Here I Go - Dreaming Big

I once heard a quote that said this "Always aim for the stars. After all, isn't it better to aim for the stars and miss by a mile than to aim for a pile of crap and hit it dead center." I have also heard a quote that said this "There is only one truth about forever that really matters, and that is this: it is happening. Right now and every moment afterwords. Everyone has a forever, but given a choice, this would be mine. The one that began in this moment-leaving me astounded, amazed, and most of all, alive."

I have decided that it is time that I choose my forever. It is time that I wake up to the world and start to really live my life again. Don't get me wrong, I have thoroughly enjoyed living my life so far. I really have. I have had some truly great and fantastic times that I would not trade for anything. I just have now come to a moment in my life where it is up to me to determine my forever, and I think that it is about time I took control of it.

All your life you grow up having a plan. It may not include every detail or every moment, but you still have a general idea of what you want to do and where you want to end up. You think about where you want to go to school, what kind of jobs you want to have, who you would like to marry, and so forth. You think of all of these things for your life and you plan them out. Sometimes in your life you have had to make changes to these plans and you have created new ones, but you have still always had a plan. So, what do you do when you have come to the end of your plan? What do you do when you don't know what to do next?

I will tell you, you dream. It takes a while, but you dream. And then you start to put pieces together in your head. You don't necessarily have a new plan, but you are starting to think about one. And I know this because this is what I am doing.

I have come to a place in my life where my plan ends. My plan as a child was to grow up, go to school, graduate form college, get married, have kids, and so forth. My plan has grown, changed, and now come to an end. I will be graduating form college in exactly one month from today. I will have my degree that i have worked towards for five years. For more then five years when you really think about it. You start working towards this clear back in high school. And after that day I have no plan. I have no idea what I will be doing next.

I know what the expected plan is. I know what other people think the plan should be. The expected plan is to interview with local school districts and get a job teaching elementary school here in Utah. I know that plan. But, the thing is.....I don't know if I want that to be MY plan. Part of me wants to use it because it is there and it is easy to follow. But, a bigger part of me wants something else, something more, something great.

Now I don't know if that means moving out of state to teach or traveling a whole new path altogether. I have thought about moving to California or Texas to be a teacher. And I have to say that that dose appeal to me. I have also thought about taking a completely different route altogether. I am not sure what that route is yet, but I am beginning to dream. I figure, I will be done with school, I have no current job, I am single, and I don't have any kids to take care of. I have nothing holding me here. Yes, I have great friends and family that I would miss, but I have the chance to jump. I have the chance to have a great adventure. I have the chance to dream.

So while I do not know what my plan for tomorrow is, I do know that I am beginning to dream. I figure that if I get to be the one to choose my forever, well then I am going to aim for the stars and pray that I learn to fly along the way.

Dream Big

When you walk outside and look around at the world and take note of what you see? What do you find when you are standing in the road looking around? What do you see when you look up tot the sky? What do you see when you go to the middle of the city? What do you find in this world when you really take the time to look at it? I know that if you really look around you, will find some of the greatest things ever created.

When you think back in time to how things have run and how people have worked throughout the past, it is amazing to realize and to think about how people survived on what they did. It is also amazing to see what those same people accomplished with what little they actually had.

Think of Egypt. Think of the pyramids that they built and how every stone had to be made and stacked by hand. Think of the Greeks and the empire that they built. Think of the architecture and the amazing buildings that still stand today. Think of our Founding Fathers, and what they had to go through to get us the country we have today. Think of the Wright Brothers and the first airplane that ever flew. Think of the man Neal Armstrong. The man who not only flew into outer space, but the man who also walked on the moon. Think of electricity, telephones, cars, the internet.

All of these things came about because someone had a dream. Someone had a dream that they could change something in this world. And not only did they have a dream, but they were willing to act on that dream. They were willing to take a chance and see if they could make their dream a reality. All of the great things is this world took a dream. Everything that has happened is because someone had the guts to dream about it and then to believe that it could become more then just a dream. Someone dared to dream big. Bigger than anyone who had come before them and bigger then anyone who would come after them.

T.E. Lawrence said "Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous people, for they may act on their dream with open eyes and make it possible." All of the great things came about by great people. All of the great people dreamed, but they dreamed with their eyes opened. It is only those who dream with their eyes open that accomplish anything great.

Everything has to start with a dream. Don't be afraid to be the one to dream it.

My Someday List

As I have gone through life so far, I have always seemed to have this someday list in the back of my mind. It is a list of things that I would like to do, try, or go to someday in my lifetime. I have always just been adding to it in my mind when I would find something new that I wanted to do. Quite a few things have gotten added over the years. It has everything on it from things I want to buy to things I want to see and do. This someday list of mine is no particular order and has no deadlines. It is just a list. A list that is always changing. A list that is always being added to and checked off. This is my someday list:

*Attend the Festival of Colors
*Go to Hawaii
*Go to the Clark Planetarium
*Go through the DC Temple
*Buy new Vans
*Make a Living Christ picture
*Finish a scrapbook
*draw a new picture
*Make Angel Bavarian
*Kiss under a waterfall
*Travel through Europe, especially Italy
*Try all 31 flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robins
*Go on a Cruise
*Go on a Safari in Africa
*Sing in a choir again
*Move out of my parents house
*Learn to surf
*Go through the Holocaust Museum
*Read the Fableheaven, Leaventhumps, and Narnia Books
*Get married
*See the 6 hour Pride and Prejudice
*Watch the Sound of Music
*Buy a new car
*Get a job
*Graduate from college (so close to checking this one off)

That is what is on the list now, but in no way is it complete. For this list seems to change everyday. It changes when I accomplish one of them, and it also changes when I add something new. I believe that I will always have a someday list.

Gone Crafty

I was sitting down looking through my closet and under my bed one day and I realized that over the last year I have made quit a few crafts. With each one that I have made I have had to find a place to store it as well as a place to store the leftover materials that I used to make it in the first place. This would result in me trying to find space in my closet or under my bed for my latest craft. As it turns out, I have pretty much run out of room in either of those places.

As I was looking through them to find room I figured that I would share them with all of you. They were all pretty easy to make and I had a lot of fun making them in the process. Some took longer then others and I had a few adventures with a couple of them. Some produced burnt fingers, smashed thumbs, cut hands, and some frustration. All in all though,I have to say I that I had a good time with them, and I think they turned out pretty cute.

This is the first cake that I decorated with fondant (I made it for Brett's B-day)


Kendra's Birthday Cake


Sayings on wood boards


Yarn Balls
(I started making them for Operation Smile to take with them when they go to other countries as toys for the kids)


Jean Quilt



Easter Blocks


Plate


Scrapbooking (Yes, there are more pages then this)



Pumpkins out of Jars (Wendi showed me how to make these)


Advent Calendar (This one is my moms because I gave the one I made to Wendi for her birthday and I still have not finished my own yet)


Gingerbread House


Signs (This would be from the most recent craft night with Wendi)
Mine

Wendi's


And the current craft that I am working on is an Afghan. I think it will turn out pretty cute. After I am finished with this I will be moving on to pillows.


Let me know if you have any great ideas for crafts in the future. I would love to learn how to make them.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

Most of you know that I am student teaching this year. I have been in the classroom since August and it has been very entertaining to say the least. I have loved certain days, liked most others, and only truly hated a few. Some of the things that make me like and love those days are students accomplishing their work, students listening the first time and not blurting out, students who struggle start to piece it together, and most of all hearing the things that they say.

If you ever really listen to kids you find that they say some of the darnedest things. Most of them are just weird, a lot of them are funny and make me smile, and some just down right make me laugh out load. Since I have gotten such a great laugh from the things my students tend to say I thought that i would share some of them with you so you could get a laugh as well. Just remember that they are all fifth graders and are just starting to become teenagers. Enjoy.

S: "Really Miss Walker, do I have to?"
Me: "Yes"
S: "Do I have to do it all Miss Walker?"
Me: "Yes"
S: "Holly Toledo Miss Walker! That's a lot."

S: "Miss Walker. I am mad at you."
Me: "Why?"
S: "Because I need to be mad at someone so I am picking you. ok"

S: Miss Walker, do you know CMP?
Me: Do I know what?
S: CMP. Do you know how to do it?
Me: What is CMP?
S: That thing where someone kisses someone else on the mouth a lot of times and pounds on there chest.
Me: I am not sure what you are talking about.
S: You know it Miss Walker. It is that thing you see people do in movies when someone is dead.
Me: Do you mean when someone has stopped breathing and someone else breaths into there mouth for them and pumps there heart by pushing on their chest?
S: I don't know. It always just looks like they are kissing.
Me: I think you mean CPR.
S: No, that's not it. It is CMP. Certified Mouthing and Punching, I am sure of it.


S1: Miss Walker, you're really good at art.
Me: Thank you
S2: You really are good Miss Walker
Me: Thank you to you as well
S1: You're really beautiful too
S2: Don't say things like that to the teacher.
S1: Why not. She is. You're skinny too Miss Walker. Have you seen yourself in a bikini?

S: Miss Walker do you have a boyfriend?
Me: No, I don't.
S: Why not Miss Walker?
Me: I just don't have one.
S: But I thought all grown ups had boyfriends or girlfriends.
Me: Some do and some don't
S: Well didn't anybody want you?
Me: Not at the moment
S: You should go get a boyfriend.
Me: I will work on it.
S: Good. You need a boyfriend. Just make sure to check him out first ok?

Those are just some of the many conversations that you can have a with a fifth grader. There are also many more things that they would love to tell you. Some include how to dance, what their greatest talent is, and even how to quote someone else. And if you let them, they will even preform for you in class. So if you ever need something to make your day better, go talk to one and see what they will say. Most days what they have to say will just make you laugh.