, right? I think so. Here are some of her latest pics from her European adventures!

Cam has had an interesting few weeks at work. It all began with the iPhone 4 launch, and has continued on to "Antennagate" (I giggle a little every single time I say it).

Ever since people have "heard" about the supposed reception issues with the new iPhone people have been obsessed with "Antennagate"....they call the Apple Store and tell them that "They got antennagate"....like it's a disease! Too funny! I say, if your phone has issues, get the free case Apple is giving you and quit whining!

Since my summer fun is coming to an end, Cam and I are trying to spend as much time with each other as possible. This week we went and saw Inception. All I can say is WOW!! It was like a mind Olympics!! It was such an awesome movie, but left my brain sore from all of the deep thinking I had done.

If you haven't seen it yet, go see it! You won't regret it!

We also had a chance this week to go to the Bee's game with all of the Romero's. We sat in one of the suites (Thanks Greg and Karine!), and had an awesome time watching the game and the fireworks afterwards. As I have said before, the Bee's game fireworks never disappoint!

I have to admit, I spent a portion of the game sitting inside watching the Tour de France. The Bee's were loosing, and I wanted to feel like I was in Europe with Tayler!

Finally, I have been doing a lot to get ready for the upcoming school year....yes, sad that my summer is coming to an end. I decided to write a project with Donor's Choose to get materials to use in my classroom. It is a great website that has helped a lot of teachers get awesome materials to help their kids learn!

You should check out my project at this website:

http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/117292

I almost forgot one of the highlights of my week!! We all know how much I LOVE trashy television. Well, this week I have fallen in love with this lady.........

Yes, you are correct. I am officially one of Bethenny Frankel's (one of the Real Housewives of New York) biggest fans. She is darling, annoyoing, and just all around fabulous! I am so going to buy her Skinny Girl Books!!

I also have grown to love these ladies........

Yes, more housewives! This time, it is the ladies from New Jersey! Thank you Bravo for introducing me to this wonderfully delicious smut!!

Until next time my friends......enjoy some trashy television!!

Very Aero!!

2010-07-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

Tayler looking very aerodynamic during the time trial in stage 2 of the Tour de Feminin en Limousin. She was the fastest US woman by 1 min!!!

For more picture from France......visit this website:

http://cyclismefeminin.over-blog.com

The Best 100th Post Possible......

2010-07-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

After cycling for two years, Utahn now cycles for Team USA in top European courses

Article by: Jared Eborn (Deseret News, July 22, 2010)

SALT LAKE CITY — Two years ago, Tayler Wiles was your typical college student, happily going through the days and preparing to start her second year at the University of Utah.

Then a friend talked her into signing up for a bike race, and Wiles, a 2007 Murray High grad, was transformed.

"I fell in love with it from the moment I got on the bike," Wiles said.

And now, the bubbly blonde with an infectious smile is wearing the stars and stripes as she represents the United States on an elite team of young cyclists racing in some of Europe's top women's races.

Wiles, who celebrated her 21st birthday a few days ago in style while racing in Italy's GP Cento Carnevale d'Europa, will soon race the Tour de Feminin en Limousin in France.

"I had no idea I had the potential to do this," Wiles said. "I just signed up because it sounded fun."

That race, the Sanpete Classic in 2008, was a mix of success and failure. Wiles said she jumped out and joined a breakaway in the women's Cat 4 field but eventually fell off the pace and settled for a mid-pack finish.

But it lit a fire that has not slowed down since.

"The first race was a huge eye-opener," she said. "We were pacelining and I had no idea what that was. I was just trying to keep up."

Those days are long gone. No longer is Wiles simply trying to keep up with the pace — she's setting it.

Though Wiles was "hooked" on the sport after that first race, she had to wait several months for the next season to start. When it did, she wasted no time in rocketing up the local racing scene. She won her first two races in 2009 — including the Tour of the Depot stage race — and quickly upgraded to Cat 3.

As a Cat 3, Wiles was eligible to race against the Cat 1 and 2 racers and more than held her own. She had frequent top-5 finishes and won the grueling 170-mile Tour of Park City.

A month later, Wiles was part of a breakaway in the 206-mile LOTOJA race — winning the sprint for second while the overall winner had escaped up the road several miles earlier.

Those results caught the attention of more than just the local racers.

Pro development team Colavita Cycling noticed Wiles and signed her to race for them. At the recently completed national championships in Oregon, Wiles finished ninth overall in the Women's Elite race and was second in the U-23 results.

"I finally felt like I belonged," Wiles said. "There have been some national races this year where it was kind of intimidating. I was used to racing in Utah and keeping up just fine. But the national races are tough. Those girls are no less cutthroat than the guys. It's really intense."

As the season progressed — 2010 is just the second full year of racing for Wiles — her confidence grew and the results came. She has had top-10 finishes at the Tucson Bicycle Classic and Tour of Walla Walla where she won the road race in the stage race and finished second overall.

Her success was noticed by other racers, but also by USA Cycling. Wiles' coach, Corey Hart, was contacted by USAC just before nationals and was told there may be a spot for Wiles on the development team it was sending to Europe.

Instead of telling Wiles, though, Hart sat on the news hoping not to distract her.

"I think he didn't want me thinking about anything but nationals," Wiles said. "But when he told me, I was like 'Yes, yes, yes, definitely.' "

Always an athlete when she was growing up — Wiles played soccer and ran on the track team at Murray High — cycling, obviously, came naturally. The long, endurance aspects of the sport were no trouble and the explosive bursts of speed needed to win sprints have come fairly easily.

Yet Wiles — who nearly always races with a huge grin on her face — admits to suffering on the bike.

"It's so hard," she said. "You work for hours and push yourself to the absolute limit. But in the end, it's so worth it."

Especially when all that work results in a trip to Italy to celebrate your 21st birthday while racing against many of the world's best young cyclists.

I love my sister! She is (and should be if she isn't to you already) an inspiration to a lot of people including me. I am so proud of her accomplishments (cycling and otherwise) and know no matter how far she goes, or what she does, she will be good at it! Show everyone at the Tour de Feminin en Limousin what you are made of Tayler!!

All American......

2010-07-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

If this doesn't make you smile........

You aren't American!

Good Times in July!

2010-07-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been filled with many good times! The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays! This year was especially fun because we got to celebrate for 3 days! Our celebrations began on the 3rd and the Murray parade. Cameron and I both always "complain" about going to the parade.....it's early in the morning (which in the summer.....is not my favorite time of the day), and there are a lot of people (which is not Cameron's thing at all). But, we always go and once we get there remember why we always go. I love parades! It was so fun! I got to see a lot of people I went to high school with.....remember, people from Murray NEVER leave......and some of my darling little students who were in the parade. We had fun with Cam's parents, grandparents, sister, and cousin. Ryan, one of Cam's brothers, is a Student Body Officer at Murray High and was in the parade this year, so we had someone to watch for! My step brother Cody was supposed to be in the parade as well with the football team, but decided to sleep in instead. Oh well.....

After we saw Ryan, we decided we'd seen enough of the parade.....since most of it were political hopefuls passing out fliers and bad candy, we decided to go out for breakfast. Since we were sitting in front of Mimi's Cafe on State Street, we decided to go there.

Mimi's, for the most part doesn't disappoint (we've had a few bad experiences there) and this time was delish! I love quiche and don't know why I don't enjoy it more......oh, it is probably because it is buttery and delicious and sticks right to my butt. But, it was delicious, and a great end to our morning. Cameron had to work from 12-9, so by the time we got home fireworks had already started so we just stayed home. We could see some of the West Jordan fireworks from our house!

Sunday the 4th, Cam once again had to work. Gotta love working in retail! I spent the day at the pool.....my second home. When Cam got home we met up with some of our friends. Curtis, one of Cameron's friends from high school, was in town so we all met up for some good times and pool.

Cam worked on Monday.....again, but that night we were able to go to the Bee's game with Liz and Josh. I love baseball, and nothing says summer like a good baseball game.

It was a fireworks night, so the game was PACKED! We had a great time though sitting in the outfield (which was probably as hot as the surface of the sun until about 8), chatting, watching the game, eating chicken fingers and snow cones. Like baseball, summer screams snow cones!!

We love snow cones! I will say I was incredibly unhappy with the flavor choices......they only had cherry and blueberry!! The fireworks after the game were awesome! I can't wait to see them again when we go to the game on the 23rd and sit in one of the boxes.....let's hope this is a new Romero Family tradition (hint....hint.....Greg and Karine).

Tuesday....yes, we had another event this week.....we got together for a BBQ and swimming with Brock and Natalie. It was great fun!! I love that our apartment has BBQ's at the pool! It makes for a one stop spot for a good time!

Wednesday I had a chance to help interview one of the candidates for the Kindergarten position we have at our school. It was so fun! I was so impressed with her, and am so excited to work with her next year! It will be a challenge.....since she is having a baby at the end of August.....but will be a fun adventure!

And last, but not least, last night we had yet another BBQ (it's summer......grilling at gatherings is a necessity) as a Bon Voyage for my cycling sister who leaves this week for Europe to race with the US National Team! It was fun as always, and a great way to celebrate such an awesome experience for Tayler. News has spread about her cycling skills.....and the Deseret News is doing an article on her accomplishments some time this week! She went to have her pictures take in Memory Grove with the photographer on Monday. I guess the photographer doesn't know much about cycling......some of the pictures were a little silly. However, I don't care! I think my sister is a rock star and even if some of the pictures look a little cheesy, I KNOW the article will do her skills justice! Here is my favorite picture.....

I will post the article when it comes out.....as well as updates on her races for all those who care! And everyone should care because someday she will be an Olympian!!

Europe Anyone?

2010-07-02T11:27:00.001-07:00

This cycling enthusiast, also know as my sister Tayler, is going to Europe.......to race for the US National team in a few weeks!! She will be racing the GP Centro Carnevale d'Europa in Italy and the Tour de Feminin in France! Pretty proud of my little sis! Now, we need to start fundraising so I can go with her!!

Ya, I'm Published....

2010-07-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

In June, I had the chance to write lesson plans for the new Social Studies core curriculum.....which was a pretty cool experience if you ask me. I met and worked with 2 AMAZING kindergarten teachers and created some pretty fun and interactive ways to teach the new core. Well, today I received an email to say that they have officially been published to the UEN website. So, ya.....I'm published now! (Sounds a little cocky, doesn't it.....but oh well.) So, if you have any interest what-so-ever in seeing what I helped write, visit the UEN website here:

http://www.uen.org/core/socialstudies/kindergarten/lesson_ideas.shtml

For my other teacher "peeps", there are lesson plan ideas for all grade levels......enjoy......even through I didn't write them! Thank you USOE for the great experience!

On another teacher note, I have had the chance this week to sit in on the interviews for our part time kindergarten teacher (So sad by buddy and partner in crime Marsha is moving to a new school! Great for her, sad for me!). There are a lot of really qualified people out there!!! Glad I am not the one making the decision about who to hire (although this is good experience for my future job as a principal).

Happy 4th to all of my devoted readers! May you be safe and enjoy BBQ's with family and friends, and the wonder of fireworks displays!

Frustration.....

2010-06-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

This blog is making me crazy! I swear every design change I try to do, makes me want to pull my hair out! If anyone knows of a good website that can help me with simple codes to change the html (ha....html is not simple!), please share! I would greatly appreciate it!

Ya....I forgot another event!!

2010-06-24T20:53:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I forgot about FATHER'S DAY!! Along with our 3 great Mom's.....we also have 3 amazing men whom we are so priviledged to call Dad. So, a few days late....we pay homage to the men in our lives.

This is Daddy Rick.....I think this might be my favorite picture of all time!

This is Daddy Greg.....he turned my husband into the tech nerd he is today.

This is Daddy Wes.....super glad my mom married him! He is a great step-dad!

We love you all so much! Thank you for being who you are, and for doing all you do for us! Hope your Father's Day was amazing!

Because it is summer.....

2010-06-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

Summer is officially here...because I am out of school! Well, summer actually began almost a month ago, but am just getting around to updating the world (ok, maybe not the world, but anyone who cares enough to read about us) on the past 5 or so weeks at the Romero house.

Summer vacation for me officially began on June 3rd. This year was an interesting one for me. I had probably the best group of kids as a whole, but it was one of the hardest years for me as a teacher. I had some major behavior challenges that really tested me to the limit, and on several occaisions put me in tears. I even at one point questioned why I became a teacher.....ya, it was that bad at times. I will say it made me look at the way I teach and handle behavior in a very different way. Am I sad that the year has come to an end, and my problem is moving on to 1st grade (sorry Lauren), yes and no. Am I happy to have a break....YES! Am I happy I wasn't able to make as much progress with this particular child....no. So, needless to day the end of the school year was incredibly bittersweet. So, here is to summer vacation!

(I wish I was spending my summer vacation here!)

My first adventure of the summer came the day after school got out. My lovely, and very crafty friend, Liz and I had planned on venturing on down to Houston to visit our out of state FuFu sister, Stacy. We both planned on using buddy passes (standby tickets) to get there, but that didn't work out (which you will soon find out was probably for the best). Liz bought her ticket, and I was still going to use a buddy pass. Well, my first attempt at getting on a flight to Denver (my only stop on my itinerary) was at 5 AM.....Yes....5 AM. If you know ANYTHING about me, you know I am not a morning person, so the thought of getting up at 3:30 AM, and getting to the airport by 4 AM made me a little ill. But, I did it. Well, I didn't get on the first flight.....or the next one at 7:30 AM. I then found out that there were 2 other flights that were being re-routed and passengers on those flights were impacting my ability to get on the plane. So, I waited, and waited, and waited some more.....only to be bumped further and further back on the standby list. I would be lying if I said I wasn't overcome with every emotion possible during my stay at the airport. Well, around noon, I was still waiting to see if I would get on the next flight. I asked the lovely person at the gate counter if there was any chance of me getting to Denver, let alone Houston. She looked up the next flight, and told me that I would "probably" get on the next flight.....but that there was no way I would get to Houston in the next 2 days. Wow.....that was a blow I was not expecting. By that time, Liz's flight to Denver (she too had to go through the arm pit of hell....AKA Denver) had left, and I was at the airport by myself....wondering what I should do. After a lot of inner battles, I gave up on trying to get to Houston. All I could think about was what a lame way to start my summer vacation. After being defeated by United Airlines, I had to get my luggage back that I had checked (the bag that I watch be put on, and then taken off every flight....which was so sad). When I went back to the check in counter to get my bag, they told me they couldn't find it......seriously? Could my day get any worse? I stood there for quite a while, while the woman talked to several people on her radio trying to locate my bag. Well, the eventually found it, and I was free.....and really unhappy about it! So, needless to say, in stead of spending my first weekend of summer vacation here:

I spent it looking out the windows here (minus the snow):

After being depressed about my foiled vacation plans, I spent several days being mad and angry.....which wasted a few of my precious summer vacation days. I finally came out of my funk....just in time to head to Las Vegas with the Romero side of the fam to celebrate Greg and Karine's 25th wedding anniversary. We had a fabulous time! I spent a lot of time sitting by the pool, and just enjoying doing NOTHING! I've been to Las Vegas so many times, I really had no interest walking up and down the strip. Been there, done that! We did however venture to the strip to see the fountains at the Bellagio (not everyone had seen them), have some Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity, see Mystere......and in true Lindsey fashion.....I ate my weight in crab at the buffet and Treasure Island (you know how I love me some delicious crab!!).

Mystere was really fun! It wasn't my first experience at a Cirque du Soleil , but did not disappoint! It was fun to see how Cameron's siblings who were newbies to the Cirque scene reacted to some of the acts. We had a lot of fun, and enjoyed celebrating with our family such a great event!!

The biggest event/celebration so far this summer was our 3rd wedding anniversaryon the 16th. We kept it low key.....in true Cameron and Lindsey fashion.....didn't buy each other gifts, and enjoyed some delicious sushi at our favorite sushi restaurant Iciban. I will spare you the sappy mushy stuff that so often accompanies anniversaries. We love each other more now that we did 3 years ago, and are so excited our next year together....it'll be a tough on....but we've made it this far, and through a lot of crap......so I KNOW we will make it!! Love you babe.....

A final event of note in the past month or so was today.....and if you know my husband, you already know what I am talking about.......the launch of the iPhone 4. I love my iPhone and other Apple products that my darling nerd of a husband has introduced me to in our almost 9 years together....but nothing, and I mean NOTHING would make me stand in line for hours and hours like the crazed people did for this new phone. Cameron, being the Apple employee extrodinaire that he is, went into work at the crack of dawn.....6 AM (he was supposed to be there at 5...but hit the wrong button on the alarm...ooops!) to prepare for this event. I knew when I dropped him off, there would be a line (there always is....iPhones are like crack to some people I swear!), but was SHOCKED at the length of it!! It was sheer insanity!! People were everywhere!! Just to give you a reference.....Cam's brothers went and got in line around 8 last night.....and did not get their phones until 4 PM this afternoon!! Ya, there were that many people there. I don't know what else to compare this sheer madness of what I saw to.....a cult following maybe? Anyway, iPhone 4 is officially part of our family.....it's like a child. We will be gaining another "child" in February, when I am upgrade eligable. Until then.....welcome iPhone 4. May you bring Cameron much joy and many hours of Face Time.

As for the rest of our summer plans.......I plan on spending a lot of time here!

If you would like to join me, do not hesitate to call! I am there most days! Until next time..............Happy Summer!!!!

Oh...wow....I almost forgot one more important event......Cameron's brother Matt got married on May 29th. I have no pictures from the day (in true Lindsey fashion), but Sharlene (my new sister in-law) posted some on their blog, as well as a recap of their wedding adventures. A link to their blog is in my blog list. It was a fabulous day! Welcome to the fam Shar! Finally....another girl joins this family of boys!!! Karine, Lauren, and I needed some additional estrogen!!

It's been a long time......

2010-05-18T15:47:00.000-07:00

Since I did this................

But I did it today........down the hall at school.......after a child that escaped from class. Yep, that is how my day went.

Is it June 3rd yet?

Today was a...............

2010-05-14T20:25:00.001-07:00

No one got lost, and everyone had fun! And, I almost stole the baby elephant! She was so darling!!

Adventures in K-Town

2010-05-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am taking the little munckins (AKA my class) here...

to see these exciting creatures............

I am SO excited to see the baby elephant!!! Cross your fingers for good weather....and for well behaved children!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Cam and I are lucky enough to have 3 lovely ladies to call mom. We love all 3 of them so much and hope they know just how lucky we are to have them in our lives!!

Mama Sher

Mama Karine

Mama Cortney

We hope today, out of all other days in the year, that you know how much we love you all!! Happy Mother's Day!!!

This is how I feel today.

2010-05-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

What a way to start my mini vacation. I guess the kids in my class didn't want me to enjoy my getaway from them.

Proud

2010-05-05T21:32:00.000-07:00

Today, I am a proud Panda...........

Cameron officially has survived his first year of nursing school!! WOOOHOOO!!!! He has worked so hard, and studied so much this semester!! He really is going to be the best nurse!

Way to go babe!! I knew you could do it!! 1 year down, 1 more to go!!!

FINALLY......an update!

2010-05-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

I know, I know......I said like 2 weeks I was working on an update. Well, let's be honest......I totally failed on getting it done. I am not going to make excuses, I just had no desire to get it done. Since Cameron is studying for his finals next week (which I KNOW he will do awesome on....because he is just so smart), I figured I might as well get it done......so Mom, I want to hear NO grief about the blog on Monday :).

Surprisingly, a lot has gone on in the work of the Romero's in the past month. Amazing, right? Finally a little excitment! Let's start from the beginning.........

On March 20th, I went to the open casting auditions here is SLC for season 10 of the Biggest Loser.....which we all know is one of my favorite shows! Tayler, my Mom, and I ventured down to the KSL studio to wait in line. On KSL and The Biggest Loser websites, it said to not allow before 7 AM.......so we didn't. Well, aparently there are a lot of people who live in SLC that are not rule followers. There was a HUGE line when we got there at 6:45. I was a little mad about it, but got over it. I was lucky 318 in line....which guaranteed meeting with one of the casting directors. We waited in line for about 7 hours..........and it was FREEZING!!! We came prepared with blankets, but they didn't quite do the trick, so my Dad brought us down his propane heater.....AMAZING!! We had a great time people watching.....and boy were their some winners! It was like the "People of Walmart" website LIVE!! We took some pictures of the "creatures" we saw, but I couldn't bring myself to post them. There were a lot of people doing everything they possibly could to prepare (and when I say prepare, I mean fatten up) for when they "get on the show". I think we saw the biggest bag of Cheetos they make!! It was seriously HUGE.....and being eaten by one woman. The audition wasn't much of an audition......I sat around a table with 9 other people and had a group interview with one of the casting directors. We told her the typical things I figured they would want to know......name, age, profession, and amount of weight we want to loose. Then, we had an open discussion on......Spanx.....yes, Spanx! Not what I expected, but it was fun. Needless to say, I don't think being on the Biggest Loser is in my future. I think I would have heard something by now. I made a great video, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I will say, that the experience put a lot of things in perspective for me. It also motivated me to make the necessary changes in my life that I need to in order to be more healthy. Especially after seeing the people there. I am SO not like them. I don't stuff my face with food 24/7. My problem is I love food......and I hate to exercise. 2 factors that when put together aren't a good combo. I am a smart person and know what I need to do in order to be more healthy. I don't need a reality show, or trainers screaming in my face. I just need to do it. Cam and I have started to get our "ducks in a row" to have have summer of health! Once finals are over for Cameron.....let the games begin! So, even if I didn't get on the show, I need to thank the Biggest Loser.....for giving me the opportunity to take time for myself and encourage me to do what I need to do to be a more healthy person :)!

Here I am....giant purple flower and all....after getting my application! "Pick Me....I'm a Loser!"

Even my cheerleaders had t-shirts!!! Thanks for being my supporters Mom and Tay!!

Another event of note in the past month was the launch of the iPad. If you know my husband, you know that this was truly a life aftering day for him, and the rest of the Apple fanboys of the world! I got up and took him to work at 5 AM.....yes, he was one of the first Utahn's to get their hands on an iPad....and went home to shower before going to stand in line to get our iPads (yes, we both got one.....spoiled, I know). Even I had to stand in line! It wasn't too bad though. Greg, Karine, and Poppi tagged along, and also picked up their iPads, so it became and family affair. It was pretty fun....especially when we got to the front of the line and got to go into the store! It was crazy!! Everyone there LOVES Cameron.....it was very clear! I thought because we were family we would get shuffled in and out so they could help the next people in line, but it was quite the opposite! Cameron's boss told the Specialist who was helping us to "take extra care of us.....because we were Cameron's wife, mom, dad, and grandpa". I've been in and out of the store so many times and seen him in action.....but it was nice to hear other people speak so highly of him. Needless to say, iPad has changed Cam's life. He doesn't leave the house without it.....seriously!! It is pretty amazing. I use it in my class almost everyday. There are so many great games for kids and interactive stories that my kiddos LOVE! I just hook it up to my projector and they can all see what is going on! We love iPad!!!

On Easter we spent the Afternoon with the Romero's playing family "Minute To Win It". We are big fans of the show on NBC, so we decided to play a family version of the game. We all know I am a big Food Network fan, so I was naturally interested in watching the show when I saw who the host was going to be. I am a big Guy Fieri fan! I have watced him of FN since we was on the 2nd season of Next Food Network Star and especially love Diners, Drive In's, and Dives! Anyway, back to Minute to Win it.......We each planned a game or 2, and played. I took some great video I wanted to post....but when I updated my phone (that I used to record the games) I accidentally erased them all. For pictures, you'll have to read Matt and Shar's blog. They are pretty funny!

After Minute to Win it, we went and had dinner at my Grandma and Grandpas with my side of the fam. It was good food and good times, as usual! Easter is just not quite the same since neither family really have little kids to go on Easter Egg hunts, but we had a great time.

And we can't forget about the biggest event of the past month.....Cameron's 24th birthday on April 26th! He doesn't get as excited about birthdays as I do, but it was still fun. His iPad was his present from me, so there was nothing for him to open on his actual birthday, but he was spoiled by everyone else. He deserves every bit of it!! He's worked so hard this semester at school (only 3 more tests and he's done for the summer!!), he deserved to take a day to celebrate......well sort of.....we had a test in the morning.....what a way to start your birthday!!

All in all, the past month has been pretty great....busy, but great! And the best part about it....there are less than 30 days until the end of school.....which means SUMMER VACATION!!!

Lame Blogger......

2010-04-11T19:27:00.001-07:00

So, I know I have been such a lame blogger lately. I am working on a super post.......so be patient!! So, if you check back on Wednesday (at the latest......) you will fine a super update on your favorite people.....Cameron and Lindsey!! Here is a taste of what is to come.....

**Biggest Loser Auditions
**iPad
**Easter/Minute to Win it....Romero Style!
**and so much more :)

Sorry I have been sucking.......I just haven't been in a blogging mood.

Much Love!!!

How Guilible Are You?

2010-03-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

Let me begin by telling you all how much I really and truly do not like St. Patrick's Day. I fully understand the historical significance, but just think the whole "Wear green or I'll pinch you" thing is a bit much. I am just not a fan......especially of having to wear green. I look AWFUL in green!! But, since I am a teacher, it is the unwritten rule you participate in all of the silly holidays throughout the year, so I do.

Well, this morning was a rough one. I a still trying to recoup from daylight savings. I was late to work (ssshhh....don't tell my principal), but only by 10 minutes and the kids weren't there yet. When I got to about 6400 south and 700 west, I realized that I forgot to put on my green plastic shamrock necklace and was wearing no green. LOVELY!! I am going to have 22 kindergartners pinching me and bugging me about not wearing green all day. I mean let's face it, 5 year olds love St. Patrick's Day almost as much as Halloween. I was planning on keeping everything very low key in order to maintain some sanity, but my kids were SO excited when they came in I decided I might as well play off their excitment.

When they went out for recess at 10:30, I stayed in and knocked over their chairs, sprinkled green glitter all over their tables, and put out gold chocolate coins, and golden nuggets (Rolos) to make them think a sneaky leprechaun came to visit while they were gone. I also bought green strawberry kiwi juice I was going to give them for snack, and found that I had some Lucky Charms cereal for them to eat with their green punch. How much more St. Patrick's Day'ish can you get? I mean, for trying to keep it low key, I ended up having tons of fabulously Irish themed items for them!

Obvioulsy, when they came inside, they were higher than kites! They fully believed that a leprechaun came and messed up our classroom while they were outside. So, thanks to another teachers early morning facebook post (thank you Kristi), I decided to make them think that if I drank the green leprechanun punch, I would get green spots all over by body, because everyone knows that leprechaun punch is only for kids! So, I drank the juice (which was surprisingly really good) and went to the office bathroom and used my dot art paint sticks to put green polk-a-dots all over my arms and chest....I couldn't bring myself to put them on my face. Well, it worked! They believed that I was turning green! It was hilarious!! I can't believe none of them caught on to my prank! I mean, how guilible are these kids!?!?! It made for a great, and very fun day in kindergarten! I am glad I became a little less grouchy about the whole frivolity of the day, and just went with it.

So, go and enjoy some green food and drink tonight....but remember, don't drink the leprechaun punch unless you want to have green spots!

Where does one get a smoothie at night?

2010-03-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

So, I was having a MAJOR hankering for a smoothie tonight. Not sure why....I I just needed one. Jamba Juice was closed.....so what was my next option..........

Yep, McDonald's. And it was DELICIOUS!! I would highly recommend the strawberry banana......just in case you ever find your self with a hankering for a late night smoothie.

Help me choose my picture!!!

2010-03-12T20:52:00.000-08:00

So the time has come to choose my biggest loser application photo, and I need you help! Please cast your vote for the picture you think will help me get on the show!!!

Option 1:

Option 2:

Option 3:

Option 4:

Option 5:

I am still working on filling out the application.....it's 10 pages long!! Cast your vote on which picture you like best!! I need all the help I can get!!!!

Should I do it?

2010-03-08T16:22:00.001-08:00

Yes, we all know I am a little obsessed with The Biggest Loser....this is not news to anyone who frequents the blog. Well, my madre in-law, Karine, text me this morning to tell me that they are holding an open casting call for the next season of The Biggest Loser......right here in Salt Lake City!! Can you believe it? It's on March 20th from 10-5 at KSL broadcast house....and all I need to bring with me is a picture they can keep. Pretty simple, right?.....I say this as I am sitting at my desk eating Goldfish crackers.

Could I really go on television and show off my hot flabby bod to the entire world?

Could I really work out with Jillian and Bob without swearing like a filthy pirate....again on national television? (And try to remember the kind of image I am trying to keep up....being a teacher and all.)

Could I deal with all of the puking that takes place on the show? (Remember, I have a major phobia of puke or any kind!)

Could I really put my life on hold to shoot a television show?

Could I give up my love of delicious food....that let's be honest is in now way healthy?.....remember the Goldfish crackers I am currently eating :).

Could I really do it? Should I really do it?

I am looking for feedback here......even if you NEVER comment on my blog.....or if you are only here because you are "blog stalking" me from another blog.....PLEASE COMMENT!! I AM LOOKING FOR SOME DIRECTION HERE PEOPLE!!!

Could I really be the next Biggest Loser?

Amazing.....

2010-03-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night is the Oscars......I'll be honest.....I am so excited!! I love movies, fashion, and celebrities, so naturally tomorrow night I will be in heaven!! I have seen most of the movies nominated for Best Picture, and there are some great ones. But today, I watched Precious. Amazing......is the only word that describes it. This movie was in no way a feel good movie on the surface....how could it be? It is about an illiterate, and abused teenage girl that is continually raped by her own father, and becomes pregnant not once, but twice with his child. Not exactly a "touchy feely" plot line. What made this story/movie amazing was Precious herself....Gabourey Sidibe.

What an amazing and resilient girl. To go through what she went through (all by the age of 16, I might add), and to come out a better and more educated person is an amazing feat. Go see the movie, or wait until it comes out on video. It''l make you laugh, be angry and want to punch her mom in the face (who is played my Mo'Nique, who was also AMAZING in the movie!), and cry when see what this poor girl has to deal with everyday.

Because this made me laugh.....

2010-03-05T17:31:00.001-08:00

Lucky for me, I didn't feel this way this time around.

While I sit and wait.....

2010-03-03T14:03:00.001-08:00

Well, we all know what time of year it is.....PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE TIME! My favorite time of the year.....right? Well, not really, but this year is different than most other years I have taught. I have a fantastic class, and am thrilled to be sharing how much they have learned and grown so far this year. But, that also means I am here at school until 8 o'clock tonight.....and inevitably people miss their appointments, leaving me with time to spare. So, I decided that I would spend my "free" time between conferences, and during the times when I had "no shows" to update the world on the happenings of the Romero's.

Cam and I are up to the same old, same old.....work and school. Cameron is doing phenomenally in the nursing program. He never ceases to amaze me with what he is capable of, and with all the information he has learned! I feel incredibly well taken care of any time I get sick....which is a perk, as well as cuts down on my need to go to the doctor for this or that! I couldn't do what he is doing, so I am super proud of him.....I sound like a proud mother, don't I? But I really am proud of how well he is doing. Nursing is no easy field to work in, or to study, but he is really doing well!

I had the chance to spend last weekend in Boise with my sister while she was getting some help from Coach Corey on her time trial form. Lucky for us, our fabulous aunt and uncle, Sue and Gerry, live in Eagle (just a few mins from downtown Boise) and we were able to crash at their house for a few days. We ate FANTASTICALLY (we went to the most delicious Italian restaurant.....the Stuffed Olive and I nearly ate my weight in shrimp scampi and angel hair with Alfredo (so much for the diet of vacation), and had MANY laughs ("Hello....this is Serge.....we have no dial tone today!")!!! Thanks for having us Sue and Ger, taking us to dinner, and for teaching us all the amazing things you can do with a dish towel :)(Gerry is an amazing headdress creator). We love you guys, and can't wait for out next adventure!!

Well, now that this post has taken me hours to write (I started at 2ish, and am finishing up at 7:40), and conferences are done for the evening.....I think I'll head home. My brain is tired from thinking about 21 kindergartners progress, and my voice is tired from talking non-stop. Oh.....and the highlight of the night.....my favorite little student (well, he really isn't my student, but I have his sister in my class) Mohamed, had his parent teacher conference. His mom came to talk to me about her kids (she is an amazing lady....they are from Somalia and she is raising 7 kid alone here, and speaks VERY little English). She told me that Mohamed tells her everyday that she should give their baby (who is about 4-5 months old) to me because I need a baby. How darling is that!?!?! I think I might just take the baby if they offered him to me :). I just love him.....well I love all of his siblings! Anywho.....Sounds like a great night for a bubble bath! Only one more day of work this week.....then a 3 day weekend!!!

One of those days......

2010-02-24T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today was just one of those days for me. A day when I wanted to pull my hair out on many occasions. I had an early morning meeting (and if you know ANYTHING about me, you know how much I DESPISE early mornings), and from second one my darling little kindergartners were acting.....let's just say.......OUT OF CONTROL!! Today was the first day in a very long time that I questioned my love for my job. It took every ounce of strength to just not burst into tears the second they went home (thank goodness it was early day and they left at 1:30!!). Luckily for me, I had time to sit compose myself before teaching a class for my students and their parents (hence the blog post from school at 6:30 at night!).

Some days I complain about my kids, their parents, and even my co-workers sometimes. I am only human, right? But then I am reminded of something new they were able to do, or an idea or concept that finally clicked with them, and I am reminded of why I love.....with all my heart....what I do. I know that none of my students will ever see this post....but I want to apologize for "being a mean teacher" today. Even though you drove me to my wits end today, I care about each and every single one of you....even the smelly ones. I love all the hugs I get every day (no matter how mean I might have/or am being), all of the beautiful artwork I get, and I love being told that I am the best teacher they have ever had (they forget that I am the only teacher they have ever had). Thank you for letting me be your teacher.....I promise tomorrow I will be "Happy Mrs. Romero"!!

Slightly boring......

2010-02-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

Well, what can I say about the past 2 weeks....not much. We are boring....work, school, work, and more school. There have been so many times I have sat down at the computer to write an update....but can't think of one singel thing worth writing about. So, today I had to rack my brain to think of something of note from the last 2 weeks. So, here are a few highlights.....

The Saints won the Super Bowl....and we won $80 because we had the winning numbers at the end of the game (thank you Mom for writing our names in the winning squares!). Gotta love winning by pure luck!! Needless to say, we are not football people, but having the winning numbers made the last few minutes of the game a lot moe entertaining. So, because of our luck I will say.....GO SAINTS!!

Not only is the Super Bowl a time to frivolously bet money on random numbers, it is also time to enjoys some delicious treats! Well, I basically needs something that required little to no thought (because I was fighting a NASTY headache, than nearly made me cut my head off). I knew I could rely on my second love (after Cameron of course) The Food Network to provide me with a recipe that was simple enought for me to make, since at that point my cognitive ability was that of a 5 year old. Well, one of my favs....Giada De Laurentis.... a chef and foodnetwork personality who never lets me down, came to my rescue! Mmmmm.....White Bean Dip w/ Pita Chips.

Here is the recipe......I think you will enjoy this if you are a hummus lover...as I am!

Ingredients
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 pitas
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl.

Cut each pita in half and then into 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges on a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining oil over the pitas. Toss and spread out the wedges evenly. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden in color.

I had every intention of making my own pita chips, as I have in the past, but the pita gods were not on my side. I went to 3 stores looking for pita bread, and had no luck. So I resorted to using pre-packaged bagel chips. They were good, but no as good as pita chips fresh from th oven!

School has been rough the past few weeks. I now have another student who has seen how much attention my non-potty trained student gets, and has decided she is no longe going to use the bathroom on her own either. WONDERFUL!! I think I nipped that in the butt though.....there is no way I am going to deal with 2 non-bathroom users!!!

Wednesday we celebrated the 100th day of school! It was good times as usual....filled with lots of fun math activities. It's one of my favorite days of the whole year! Lucky for me, this year it fell on a Wednesday... early day....and our Jump Rope for Heart day. We were movin' all day!

We also celebrated Valentine's Day on Friday....which usually is one of my favorite days of the school year. Well, not this year! My kiddos were higher than kites! It was worse than Halloween and Christmas COMBINED!! Not sure what the deal was....but I am sure glad a 3 day weekend followed my crazy day!

Cam and I really aren't big fans of Valentine's Day, so we always keep it low key. In an effort to save money, and because we really don't feel the need to buy each other presents to show each other that we love each other, we opted to forgo presents. Cameron worked all day long, so I told him I would make him whatever he wanted for dinner....and do you know what he chose? Hamburgers and roast carrots!

We stayed home and had a great dinner and watch a few Olympic events. I just LOVE the Olympics!! It made for a great, and very relaxing Valentine's Day. No frills....just how we like it!!

I hope everyone had a Valentine's Day celebration that was to their liking! Now, let's hope for a pee and poop free week at school!!

I just couldn't wait!!!

2010-01-31T19:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I just finished cleaning up dinner and had to share what I made because is was DELICIOUS!! Well, I made the Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce and it was so amazingly yummy!! So here it is!

Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce

(Recipe taken from Eatingwell.com)

Ingredients

Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup heavy cream (I used milk, and it turned out just fine.)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon butter, divided
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided, plus more as needed
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 tablespoons finely minced fresh tarragon or dill, plus sprigs for garnish

Directions

Combine lemon juice and cream in a small bowl. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mash 1 teaspoon flour and 1 teaspoon butter in another small bowl until a paste forms. Set both bowls aside.

Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and white pepper. Dredge lightly in the remaining 1/2 cup flour, shaking off any excess. (Discard leftover flour.)

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken—do not crowd the pan. Cook, turning once, until nicely browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Add 1/2 cup broth, reduce the heat and cover. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. (Check to make sure the pan juices don’t run dry. If necessary, add more broth, a tablespoonful at a time, to prevent scorching.) Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board and tent with foil.

Add the remaining 1/2 cup broth to the pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 2 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add the reserved lemon cream and bring to a simmer. Gradually whisk in the reserved butter-flour paste, a few bits at a time, until the sauce coats the spoon, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in peas.

Reduce the heat to low and return the chicken to the pan along with tarragon (or dill). Turn to coat with the sauce and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Slice the chicken and serve with the sauce, garnished with sprigs of tarragon (or dill), if desired.

Review:

Like I said, this was AMAZING!!! I served it over rice (that I cooked using chicken stock instead of water to add more flavor) with some roast carrots. The carrots turned out better than I thought they would! My grandma makes a carrot casserole that is absolutely delicious, but not exactly healthy. These roast carrots tasted almost the same as her casserole, with a lot less calories!! All I did was take 1 bag of carrots, peeled and sliced them, then chopped 1/2 of an onion, and 3 cloves of garlic. I combined all of the ingredients in a bowl and drizzled them with olive oil and tossed it all together with salt and pepper. I then spread everything out onto a baking sheet and roasted in the oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes. I could have eaten the entire pan by myself!!! Try them for yourself....you won't be disappointed!!!

Wow....what a week!!

2010-01-31T14:19:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to begin about how this week has gone. It has been one to remember.....that is for sure!!! Let's begin with a laugh...because at this point I think that is about all I can do about it.

On Tuesday I took my kids on a field trip to Discovery Gateway. It was fabulous, but exhausting!! I love taking them places to experience new things, but they take a wear me right out. Mostly because of the stress of being responsible for 20+ 5 and 6 year olds. Well, we had a lot of fun.....and only 2 issues with some naughty kids! I think had the morning field trip gone any differently, the events of the afternoon would have been less amusing! Shortly after lunch, one of my students (we will refer to her as "K") had a little accident. My aid took her to get some dry clothes from the clothes closet, and took her the change in the bathroom in the hall since mine was occupied by another student. Well, another student in the mean time decides she needs to use the bathroom.....and RIGHT NOW (we will refer to her as "J")!! So, I let J also go use the hall bathroom, where K was changing out of her wet clothes. Well, I assumed K would return first since she was the first one to go to the bathroom.....I was wrong. J returned pretty quickly.....which is out of the ordinary for her. I have K a few more minutes to come back, and when she still hadn't I decided to go see why she was still gone. Well, I saw quite a picture when I walked into that bathroom......there was K standing in front of the mirror trying to button up her pants (that were WAY too small). She would suck in her stomach.....button her pants..... then breath out, and her button would bust open. It was pretty funny! I told her we'd go and get her some clothes that fit, and to pick up her wet clothes, put them in the plastic bag I gave her, and come back to class. "Mrs. Romero, my clothes aren't here anymore" was her response. I responded with "What do you mean the aren't here anymore?". "J took them," she said. I could not figure out what was going on.....so I looked around the bathroom for them just to make sure she hadn't missed them by mistake, and did not find her wet clothes. So, I went right back to my classroom, after checking the garbage cans in the hall, to ask J what she had done with K's clothes. "I don't remember where I put them" was J's response to the missing clothes. Seriously!??!?! First of all, why on earth would anyone want to touch someone's pee pants! Second, how do you forget in a matter of minutes where you put those pee clothes?!?!? So, I had to go on a pee pants hunt around the school to figure out where J put K's pants. As I was walking out of my classroom, J comes running up to me and says "I remember when I put K's clothes!". "I threw them outside!", was her response. Outside.....are you kidding me?!?! So, I grabbed K, because there was no way I was going to pick up her pee pants, and took her outside to look for them. Well, low and behold.....J was right! She had thrown them (underwear included) out the back door on to the playground!!! Well, to bring this story to a close....I was not quite sure how to deal with this issues, so I was glad as soon as I got back to talk to J, the office called to have me send her J down because she was being checked out of school early. Wow....what a way to start a week!!

At lunch Tuesday.......the same day as the beloved pee pants story, I got a text message from Cameron that said "Are you ready to have your mind blown?". Ummm, ok. So I said yes.......and this is the picture message that soon followed.......

Yep, that is a placenta that he is holding! I about fell off my chair!! I was not expecting to get a picture of my husband holding a placenta!! I don't think I would have a smile on my face if I were holding a placenta! Well, Cameron is liking school this semester....which is a great thing!! I was worried with him having 3 clinicals this semester he was going to burn out really fast! But, to my surprise, he has done amazing, and is already finished with his clinical at Primary Children's! He has had some amazing experiences caring for patients, and I love hearing about what he does. I love that he is happy about going to school.....even if he doesn't show it when he is getting up at 6:00 in the morning to go to the hospital.

Along with his placenta experience this week.....if you know Cam, you know how excited he was to for Apple's event on Wednesday. We all know that Cameron is a self proclaimed Apple addict....so was obviously so excited about the unveiling of the iPad. After the unveil, Cameron actually made a to scale and weight model of the iPad to show me exactly what I would be getting in April....yes, we are already planning on getting 2 the day that we can. If you don't know what the iPad is, click here to read all about it.....it is pretty amazing! I am excited to the iBook feature.....you know how I love my books!!

On a high note, last night we did out taxes and are getting a pretty nice return....for once!! Last year we had to pay, so we were a little nervous about what this year had in store for us. I guess since both of us are students we are getting a little break. So, I say "Thank you Uncle Sam for providing us a fabulous tax return so we can buy our iPads!"

Now, on to my recipe recaps......first up:

Portobello Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups.

Recipe from Food Network host Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:
12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 3/4 pound)
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces portobello mushrooms, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups marinara sauce (I used Newman's Own Mushroom Marinara)
1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 ounces grated part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 2/3 cup)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook the noodles al dente according to the directions on the package. Drain them well and spread them out onto aluminum foil or waxed paper to prevent them from sticking.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. In a medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, a few turns of pepper, and nutmeg.

Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture, roll the noodle and place it into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles. Spread the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the lasagna rolls. Top with grated cheeses, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

Yield: 6 servings

Review:

I really like this, but thought it needed more sauce (I realized after I made it I didn't buy a big enough jar of marinara)., and more seasoning in the filling. Cameron on the other hand didn't love it. He didn't like the whole wheat pasta, and he has a hard time with recipes that have no meat. Vegetarian dishes aren't his thing. So, I guess next time I make this I need to add some kind of meat for him, use enough sauce, and season the cheese filling more liberally. I didn't add very much mostly because I salted the pasta water a lot, and didn't know how much salt they would absorb.

Next up on recap.......

Chicken with Wild Mushroom and Balsamic Cream Sauce

(I know I said I was making Chicken with a Tarragon Cream sauce......but Cameron requested I make this for him again.....he LOVES this recipe!!!)

(This is a Rachael Ray recipe.....again, I love her!!)

Ingredients

Salt
1/2 pound orzo pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 ounces
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
12 cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
12 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
12 white mushrooms, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, a couple of sprigs, chopped
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, eyeball it (I used more like 2 TBS.....I thought it needed more, but I LOVE balsamic vinegar!)
3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half, a couple turns of the pan (I just used the skim milk I already had, and it turned out great, and saved a lot of calories!)
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful

Directions

Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo pasta. Cook to al dente (I don't like al dente pasta, so I cooked it all the way through).

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

Return the skillet to the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice the chicken on an angle. Add the parsley and the chicken back to the skillet to heat up, about 1 minute.

To serve, pile orzo on dinner plates and top with the sliced chicken and sauce.

Review:

AMAZING!! This is something I will make, and make often.....it is than good!! You know if Cameron asks for it, that it is good! Try it, you won't be disappointed!!

I haven't decided what I will be cooking this week.....so you will just have to be surprised when I post my latest creations!! Happy cooking!!

Tomorrow is Friday......and You Know What That Means!!!

2010-01-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

I will be doing my "Friday Happy Dance"!! And, I will be wrapping up my unit on polar animals (hence the picture). Next up.....dental hygiene!!

Happy Friday!!!!!

What's for dinner?

2010-01-27T19:50:00.001-08:00

Well, I've tried a few of my new recipes this week. Some have been really good.....and one not so much. So, here is my "Recipe Recap" for the past few days.....

Sunday: Chicken, Tomato, Spinach, Alfredo Braided Pizza

I got this idea from Karine.....I bet she never thought I would use some of her recipes!!! Cameron grew up loving when his mom made braided pizza for dinner, so I decided to make some for him and add my own little twist. Unfortunately, Cameron was sick and didn't get to enjoy the deliciousness of this dinner. So, here is the recipe:

1 Rhodes Frozen Loaf of Bread Dough (unlawed, and raised for 3 hours at room temperature)
1 Pkg of Precooked Grilled Chicken Strips
1 Tomato (seeded and chopped)
1 Cup of Fresh Spinach
1/2 Cup of Alfredo Sauce (I used Bertolli)
1 1/2 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Using a rolling pin, roll the pizza dough until it is about 12 inches long, and 5-6 inches wide. Spoon the Alfredo sauce onto the dough, and spread it evenly in the center of the dough, leaving a 2 inch boarder on each side, and a 1 inch boarder on the top and bottom. Then, layer the chicken strips, spinach, tomatoes, and cheese on top of the sauce. Using a sharp knife, cut 2 inch slits on each side of the filling. Then take 1 piece of dough from each side, and "braid" them together (you really just alternate going over, under, and pressing the dough together). Transfer the braided pizza to a cookie sheet, and bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes (depending on your oven)

My Review: DELICIOUS!! It wasn't healthy....by any means.....but was really good! I ate a salad along with it, and made more than enough for leftovers....well, maybe not if Cameron would have eaten. Thanks Karine for a little inspiration!!

Monday: Chicken, Mushrooms, and Rice Casserole

1 TBS Olive Oil
1 Cup White Wine (Don't be afraid to cook with wine....and I mean real wine. Not that cooking wine (alcohol freed) garbage. Those varieties only add a lot of salt, and not a lot of flavor. I promise, you won't regret cooking with the real stuff in any recipe)
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (I used Campbell's Healthy Request)
2 Cups Sliced Mushrooms
4 Chicken Breasts
1 1/2 Cups of Rice (I used brown rice....I would not recommend using that though)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat and add onion. When onions begin to soften, add mushrooms and cook until golden. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Push onions and mushrooms to side of pan and brown chicken skin side down (I used skinless breasts) for about 4 minutes on each side (you aren't cooking the chicken through since you are going to transfer everything to the oven to continue cooking). Remove chicken to plate. Stir in rice and cook with onions and mushrooms for 1 minute. Stir in wine and let simmer for 1 minute. Stir in soup and 1 1/2 cans of water and bring to a simmer. Pour rice mixture into a greased (I use butter flavored Pam) casserole dish. Place the chicken on top of rice, and cover with lid or foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until rice is tender. If necessary, stir in more water 1/2 cup at a time if all the liquid is absorbed before the rice is tender.

My Review:
This dinner was not so great. I really think it was because I used brown rice. It never really absorbed the flavors of anything. And, I just felt like this recipe was really missing something.....garlic maybe? or a little poultry seasoning? I am not sure. But I don't know if I will make this again. If anyone tries it and has better success by adding additional ingredients, let me know!!

Tuesday: Spaghetti....from Italian Village
Okay, okay.....now I know I didn't make this. But, let's be honest....Tuesday I felt like garbage and just couldn't bring myself to cook. So, we got take out...and then I went to bed at 7.....lame I know, but you gotta do what you gotta do!! Either way, I heart Italian Village, and this time did not disappoint!

Wednesday: Chicken Cacciatore
3-4 Chicken Breasts (use 4 if the pieces are small)
Salt and pepper to season the chicken
2 tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 TSP Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 Portobello Mushroom Caps, thinly sliced (wipe any dirt off with a damp cloth or paper towel....NEVER WASH A MUSHROOM!! They turn into sponges.)
4 Cloves of Garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 of an Onion, thinly sliced (The original recipes did not have this ingredient, but I think any red pasta sauce needs onion.)
1/2 Cup Beef Stock
1 (28-ounces) Can Crushed Tomatoes
A handful of Flatleaf Italian Parsley, chopped
1 pound egg ribbons or egg fettuccini (I used whole wheat penne)

Directions
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add half of the extra-virgin olive oil and brown chicken breasts for 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan and season with salt and pepper.

Return the pan to stove, reduce heat to medium and add the remaining oil. Add crushed pepper, sliced mushrooms, and garlic. Season with salt (salt is a magnet for drawing out liquid). Cover and cook mushrooms 5 minutes or until mushrooms are dark, tender and have given off their juices. Add about 1/2 cup of beef broth to intensify the wild mushroom flavor, then stir in the tomatoes and parsley. Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks or slices and add to sauce. Simmer sauce 5 minutes to finish cooking chicken pieces and to allow the flavors to combine. Toss pasta with the sauce and enjoy. (This recipe came from foodnetwork.com. It's one of Rachael Ray's.....I love her!)

My Review:
I really like this recipe. It had good flavor, and a little kick from the red pepper flakes. And, I was pleasantly surprised by the whole wheat pasta. I love pasta, so I was looking for something that would taste and have a similar texture to regular semolina pasta.....and it did! Good thing because my recipe is uses whole wheat lasagna noodles!! I will make this again for sure, and maybe add a few more veggies!

Well, I hope someone out there can benefit from my experimentation! Here is what is on the menu for the rest of the week:

Thursday: Lasagna Roll-Ups
Friday: Chicken w/ Tarragon Cream Sauce (sounds crazy, but I got this from a healthy recipes list from foodnetwork.com!!)

Stay tuned for more recipe recaps!!!

This makes me happy in my heart!

2010-01-27T19:44:00.000-08:00

"The idea here is simple: instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform – reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from r...ural communities to inner-cities."--President Obama (Taken from the 2010 State of the Union address)

I am so happy that finally someone understands what education needs. Now, let's hope that our state government sees the importance of education reform, and doesn't cut our funding!!

Chocolate Cake.....in a Mug? and a few other things :).

2010-01-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

I figured while I am home with my sick husband today, it was high time that I updated the blog. Let me begin by saying how much I hate it when Cameron is sick. Not just because being sick is no fun, but I hate to see him miserable. And boy, is he miserable. Let's hope it is just a 24 hour bug!! Get better, and I promise this time I won't run away this time! (He got food poisoning last Christmas, and I ran away to my mom's house for the day....mostly because I fear throw up.)

Everyone knows I am a sucker for sweet treats. I will admit it, I am a chocoholic. When I heard about this "5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug", I was skeptical. Especially, because it cooks in the microwave, and I am not one to bake in the microwave. But, because I will try to make anything once, I decided to try it. It surprisingly turned out pretty good! By no means is it the best cake I have ever had, but it was better than I anticipated. It has incredients that most people have in their cubbards, so when you have a hankering for something chocolate, give it a shot! It is more than enough to feed 2 people....or one if you have a MAJOR sweet tooth.

5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug
4 TBS Flour
4 TBS Sugar
2 TBS Coco Powder
3 TBS Milk
3 TBS Oil (or applesauce to cut down on the calories and fat)
1/4 TSP Vanilla
1 Egg
3 TBS Chocolate Chips (optional)

Combine all incredients in 1 large mug (or split into 2 standard sized mugs). Microwave for 3 minutes (or 1 1/2 minutes if you split it into 2 snall mugs). It will raise up over the rim of the mug, but will settle back down. That is how you know it is done. Let is cool for 5 minutes, and turn out on a plate, or eat it right from the mug.

Try it out, and let me know what you think!

Not a lot has been going on in the world of Cameron and Lindsey. Work, school, and work and school. That is pretty much the name of our game at this point. I will say that I love this time of the year for one reason.....AWARD SHOWS!!! I love entertainment.....movies and television especially. So, therefore the Golden Globes are my favorite award show! This year was fantastic!! The laughs, the tears, and all of those amazing dresses!!! I love it. There is just something about celebrity glamor that make me happy. I was also so happy with the winners this year! Almost everyone I wanted to win, won! Here are my favorite winners of the night! We will begin with TV..........

Cam and I are big Dexter fans.....and not the CBS version......the legit Showtime version. I mean, how can you really portray a serial killer properly on network television? So, naturally we were thrilled when he won for best actor in a television drama. He is a phenomial actor, and hopefully he can beat cancer and return to play our favorite serial killer! Since we are Dexter fans, we were also thrilled when John Lithgow won for best supporting actor in a dramatic series for his role as the Trinity killer on this past season of Dexter! If you have never seen the show, rent it, or download it....because it is awesome!

My next fav going to Chloe Sevigny for her role as polygamous sister wife Nikki Grant on HBO's Big Love. It takes a lot to play a role of that calibre, and she does a fabulous job at making you love and hate her manipulative and sneaky ways. Please, no judgemental comments on me having watched Big Love. I know the controversy surrounding it......enough said.

And Glee!! I love it!! Sooooo glad it won!!! I was very skeptical of it at first since I am really not a fan of musicals, but it proved me wrong. Secretly I wish I could break out into song at any given point in my day. And, secretly I think I am a little evil like Sue :).

Now, on to the movies!

I know I bashed Sherlock Holmes the first time I watched it.....well, I decided I didn't like it because I slept through it the first time I watched it......it was Christmas Day people.....I was BEAT!! Well, Cam and I went and saw it again, and changed our minds! We are big Robert Downey Jr. fans, so naturally we were THRILLED when he won! He deserved it! And, his acceptance speech made me happy in my heart! And, Sandra Bullock....who doesn't love her!! It made me cry when she told her hubby....Jesse James.....that her work only has gotten better since she met him. LOVE THEM!! I'll be honest, I have yet to see The Blind Side, so I can't say she deserved to win for her role, but she is just an all around fantastic actress so I am sure she deserved it!

What is there to say about Avatar? It is a phenominal movie, and one that everyone should see....and in 3D if possible! I had no interest in seeing it whatsoever, but being the good wife that I am, went with Cam. And boy am I glad that I did! GO SEE IT!! You won't be disappointed. The visual effects alone are worth it!

Now, on to a recap on a few of my goals for 2010......

Guess what I bought.......you guessed it, the Biggest Loser work-out DVD's!!! They will be here Tuesday, so by next weekend, I will have a reivew for you! Hopefully, it helps me achieve my goal of better health in 2010!

I have been reading a lot more as well. I haven't finished a book yet, but I am trying to make time each day to read for my enjoyment. I am reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol right now, and it is AWESOME!!! I hope to finish it in the next week or 2. My next read will be Eclipse......no, I have not read it yet. I have re-kindled my love of reading, and love spending time each day doing something just for me.....because ultimately 2010 is the year of Lindsey!

My cooking skills are improving, and I have tried some new and really great new recipes!!! Yesterday I researched 7 new recipes to make for dinners this week! I am really excited to try them all. I am going to try and post them here each night with a picture and a review. I know I am always looking for new things to try, and know that many of my readers are always looking to try new things, so hopefully this will inspire some creativity in your kitchens!!

Resolutions?

2010-01-09T21:45:00.001-08:00

Well, I figure it is high time I discuss my progress on my New Years Resolutions.......so here it goes. I think I have done pretty well for myself....given I don't have the best track record with sticking to my resolutions.

~ Get closer to graduation (for both of us):

Well, I began another class on Thursday, and Cameron starts school on Monday, so progress is being made!

~ Reading more:

I have made no progress here. I have yet to open my new copy of Dan Brown's new book "The Lost Symbol", and I still haven't finished the Twilight series....SHOCKING, I know!! I vow to read at least 3 chapters of either "Eclipse" tomorrow or "The Lost Symbol".

~ Blog more:

I think I am accomplishing that goal as we speak!

~ Taking more pictures of our life adventures!!:

Well, I took pictures of my class on our field trip this week.....but none of either Cam or I. School is one of my adventures, so I guess I am working to accomplish this goal. Unfortunately, I can't post any of them here.....since they are of my students. I promise next week I will have some pictures of us!!

~ No longer being a provisional teacher:

I received an email this week from the Human Resources Dept. at the district office telling me I have fulfilled all of the requirements for relicensure!!! WOOOOO!! I now just have to wait until I have a spare $150-200 (can anyone say TAX return!) so I can pay to renew my license and get yet another background check done!!

~ Trying new recipes, and refining my cooking skills:

This is one thing I have done really well with! I tried a new cookie recipe, and tonight I made risotto for the first time (both which turned out AMAZING I might add)!! And, I have a new chicken recipe I am trying out tomorrow. I absolutely love to cook, so I know this will be an easy resolution for me to keep.

~ Be more healthy:

Cam and I are doing this together, so this hasn't been too hard. We went grocery shopping the other day and bought a bunch of healthy and delicious food, and are both of us are working on moving more. My next move will be to buy the Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout videos to do at home. I will be honest, I HATE the gym, so the more exercise I can do at home, the better I will be. I will let you know what I think of it!

All in all, I think I am headed down their right path to accomplishing my goals for 2010! What are your goals?

Out with the old, and in with the new!!

2009-12-31T14:10:00.000-08:00

Well, another year (another decade for that matter) has come and gone. Seriously, is it really going to be 2010 in a few short hours? A lot has happened in the past decade that has been amazingly memorable, but I will spare you the highlights of the past 10 years, and focus on 2009.

Cameron got to go to Mac World in January for work. Not only did he get to spend a few days away from the Gateway store spreading the Apple love to thousands of people, he got to do it in his favorite city....San Francisco. I will be honest, I was a little jealous that I couldn't go with him, but am so happy that he had the chance to go and get paid for doing what he loves! The icing on the cake would have been seeing his "man crush", Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Maybe another time.

Gramee and Poppi came home from their mission in Germany January 31st. We are glad they had the opportunity to serve the youth in Germany, but are sure happy they are home.

I decided if I was going to get a Masters' Degree, now is the time do to it. I began working on Masters' of Education, focusing on School Administration, through an online program offered through Grand Canyon University in March. 8 months down, 12 more to go! I have had my ups and downs with it, but am really glad I am doing it.

Cameron turned 23......he gets more handsome every single year!

Karine, Lauren, and I were able to go and see Wicked when it came to SLC. All of the hype surrounding the musical is spot on!!! I loved every minute of it! I am going to have to see it again someday!!

We went to Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend with Greg and Karine. We had a fantastic time!! I loved seeing Cameron's face (it was his first time ever in Vegas) every time he saw something bigger and better than what he was just amazed with. He also discovered how truly lucky he is (he won $250 playing penny slots, I mean who does that!!). We saw KA while we were there. All I can say is WOW!! It was amazing!!!

Celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary......I've posted many of our wedding favorites before, so I will spare you this time.

We went to McCall for some good times at the lake with the Gehrke side of the family. It was a fantastic time, as usual!

We moved to our new apartment. WE LOVE IT!!! We do miss living downtown, but love our new digs!! It is close to school for Cameron, and close to work for me.

(No this is not "our" apartment.....I don't have any pictures of it, but this is the model.....it looks pretty much the same as ours.)

Matt came home from his mission in Brazil! Greg and Karine were able to go down and visit Brazil, and to bring him home.

Cameron began nursing school at SLCC. After waiting, and waiting, and waiting, he was FINALLY able to start his final 2 years of school! He had a rough start.....but naturally I think anyone would have a hard time working with senior citizens in a nursing home.......but pulled through and had a FANTASTIC first semester! Isn't he just a doll in his scrubs?!?! I am so proud of him, and all of his accomplishments. 1 semester down, 3 more to go!!!

Mom, Susan, and I teamed up to support Tayler as she rode in LOTOJA. We sucked at feeding her, but she pulled through and took 2nd.....with no help from us! Super proud of my super-rockstar-athlete sister!!!

Matt and Sharlene got engaged in October. They haven't set their wedding date yet, but we are super happy for them.

I turned 25....yes, I am officially a quarter century old. And, I got a phenomenal birthday cake from Nikki and Nancy! Love them!

We had a wonderful holiday season!! Thanksgiving, and Christmas came and went......and I have no pictures to show for it. Lame......We had a great time with family and friends, and enjoyed some REALLY good food!!! We had yummy prime rib with the Gehrke side.....a family favorite.....but only comes around once a year because of the lack of nutritional value......

And, to continue with tradition, we had the seafood extravaganza with the Romero/Boam's on Christmas eve. The highlight of the night.......KING CRAB LEGS!! My very favorite food of all time!!!

Probably the highlight of our holiday season was choosing a family from my school to do a Sub for Santa for. We chose to do the family of a student of mine, and were able to provide this family with a wonderful Christmas. Christmas is about giving, not receiving, and I will never forget how I felt doing this for this wonderful family. This by far has been my most memorable Christmas to date. So many people heard about what we were doing, and wanted to donate food or money to help this family. It made me so happy to be able to provide this family with food, warm clothes, and a few toys, all because so many people decided to give, rather than receive this Christmas. I can't wait to do it again next year!!

We did however receive some wonderful things this Christmas.....especially our trip to Las Vegas!! Greg and Karine paid for us to stay at the New York, New York for a few days, and my Mom and Wes gave us some fun money to spend while we were there. It was just the little getaway we needed!! We relaxed, gambled, ate delicious food, and had an all around great time. Thanks everyone who helped to make our trip happen!! Next year, I think we will fly down instead of drive.....we got caught in a NASTY storm yesterday that added 3 hours to our drive home......not so fun!

We have had a great year, and are looking forward to what is to come in 2010. Here are a few of my goals for the upcoming year.......

~ Get closer to graduation (for both of us).
~ Reading more......I am looking for suggestions, if anyone has any.
~ Blogging more.
~ Taking more pictures of our life adventures!!
~ No longer being a provisional teacher.....just a few more months, and one more official observation!
~ Trying new recipes, and refining my cooking skills.
~ Being more healthy.

Wishing all of our friends a family a very Happy and safe New Years!! Bring on 2010!!!

Look Out Sin City..........

2009-12-26T23:21:00.001-08:00

Here come the Romero's!!!

Watch for an update on all of our adventures, as well as our holiday recap!!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T13:51:00.001-08:00

And a Happy New Year!!

Love,
Cameron & Lindsey

Have you ever felt like this?

2009-12-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

Well, after the day I had today with my little people.......I feel like this. I guess because today is December 1st......it means the "Christmas Crazies" are upon us. Can I handle them for 15 more school days with the crazies? Let's hope so!!!!

Believe It, Be It

2009-11-29T19:45:00.000-08:00

It is no secret that I may be one of the BIGGEST fans of the show The Biggest Loser. My DVR is religiously set to record each and every episode every Tuesday night. It makes me laugh, cry, and motivates me to become a better person......not just a skinny person, but a better person in general. The only other person who may like the show as much as I do is my Mom. We text throughout the entire episode, and have to recap what we saw on Wednesday morning through email. Well, in true "mom" fashion, she heard the Ali Vincent (the first woman Biggest Loser from 2 seasons ago, and my very FAVORITE contestant EVER) wrote a book about her experiences before and after being on the show and bought it for me for my birthday. I finished reading it yesterday, and I LOVED IT!!!!! I would recommend it to anyone who might have the slightest interest in it......in fact I would ever let you borrow my copy of it. Not only is it a motivator for health, but also for living and believing in yourself. It was just what I needed in this point in my life.....that little boost I need to keep me on the right track to reach all of my goals. All you have to do is believe it......be it!!

Let's Be Thankful........Part 2

2009-11-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for Cameron. He has been my go to guy for almost 8 years. We started out as co-workers, quickly became friends, and well, the rest is history. Not only is he my husband, but he is my best friend. He is a hard worker, and never gives up no matter how hard a task may be. We have always had a plan for our life together, and he helps to keep me focused on those goals we have set together. I am so excited to see what fun, and exciting adventure life has in store for us in the future.

Let's Be Thankful........

2009-11-22T09:18:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this time of year! Good times spent with family and friends, and let's not forget about the delicious food that comes with Thanksgiving (which I am looking forward to after having eaten like a rabbit for the past month)! At school, we have been talking about being thankful, and surprisingly enough a good majority of my little people didn't know what it meant to be thankful for something or someone. I guess it is a good thing we are going a program for parents this week all about being thankful!

I really do have a lot to be thankful for, and often forget to express my gratitude for those things. So, from today until Thanksgiving, I am going to express my gratitude for people or things in my life.

Today, I am thankful for the opportunity I have to be an educated person. Not everyone in the world has the opportunity to go to school, learn to read and write, and learn a trade that they love! So many important people in my life helped, and continue to help me reach my educational goals, and to them I am forever indebted! I am thankful for the sacrifices you made for me to become an educated person.

Along with being thankful for my education, I am also thankful for my opportunity to educate others. I can honestly say that I LOVE my job! I wake up every morning knowing that each day will be different from the last, and that my little class of 20 kindergartners are excited to see what I have in store for them. For many of them, I am the one stable influence in their lives, and for that I am extremely thankful. I am also thankful to work with so many great people. From my principal, fellow faculty members, to our support staff, each person that I work with is there to work together, and to make each other better. I could not ask for better people to work with.

Guess What I Got For My Birthday?

2009-11-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

You guess it........My cake!!! I had a fantastic birthday thanks to all of my fantastic friends and family!! I love you all!!

It's Almost Here!!!

2009-10-19T17:43:00.001-07:00

Although I am now an adult, I still get incredibly excited for my birthday. So, mark your calendar because my 25th birthday is in 1 month from today!!! And, anyone who would like to make me a cake that looks like this one, be my guest!!!!

Team RW Lawncare Takes 3rd.......

2009-10-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Really, they should have taken first place in the Murray Education Foundation Golf Tournament, but the person keeping score obviously couldn't count!!

Thanks for playing in the tourny Dad and helping to raise money for Murray Schools!! Every little bit helps!! Next year, I am sure you'll take first!!

I need this on my answering machine......

2009-09-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

Frustration

2009-09-28T17:07:00.001-07:00

So, I don't normally use my blog to rant and rave about issues that bug me, but today I have reached my boiling point. I was in a store after school today, and happened to still have my name tag on that I have to wear at school. The man checking my out asked me if I was a teacher, and what grade I taught. I told him I teach kindergarten, and he went on to laugh a little. I asked him what was so funny, and he went on to say "well there really isn't a whole lot to teaching kindergarten". I WAS ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED WITH HIM. Normally, I would have brushed it off, but since that is the 3rd time in the past week I have had someone make a comment like that, I couldn't keep my anger inside anymore. So, I let him have it!! I am so tired of people not taking my job, or kindergarten for that matter, seriously I had to give him a piece of my mind. Kindergarten is not all about coloring pictures, nap time, an graham crackers and milk. The kindergarten core curriculum is HUGE, and involves a lot of complex skills necessary to developing early reading and numeracy skills. It actually is a lot like what 1st grade was when I was in elementary school. If kids don't go to kindergarten, and mind you kindergarten is still not mandatory in Utah, there is no possible way they can be as successful in school as they could be if they went to kindergarten! They miss out on learning so many vital skills, and have a difficult time catching up with their peers as they go through school.

Ok, I am done now. I just had to let it all out!! I feel better, and hope this is an eye opener for those who don't realize how important early education is for kids. Thanks for letting me rave!!

September in Review

2009-09-27T16:18:00.001-07:00

So, as everyone knows I am possibly to worlds worst blogger. But September may be one of my busiest months with the start of the new school year! So here is what has happened in the world of the Romero's in the past month.

The most momentous event of note this month was Cameron starting nursing school!!! He has spent so much time waiting to be accepted and actually start the actual nursing program, we were so excited for the day to finally come when he could get working!!! He has worked so hard so far this semester!! He passed off all of procedures in the lab, and staring Tuesday he will get to practice them in real life at the nursing home. He will have so many stories to tell about the people he treats!! He is excited about getting the hands on practice, but not about going there at 5:30 AM.....he isn't really a morning person! I am super proud of him!! He works so hard and studies so much!! He is just a natural!!! And, doesn't he just look so cute in his scrubs? He sure does look official!!! Stay tuned for stories from his nursing home experience!!

As many of you know, my sister Tayler is a rock star cyclist! She took up the sport about a year ago, and has made quite the name for herself in the cycling world here in Utah and beyond. This year, as crazy as it may sound, she decided she wanted to ride in LOTOJA, a 206 mile bike race from Logan to Jackson Hole Wyoming. Crazy, I know!! Well, on long races such as this one, the cyclists need support crews and my mom, aunt Susan, and I were nominated to be Tayler's support crew for the race. I will admit, I was very skeptical about doing this at first since it happened so early on in the school year, and with grad school and all of my other adventures, I am pretty busy. I also don't know the first thing about cycling, and thought I would be absolutely zero help!! So, after being talked into going, I decided that I would be the driver (since that is something I can do). We headed to Logan on Friday the 10th to check into our hotel room, go to a support crew meeting on campus at Utah State, and get some dinner with the fellow riders we knew who were racing. I also hoped to spend some quality time with Liz and Josh while I was there, but with our hectic schedule and Liz working, that didn't happen. Next time....right Liz?!?!? Well, we went to dinner at a delicious restaurant....Hamilton's. IT WAS SO DELICIOUS!!! Steak and seafood.....is there anything better? After that, we went back to the hotel room to get the feed bags (I laugh every time I say that....horses eat from feed bags, not people), and paint our "Team Tayler" t-shirts so we would be very visible to her in the feed zones.

If you know my mom, she is not a crafty gal. She did do a fantastic job painting the letters on our shirts!!

Mom and Tayler! Tayler should have been in bed getting rest for her 206 mile race....but we were having way too much fun!!!

The finished product! PCIM is the team Tayler races for (Park City Iron Man). Susan actually free hand painted the LOTOJA cyclist art. Very impressive!!!!

This was race morning! We woke up at 5 AM to to get ready, and cut fruit up to put in the feed bags. We also wanted to get a final game plan set for the feed zones, and had to make sure we lathered Tayler up with sunscreen.....since she would be riding pretty much all day long!! Doesn't she look excited?!?!?!?!

Here I am stuffing food in her pockets for the first 8o miles of the race, while sporting my fantastic "Team Taylor" t-shirt!!

Her official start time was 6:58 AM. In true Lindsey fashion, I left the camera at the hotel, so I got no pictures from the starting line. So, here she is somewhere between Logan and the first feed zone (which was 80 miles into the race). I managed to steal this action shot from zazoosh.com....they are the race photographers. Don't mind the watermarks :).

I was the designated picture taker at this feed zone, because we knew she would stop to get her goods because it was a left handed feed, and well Tayler hasn't mastered that just yet. Aren't Mom and Sue lookin good while waiting for Tayler?

This is Matt, Tayler's man friend. He too is crazy enough to race in these long races. He came through this feed zone about 30-40 minutes before Tayler....but she is a rock star and managed to catch up to him and actually finish the race before he did....even though he had a head start on her :).

We did a great job feeding her the first time.....which happened to be the only time we fed her. We HUGELY underestimated her speed, and well missed her in Afton, WY (where we just so happened to be eating lunch...yes I know, we are lame.....we decided to eat rather than wait for her at the feed zone. Nice, huh!?!?!). And, since we waited for a bit for her there.....we missed her at the next feed zone.....which was the last one we were able to feed her at. So, needless to say, we may have been the WORST support crew ever!!!! She rode 180 miles without our food and water. Luckily, there were neutral feed zones where she could get new water bottles and a little food. There were also some fellow racers who were nice enough to share some of their food with her. So, you can imagine how we felt....TERRIBLE!!!! Since we were so late, we thought we missed her finish as well. Luckily for us, we made up some ground and were able to see her finish!!! This is my favorite picture from the whole race!!! I even took it while yelling at her!! It was an encouraging yell might I add as she was nearing the finish line!

Here she is crossing the finish line.......in 2nd place!!!!!! Go Tayler!!!!

Here are the post race shots!!! She did so great!!! I would have crawled into a little ball on the ground and went to sleep!! She still had energy!! Crazy child!! And, most importantly she didn't hate us for being a bad support crew and failing at our feeding responsibilities!!

Now, for one of the funny stories of our trip. After the race, we checked into our hotel, which happened to be hosting a tour of senior citizens as well as many racers. Well, at around 12:30 AM, not long after we ventured to bed, we woke up to the sound of someone pounding on our door. It was someone from the front desk telling us there was a fire and that we needed to exit the building immediately. What a wake up call!! So, we wandered around the room in a daze for a moment trying to decide what to take with us. We got out of the hotel, just as the fire alarm started to go off. It may have been the worst sound I have ever heard in my entire life!!!!! We got in my car and waited for about an hour and a half before we were let back in. We began hearing that the fire fighters found a smoldering log in one of the room. Are you kidding me? What the heck!?!?! So we went back to bed. We were under the impression that someone decided to build a campfire in their room, without a fireplace, but we were wrong. One of the cyclists....who happens to race for Skull Candy (Matt's team), decided to build a fire in the fireplace in their room because his wife was cold. All was good....except for he forgot to open the flew....sending all of the smoke into the room, and the halls leading everyone to believe there was a fire. Needless to say, it was an interesting experience. I am glad it happened post race, since the poor cyclists may have run out of gas a lot earlier had they not gotten enough sleep before the race. So, I say "Thank You Skull Candy Man.....for keeping our night intersting!"

The awards ceremony was the following morning at Jackson Hole High School. Here she is standing on the podium collecting her 2nd place award!! She should have been in 1st place since the lady who won was a cheater and raced with a group she wasn't supposed to!! Oh well, there is always next year!! I am super proud of Tayler!! I know I could NEVER in a million years do what she does!!! Love you sister, and make sure you give us a chance to redeem ourselves being a support crew!!

Other than that, life is the same for us. We work, do homework, and try to keep up with the day to day activities life throws at us. Hopefully.....someday.....life with calm down for us and we might get to do some traveling again! But until then, we will keep on keepin on!!!

Do You Believe?

2009-08-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this video!!! As cheese ball as it may sound, it made me realize just how important my job is. It's a little long, but so worth it!!! And keep in mind that this little guy is only a 5th grader! Enjoy, and happy back to school!!!

Procrastination

2009-08-19T13:49:00.001-07:00

This seems to be my life lately. I had a lot of free time to do homework during the summer, but neglected to do it. Now, I am staring at a midnight deadline square in the face for a project I have yet to start. I think tonight is going to be a long night.

Never a good sign.........

2009-08-17T16:45:00.001-07:00

So, I've only been back to school for one day, and I already have an insane headache. If this is a sign of how my year is going to go, I think I will wish myself back to June.

I suck at blogging.......

2009-08-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official......I may be the worlds worst blogger. I have been home all summer and updated the blog once. Lovely!! Well, since I go back to work tomorrow morning, I figure out it is time to update everyone on the events of our summer.

Probably our biggest accomplishment of the summer was celebrating our second wedding anniversary on June 16th! We have successfully been married longer than many celebrity couples, which is quite an accomplishment. We didn't do anything too special because we were saving for our McCall Idaho trip. We went to dinner, but saved our money for our trip instead of buying each other presents. Here are some of my favorite picks from our wedding day!

The end of June we made the trek to Boise to meet up with my family to go to Payette Lake in McCall Idaho.......a Gehrke family tradition. This is the fourth time we've gone up there, but the first time for Cameron. It was a much needed vacation for both of us, but more so for Cam since he'd been working his butt off in Pathophysiology this summer in preparation for nursing school this fall. McCall is such a BEAUTIFUL place!! People always laugh when I tell them we went to Idaho on our summer vacation, but it really is a fantastic place to get some much needed rest and relaxation!! Unfortunately, Cameron had a test during the week of our trip that his teacher wouldn't let him take early, so he had to drive down the canyon and fly home for a day to take the test. At least he was in a beautiful place to do his studying! He did great on that test, as he did on all of his others in the course, and was able to come back and really enjoy his vacation!! Here are some of my favorite pics from the week!

The day after we got home.......we moved!!! No, not to the condo we were hoping to (refer to June's posting) but we did move to a new apartment in Midvale. The move was bittersweet for us since we loved living in my Dad and Cort's basement apartment downtown, but we decided it was time to move, especially since Cameron will be going to nursing school on 90th south and Bangerter (I think that's how you spell that......). We absolutely love our new house!!! It is just east of Gardner Village on 7800 south in the San Moritz complex. It is close to work for me which is also a plus!!! Unfortunately, I have no pictures of it, but will take some and post them next time.

The final major event of the summer was the return of Cameron's brother Matt from Brazil!! He is so happy to be home, and is ready to head off to college at UVU!! I was at school testing kids, but Cam was able to go and meet them at their airport and got to catch up a bit and hear about his adventures over breakfast. Greg and Karine were able to go to Brazil and see and meet some of the people he taught on his mission, which was really exciting for them. Other than a few hiccups (Karine's purse getting stolen, and missing one of their flights) they made it home safe and sound.

Other than that, our summer has been very uneventful. I've continued working on my Master's degree in School Administration and Leadership but for some reason I have lacked a lot of initiative with school this summer. I have managed to maintain my 4.0 GPA though. When I have more free time, for some reason I just can't motivate myself to do homework. I work much better under pressure!! I guess it is a good thing I go back to work tomorrow!!! Bring back the pressure!!!

As sad as I am to see summer coming to an end, I am always excited for a new school year to start. I've spent a lot of time thinking about how I can change my class this year to make it better for my kids. We will see if my plan works!! I'll keep you posted. I have a very interesting group of kids this year. I hope everything works out for the best. One of my goals for the year is to create and maintain a class website for parents. We will see how it goes. If you have any interest in the happenings in my class, there is a link to the site with my blog links.

Watch for more updates.....I promise they will come!! Especially when Cam starts school. His first round of clinicals are in a nursing home, so I am sure there will be many great stories to share!!

Cookies, Homework, Bathrooms, and Summer Vacation!

2009-06-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

First of all, I have been working on this post since Sunday (the 14th), but was having major issues with the HTML of my posting when I added pictures!! I think I have officially fixed them all now.....so enjoy!!

Well, one week of my summer vacation has officially come and gone and I will be honest it wasn't too eventful. Monday and Tuesday I spent all day at REACH Training....which was the last requirement I had to fill to finish my ESL Endorsement!! Hooray!! I am SO relieved to be done with that. I wish I could say I learned something from the course, but I didn't. I will say that next year I will miss my Tuesday night gossip time with all of my ESL friends! We spent the whole year chatting and trying to enjoy the free food the program provided us.....of and attempting to learn a thing or two about teaching non-English speaking students. I probably would have learned a whole lot more had I not spent half of the year staring at a television screen, attempting to learn while all I coule see was the top of the instructors head!!! Yes, that is right, the top of her head. We spent half of the year using a polycom system, watching our teacher who was in Tooele live with them.....and attempting to include us in her lecture and discussion! It was torture!! I did get a lot of homework done on Tuesday night! Now, I have enough credits for a lane change at school, so I can get a slight pay raise at work.....which is fantastic, and so worth all of my nights spent staring at the top of some lady's head!!

The rest of the week was really uneventful. We really deep cleaned our house, caught up on laundry, did a lot of homework, and watched a few movies while listening to the sound of the rain. It really has been a pretty relaxing....which was much needed after my hectic end of to the school year!!! Cameron seems to have his head in a book, or in front of the computer all of the time now studying for Patho-physiology. I have to admit, I am super impressed with his homework ethic!! This is the sight I imagine I will be seeing a lot of for the next 2 years while he is in nursing school.

Friday, for some reason or another, I felt the urge to bake! So, I ran to the store and bought all of the things I needed to make my favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!! They are so good on a rainy day....which we seem to be having a lot lately. As Cameron was enjoying a cookie or two.....or three :), he made the comment that someday I should open a bakery. I mean I do love to bake, so the idea isn't too far fetched. Then he added that since we both like to BBQ, and eat Southern Style BBQ, we should serve BBQ at my bakery. Random, but still do able. So, then we started thinking of names for our bakery/BBQ restaurant, and came up with the fantastic name of "Smokin' Bundts.....Smokin' Meats and Bakin' Treats!!" Classic, I know!! I think we laughed about it for a good half an hour!! Who knows, maybe someday there really will be a "Smokin' Bundts", with me as their pastry chef/owner!! Since I have raved on and on about my delicious cookies.....it wouldn't be fare for me not to share the recipe with the blogging world, so here it is! The base is a Neiman Marcus Recipe that I got from Cameron's Grandma, with a few added Lindsey touches!!

Lindsey's Fantastic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!

Ingredients:
2 Cups Salted Butter
2 Cups White Sugar
2 Cups Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
2 Tbs Vanilla Extract
2 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Baking Powder
4 Cups Flour
5 Cups Blended Un-Cooked Oatmeal (Blend 1 cup at a time in the blender until it is in powder state.....it should still be a little chunky to give the cookies texture.)
1 24 oz. Bag of Milk Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Cream the butter and sugars. Add the in the eggs 1 at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Add the baking soda and powder, followed by the blended oatmeal. Add chocolate chips, and flour until blended completely. Place cookie dough in the refridgerator for at least 5 hours....I leave mine in the fridge overnight. This is the most important step!! Baking cold dough makes for better cookies!! I promise. After the dough is chilled, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough into golf ball sized balls, and place on a cool (also very important!!) cookie sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes....no more, no less. The cookies will look a little doughy, but the residual heat from the cookie sheet with keep them cookind for a few minutes after they come out of the oven. Do not remove from the sheet for 10 minutes. Store in an air tight container for 7 days....if they last that long :).

Enjoy!! Cameron is bugged that I'm sharing my secret recipe with the world, but all good recipes must be shared!!!

Another event of note this weekend was our bathroom. Since we moved into our lovely little basement apartment 2 years ago, I just haven't loved our bathroom decor. I loved it at first....it was red, and we all know how I love red, but it just wasn't working for me. I decided it was time for a change.....and here it is!!

Black and white seem to be my new colors of choice, so it was a natural fit! And, Cameron even loves it too!!! Next wewek, we'll touch up the paint and my house will be like new!!!

Mega Update!!!!!

2009-06-10T22:13:00.001-07:00

Well, since it has been over a month since the last time I updated the blog, I have a lot to update everyone on!!! I apologize for the length, but I would hate to leave anything out!!!

Let's begin with the events of May....................

My sister Tayler, better know as Satan, left on another world adventure, this time to Thailand!! She went with YouthLinc, the youth service group she went to Africa with 2 summers ago, to do service projects in a village that was impacted by the tsunami. I wish I had pictures of her adventure, but you will have to look at her blog for those.....hint.....hint......time to add pictures of Thailand Satan!!!

2 important days came and went rather quickly, but with much celebration in May as well! My wonderful Mom celebrated her ** birthday (I know better than to post a womans age on the internet for all to see)! It just so happened to fall the day after Mother's Day, so we celebrated both events on one day. So Mom, here is a tribute to you for your birthday and Mother's day.....which will be followed by kind words to the other "Mom's" in our lives......

Mom: Sher

What can I say about you? You have been a rock in my life for as long as I can remember. You are always there for me when I need you, and when I need someone to talk to. You taught me the meaning of hard work, a trait that I am forever indebted to you for! You make me laugh, and are always there when I need a shoulder to cry on! You sacrificed so much to give Tayler and I the live you wanted us to have. Thank you so much for being my cheerleader, and my mom! I love you!!!

Mom: Karine

You raised the most genuinely sweet boy I have ever met!! Thank you so much for all you taught him about life, and family. You are a selfless person who puts her family first! Thank you for accepting me into your family as if I were biologically yours!! I love you!!

Mom: Cort (The Step Monster!!)

You never cease to amaze me with your ability to make me laugh until I cry!!! I am going to miss seeing your face everyday when I come home from work! You are one of the only people who WANTS to come on field trips with my class, and I thank you for your support! You've made such a positive impact in my family's life, and I thank you for it!! I love you Step Monster!!

Here is Meg, Cort, and I getting ready for The Race for the Cure.....in honor of another AMAZING Mom......my Grandma Glenda who lost her battle with breast cancer almost 15 years ago!! Go Glenda's Gladiators!!!

Mom: Grandma
You and Grandpa have made so many sacrifices for your family! You are a true model of selflessness. Thank you for all you have done for me. You believed in me when others didn't, and helped me to become the person I am today. Thank you for always being there for me! I love you!!

Mom: Gramee

You are the glue that holds your family together! Each and every member of your family knows how much you love them, and would do anything for them! Thank you for welcoming me into your family with open arms! I love you Gramee!!

Now, onto the next May event!! Our trip to Las Vegas!! So, over Memorial Day Weekend, Cam and I were able to go to Las Vegas with Greg and Karine, and some of their friends Chris and Michelle. It was a BLAST!! We stayed in the same condo I stayed in with the girls when we went on our Viva Las Fufu adventure last summer. It was especially fun for me because I got to show Cameron around Las Vegas! I can't believe be made it to 22 and had never been there! We did the usual things on the strip, visited all of the big casinos, ate great food (I think I came close to eating my weight in crab one night at a buffet.....I seriously ate nothing but king crab legs!! It was DELICIOUS!!!), and went to see a Cirque de Soleil show!! We saw KA at the MGM Grand, and it was AWESOME!!! It was so amazing to see them perform! It was so worth the money!! Everyone should see a show when they are in Vegas! Cameron took some great pictures. Here are some of our favorites from the trip!

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Now, on to June, thus far!!!

The only real June even has been the end of the school year. As funny as it sounds, summer vacation is always bittersweet for me. In just that short 9 month period of the school year, I grow to absolutely love the kids in my class. This year, more than last! I taught so many kids with sad home stories. Spending my entire day with them really helped me get to know each of their little personalities, and personal stories! Saying goodbye to them was really hard, and came with a lot of tears, but I know they will be in good hands in 1st grade! I am happy that I am staying at Horizon next year and will get to see them next year! Cameron made me an awesome video to show the kids and parents at graduation, but unfortunately I can't post it here. But, if you want to see it, let me know and you can come watch it anytime!! I do have a great picture I got off of one of my student's mom's facebook page, so I figured I could post it here. This is me, Madison, and Nancy (my FANTASTIC assistant) after Kindergarten Graduation......I look pretty good for just crying my head off!!!

Well, that pretty much sums up the past month of our life. I promise now that I have more free time, I will update more often!

Happy Summer!!!!!

A Long Overdue Tag.....From Liz

2009-06-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

Liz tagged me to do this AGES ago......but because of my hectic life the past month and a half, I have neglected it. So, now that it is summer.....it's time for the 8 things tag.......I think I may have done this at some point, but oh well..........

8 things I'm looking forward to:

Being done with my Masters' Degree (January 31, 2011!!!!).
Being a Principal (hence the need for a masters' degree).
Owning my own home......stay tuned.......
Cameron being done with Nursing School.
Having a family of my own.
Traveling across Europe (I have a lot to see!!).
The annual (well, not really annual, but it should be!) Gehrke Family Vacation to McCall (16 more days!!).
Having a dishwasher....it sounds silly, but I hate doing dishes by hand!!

8 things I did yesterday:

Went to REACH Training.
Finished my last requirement for my ESL Endorsement.
Read some email during REACH training.
Looked at puppies on KSL.com during REACH training (wishful thinking).
Watched Deadliest Catch.
Went to dinner with Cameron......I LOVE the Red Iguana!! Best Mexican food in Utah!
Thought about updating the blog......obviously that didn't happen.
Fell asleep on the couch.....I had a really eventful day didn't I!!

8 things I wish I could do:

Update my blog more regularly......it's summer so it should be much easier!
Keep up on the laundry.
Go to culinary school.
Write a book......someday I will, maybe about all of the stories I will acquire being a school teacher.
Make movies in iMovie as good as Cameron can.
Artsy Crafty things.....I leave that to Liz.
Play a musical instrument.......it'll never happen though, I am SO tone deaf!
Fly.

8 Shows I watch:

Jon & Kate + 8.......all of this martial turmoil is killing me!!
The Next Food Network Star
Criminal Minds
Deadliest Catch
The Office
Southland
Law & Order: SVU
18 Kids and Counting

8 People I tag (even though I think most of them have already done this):

Jaynann
Stacy
Katrina
Tayler
Stephanie
Tristin
Aubrey
Emily

Happy Birthday Cameron!

2009-04-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

Well, today is Cameron's birthday!!! He never gets as excited for his birthday as I do mine, so I figured I should do all I could to make him LOVE his birthday this year and get excited for all the birthdays he has to come!! He deserves to have an awesome day! So, on this day of Cam's birth, I thought I would share with the entire blogging world some of the many great things about my hubby!!!

First of all, look at that handsome face!! How can you not love him!!!

He supports me in all that I do, especially when it comes to my work. He is willing to help me count out 25 bags of 100 Fruit Loops for the 100th day of school, and will even come help on field trips (even though they usually require him to do "projects" with the kids.....and he hates projects!). He is very busy himself, but always asks me what he can do to help me.

He's taken me on several awesome trips! Like this one to New York City!! It was my 21st birthday present!!!

He loves my family as if they were his!!! He was a natural fit into the fam!!

He helped me work through college and made sacrifices so I could work less and focus on school! Now it's my turn to support him through school!

He loves his family!

He knows how to have a good time and can always make me smile!

But most importantly, he loves me for me!

Happy Birthday Cam!! I love you and hope your day was all you'd hoped it to be......even though you had to spend part of it working. At least you get to go to work and do what you love!!!

The Story of My Life........

2009-04-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

I saw this in a magazine the other day and it made me laugh, mostly because I think at least one of these things EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE!!

You know your a kindergarten teacher when............

You look at junk and think to yourself what can I make with this.
You do a happy dance when certain children are absent.
You know wwwaaaayyyy too much about childrens families. TOO MUCH INFORMATION......like what parents "naked dances" look like.
You shutter when you hear a certain name.
You can discuss "bathroom issues" while eating.
You feel uncomfortable sitting in "big people" chairs.
You burst out into song at the drop of a hat.
You can carry on 3 conversations at once and know what everyone is saying.
You hate Pull-ups!!!
You only fill cups half full and remind your spouse to use two hands......Cam hates that!!!
You get excited to see the new Scholastic flyer.
You start thinking about mothers and fathers day gifts in August.
You know at least 5 books by heart.
You wonder why Jon and Kate are so frazzled by 8 kids, you have 24.
You have sooooooooo many toys and books at your home that you could open your own home day care, YET you have no children of your own.
You know all the latest greatest kid things.

To Bump, or Not to Bump.....That is the Question.

2009-04-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Another week has flown by at the Romero's, and we are just as busy as last week, if not more!! Here are a few of the fun and exciting happenings of the past week. I apologize for the length of this post. I just couldn't leave anything out!!

So, it is no surprise to anyone that I am a fan of big hair. I always have been. I guess that is a trait my mom passed on to me. Now, lets get one thing straight......there is a BIG difference between big hair and "West Valley Hair". I happen to enjoy full bodied hair with volume that will last all day long. I consider myself to be pretty dang good at teasing my hair to add volume to the top of my head for both down do's, as well as up do's, such as my personal fav, the ponytail. Well, Cameron knows of my love of voluptuous hair, and saw a commercial for a product called a "Bump It". It is a plastic "thing" you put on the crown of your head to add volume without teasing your hair to death. He knows how much I hate how teasing breaks my hair off (but mostly I think he hates how the broken off hair ends up on the bathroom floor), and so he decided to order a Bump It for me! Well, he ordered it more than a month ago, and it just barely arrived at our house yesterday. As silly as it sounds, I was so excited to try it!! If it will make the "getting ready process" more simple, I am all for it. I tried it today with my pony tail and was pleasantly surprised. I struggled with it at first, because I wasn't putting enough hair over the top of the nifty hair piece. So far, I am impressed. I will have to let you know what I think of it when I leave my hair down, or half up.
We had a fantastic Easter Sunday last week. We went to church with Greg, Karine, and the kids, then went back to their house for a delicious brunch of breakfast casserole, hash browns, and pancakes. Between our brunch, and dinner at my Grandma's house, we went home so I could work on finishing my paper that was due that night. I had hoped to finish it last Saturday, but for some reason was seriously lacking in the concentration and motivation needed to finish the project. I don't know what my problem was, but I just couldn't manage to organize my thoughts into a meaningful paper. After my attempt to finish my assignment, which didn't happen, we ventured back to Murray for a BBQ at my Grandma and Grandpa's house with that side of the fam. We were wishing is was a little warmer outside, but we were just happy to be together talking and enjoying hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, and most importantly strawberry shortcake. When we got home later that evening, we were surprised with an Easter basket from my Dad and Cort filled with lots of yummy treats :), especially the mini Cadbury Eggs! Mmmm!! It was a busy day, but a great one since were able to spend time with all the different sides of our family.

On Wednesday night, Karine, Lauren and myself had the AMAZING opportunity to go and see the Broadway Musical Wicked!!! Greg was able to get us tickets for Christmas, and we have been patiently waiting for months for our night to go and see the play. I had only heard great things about it, so I was so excited for Wednesday to come!!! Well, it was all that I had hoped it to be and SO much more!!! The actors were fantastic, the music was phenomenal, and the whole production was so well put together!! All 3 of us had such a great time!!! I know the production is sold out the entire time it is in SLC, but if you have the opportunity to get tickets, even for a steep price, I would suggest you go. It will be well worth every penny, and you won't be disappointed.

I have almost survived my first class as a grad student!! Only 16 more months to go!! I won't lie and say that it has been easy, because it has been a huge challenge! I have had to learn to balance school, home life, and my job (which is crazy busy this time of the year, since the end of school is just around the corner). I swear, since going back to school, I have done more laundry!!! I don't think it is ever done!!! Cameron has been a great help, even though he is nearing finals at school as well. He has had to put in more study time this semester with his Statistics class, but has managed to find time to help around the house and just relax with me when I need it (and I need it a lot). I am so happy I decided to go back when I did, and not put it off any longer. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to try and do all that I do and have a kid on top of it. I am pretty sure I would have to be committed to a mental institution if I took on one more thing!! I am almost done with my classes for my ESL endorsement! Yay!! That class has tortured me!!!!! I dread Tuesday nights, and can't wait to be done!! I am really glad I did it this year, because next year in order to have ESL students in your class, you have to have an ESL endorsement. Since my class is made up of about 1/3 ESL kiddos, it is a good thing I will have the endorsement so I can keep my all day kindergarten job!

Friday at school was Decades Day, where the kids and students were encouraged to dress up in clothes from the decade of their choice. The school musical this year "Camp Rockin Through the Decades" was being performed that day, so everyone was really excited to get dressed up and support the kids and teachers who worked so hard to get ready for the performance.......or so I thought. In the spirit of things, I got all dressed up in my 80's gear and went to school. Well, once I walked into the school, I saw that no one was dressed up. As I wandered the halls looking for others dressed as ridiculous as I, and found no one until I went into the office and found one of the special ed teachers dressed as a hippie. I guess, people weren't as excited to dress up as I had originally thought they were. I really wish I hadn't dressed up because I wouldn't have gotten suckered into being a part of the musical!! I not only had to perform in front of the school, but also in front of all the parents for the night performance!! One of the 5th grade teachers and I lip synced to "These Boots Were Made for Walkin". Naturally, I told Cameron he had to come to support me, but he got a little more than he had originally bargained for. Melissa (the 5th grade teacher) decided it would be funny if she brought up her son, and I brought up Cameron on stage, and have them sit on stools so we could "sing" to them. Cameron was a good sport and came up on stage with me, even though he was a little mad at me for a while afterward. I was mortified!! I learned my lesson about being "the fun teacher", and am not sure I will dress up for one of these events again.

So, I really owed Cam big time for being humiliated with me on stage. I decided to take him out to dinner after the performance and to a movie of his choice. We went and had dinner at Z'tejas at the Gateway and then to see the movie Fast and Furious. We are both big fans of the original movie, so were excited to see this installment since the original cast was back. It really was a pretty good show (well, at least the parts I was awake for.....it started at 10:20, a time when I am usually sleeping in my bed). I think it made up for my humiliating the both of us in front of the parents of all the 5th and 6th graders at the school, or at least I hope it did.

I am really hoping for a more mellow week this week. Although it was busy and hectic at times, it sure did make for an exciting blog post.

Time for an Update.....Here ya go Mom!!

2009-04-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long time since I last updated the ole' blog, for a number of reasons.........

But, after much harassment from my mom and Liz, I decided it was time for an update.....even though I don't really have anything really exciting to write about.

So, I have survived my first month of grad school! Only 17 more months to go until I have that administrator license!! So far, it hasn't been too bad. I have been able to keep up with all of the reading, online discussions, and assignments...... even though I feel like all I do anymore is write papers!! I struggled at first getting back into the swing of things, especially remembering how to write a paper in APA format. I haven't been out of school that long, but I guess I forgot all that does with being a student. I have been very surprised at my ability to stay on top of it all. I was worried about the program being online, and not having to go to an actual classroom. I never thought I was disciplined enough to do it. I have found myself being a little OCD about it actually. It has helped Cameron for me to be back in school as well. His new rule is that whenever I do homework, he has to do homework. I don't think he realized how much homework I actually do :).

The past 4 weeks, I've had a student teacher working in my classroom from Westminster. I'm going to be honest, it has been a bit of a challenge. I was really excited to have the chance to teach someone about doing what I love, and perhaps instill in them that same love. Well, needless to say my experience has been the complete opposite. I feel like she has put as little effort into teaching my kids as possible. She has told me she really doesn't want to teach kindergarten, and really wasn't expecting the kids to be as "needy" as they are. Having spent the past 7 1/2 months with these kids, I can say they are NOT needy. They are so independent! Yes, they are 5 or 6 and need to be reminded of how to hold scissors, pencils, or to flush the toilet after they use the bathroom. Anyone who has EVER spent time with a child in that age group knows that. I hate to say it, but I am kind of excited to have my classroom back to myself, and I think my kiddos are ready for me to be back teaching them full time. I've said it time and time again......teaching Kindergarten isn't for everyone. I guess it was meant to be a learning experience for me.

Cam and I have also been looking at buying a house, well actually a condo. Cort's mom, Janene is our fabulous realtor and has spent so much time doing research and setting up appointments for us. Well, we fell in love with a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom BRAND NEW condo not far from where we live now. We were pre-approved for a mortgage a few months ago, so we didn't have much work to do after we found something we loved, and could afford. Well, Janene was working with our mortgage broker on setting up our loan and an offer on to make to the realtor at the condo complex......and well we got screwed. The advertised on the listing that they would sell to buyers who were financing through an FHA loan (which we were going to use), when in reality they are not, at least right now. They are required to sell 51% of the units with conventional loans (which require A LOT more money down) before they can sell the remaining 49% on FHA loans. The only problem is that only 1 of the 3 buildings in the complex in built. They haven't even broke ground on the other 2. We are really bummed about not being able to buy one of those, since they were everything we were looking for. I feel that all things happen for a reason......and am sure we will find something else we love just as much, or possibly even more.

Last Saturday night, Liz and Josh came over so Cameron could back up their computer on their new hard drive. It was fun to chat and hang out with them since we don't see them very often since they live so far away in the frozen tundra, A.K.A Logan. They boys did their nerdy thing, while Liz and I talked and caught up on any and all the gossip. The night before, Cam and I had bought a Wii and Wii Fit, and Liz wanted to play with it. It was great fun, and Cam took some great pictures of Liz workin it out on the Wii Fit. I promised her I would only put up good pictures, so here are my 2 favorite.......

Liz tight-rope walking...........

Check out that face!!!

Well, that is about all that's been happening in the world of the Romero's. With the Easter festivities this weekend, I am sure I will have things to add next week. Until next time........

A Frickin' Elephant

2009-02-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

I may be the only person who thinks it's funny, but it reminds me of my daily adventures in Kindergarten!

From the diary of a Kindergarten Teacher :
My five-year old students are learning to read.
Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said,

"Look at this! It's a frickin' elephant!"
I took a deep breath, then asked..."What did you call it?"
"It's a frickin' elephant! It says so on the picture!"

And so it did...

" A f r i c a n Elephant "

Hooked on phonics! Isn't it wonderful?