Andrea's Super-Duper Blog

Future Plans

2012-01-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

So first of all I feel that I should let everyone know that I am in love with teaching. I have absolutely found where I need and want to be with my career. I love teaching, I love planning, I love the students, and I love the school setting! It is so wonderful! I'm student teaching in a 5th grade right now and it is just dreamy because it is so amazing every single day. I am incredibly blessed to have been able to be led to this career. It's awesome.

Secondly, Aubrey and I were just talking about dating for some reason and we began talking about living together when we're old and having two or three dogs (not big, slimy, hairy ones, but cute, nice, and fun dogs) that we will allow in like one room of our house but otherwise keep outside, our aquarium with a few tropical fish that our pool boy will take care of(he'll wear a tasteful t-shirt with jeans but with a man-kini on the outside for comedic effect), and our chickens in our backyard. We decided that Pleasant Grove would be a good place to live and the most exciting factor of this home will be the bookshelves that are built in the walls. That honestly is a serious life goal of mine and is quite possibly a deal-breaker. If a man doesn't want lots of books, he chalks up loser points.

Anyway, Aubrey and I have agreed that our dear friend Rachel Ann Augustus will live with us and we made a list of other ladies we would be happy with including (but not limited to) Lauren Nielsen or Elisa Freeman. (Keep in mind readers that if you are not on this list it does not mean we don't like you, these are simply awesome people we both know well).

So this was a fun conversation that I wanted documentation of, hence the blog post. Anyone else want in on our awesome future dream home?

Tablecloth Trick

2012-01-14T15:39:00.000-08:00

This was shown before work this morning:

Just so you know, this was actually fake, but it's hilarious! I think I've watched it ten times already.

My nephew is a star.

2011-12-30T17:20:00.001-08:00

My nephew is Marty the Moose. He's totally the star of the show and so darn cute!

Duck, Duck, Goose

2011-11-28T17:40:00.001-08:00

Today I played duck, duck goose with a 3-year-old, myself, and four wooden nutcrackers. It was the most exciting thing I did all day.

Teaching Advice from Mrs. Pippin's 6th Grade Class

2011-11-27T15:03:00.001-08:00

My last day being in the 6th grade class I love so much was this past Monday. Because they are awesome and loved me, the class made a little booklet full of teaching advice for me. It was so adorable I had to share what they all wrote. These are as written, some grammar and spelling issues made it even better!

1. Don't make little kids cry

2. To become a good teacher you have to...
a. No yelling, because it might couse you a pretty good enemy.
b. Don't give ANY homework on the weekands!
c. Be a fun like teacher (by that I mean give out candy)
d. Dress up when the time is right :)
e. Have lots of fun games in the classroom.
But I don't think you will need all of this because you are a great student teacher.

3. Always have some sort of weekly prizes for winners! :)

4. Make sure you reward the students with parties!

5. Don't give out to much homework because kids hate it and get stressed out. Homework kills trees.

6. Never keep kids in for both recess's because kids are always needing to be outside. They need alot of exercise. And you should let kids bring snacks to school because it's better for the brain. * Included a drawing of a chunky squirrel.

7. You've been a good teacher keep in contact send mail to... (address included). Make some games for math and stay yourself and let the kids go out to recess.

8. I bet you will be an amazing teacher but here are a few tips...
a. Please do not keep your kids in from recess
b. Finish Red Pyramid and read 2nd book (a book the class was reading while I was there)
c. Keep being nice
d. Keep being awesome and cool and totally nice
* Included a picture of her with a card and gift for me and me wearing my lanyard.

9. You should always think of ways to do projects to help them

10. Don't choose a favorite student.

11. Have great patience, don't get mad easily or your students won't like you.

12. Keep your eyes peeled for kids passing notes, talking, and being rude. Keep up the good work.

13. Do not yell at the kids because they'll tell others

14. If you get the students to like you as a friend, you will have a great year with them.

15. When your a teacher you should give the kids money to come to school and candy let the kids have a no school party every mounth

16. You have been such a great teacher! You don't need any advice! I can't believe its time for you to tend your classes. Please come visit soon! I will miss you dearly!

17. Don't keep kids in side from recess. You should have a missing work board but not make kids stay inside.

18. Answer all the questions and don't skip anyone because people have different answers and it gets REALLY irritating when you don't call on them

19. Even though I know nothing about teaching school, I would advise you to always make learning fun for your student. I will miss you!

20. I wish you wouldn't leave but I know that you have school to tend to. I hope that you'll come back again so that we can see you. I know that you will be a great teacher. I don't have any advice because you work well with everyone! But I think that you can handle it from here

21. You have been amazing You don't want to keep kids in at recess because they will try there hardest with you being their teacher and hopefully you will get a student teacher nice like you wish you the best!

22. Be gental and kind to the kids and don't keep them in for lunch recess.

So I pretty much loved every single one of those. In case you didn't notice the trend with recess, a lot of students didn't like that part of not getting their work done. It was such a wonderful experience and I'm sad I'm gone but I know I'll get other awesome classes like this one. Had I gotten a job as an Intern I never would have had the chance to teach this class and I honestly think this may have been one of the reasons I didn't get selected as an Intern. This experience made me think about teaching so differently and gave me an incredible experience and wonderful classroom to work with. It was actually an accident that I was in this classroom, I was assigned to another teacher who had to cancel the day I came because her father was sick but then she decided she wanted me back! I did not switch back because I was already in this classroom and I am so grateful for every single one of these students and Mrs. Pippin! It was one of the best things I've been able to do with my education thus far.

Televideo

2011-11-10T20:13:00.001-08:00

I'm in this. I don't like the side view of my nose, so sorry you have to see that. Also, go Telefund!

Love. Take 2.

2011-11-09T21:53:00.001-08:00

Love.

2011-11-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

I am currently doing a sort of student teaching in a 6th grade classroom up in Riverton, Utah. It is only a sort of student teaching because I only get to be there for a month. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE... it so much though! It really is such a wonderful thing to be doing! I love the students, I love talking to them, I love teaching them, I love what I teach them, I love planning lessons to teach them, I love waking up early to go to school, I love commuting to get to school and back, I love packing a lunch to bring to school, I love wearing teacher clothes, and so much more. I am so happy that I have found something I will be happy with for my career! I know there will be days that I don't love, but for now it is amazing! I don't want to come home at the end of the day, I don't want to go to work, all I want to do is be in my classroom. It's an amazing feeling and I'm grateful that Heavenly Father is helping me know so clearly what I need to be doing with my life. In other news, I officially have 10 days left of classes in college. I will go onto campus next semester only for student teaching meetings and stuff. WOO HOO!!!!!!

"...that's when the slavery starts."

2011-10-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

Yet another funny quote from my boss. We were talking about how she loved to go out dancing when she was my age. She mentioned that she thought men were mean so she would string them along for a while then dump them because she felt they deserved it, but she got to go to a lot of dances because of this. Well, about this stage of life she said, "I just loved to go out dancing, that's why I stayed single for so long. I knew when I got married that's when the slavery starts." Awesome.In other news, I got a 100% on a midterm last week. I also got a 100% on a big project last week. I have a lot of stuff due this week so hopefully that 100% streak keeps on going! On Tuesday I start my practicum (basically a month of semi-student teaching) in a 6th grade classroom up in Riverton which I am super excited for! Other than that there isn't a whole lot going on, just school and work with a funny boss.

I want one.

2011-09-27T21:16:00.001-07:00

Maybe Mythbusters says it's fake but I don't care, I want one. Doesn't it look awesome!?

I'M ON A CD!!!

2011-09-15T23:38:00.000-07:00

So this is fun... I went to Deseret Book with my boss to get some David Archuletta CDs (she loves him) and I saw a BYU Women's Chorus CD that had the same title of a song we sang when I was in Women's Chorus 5 years ago! It turns out that when we recorded those songs way back then, some of them got put on this CD. Awesome! I'm actually on a CD that people buy! I feel way famous right now.

"... I'm just getting too ugly"

2011-09-10T21:27:00.001-07:00

Woo, three posts in two days! That's a pretty big deal. All these posts are important of course. Today's blog post is because of a funny quote I heard earlier. I am currently working two jobs, both of which I actually like. For one of my jobs I am re-employed with LDS Philanthropies working for the Telefund, it's so fun! Everyone that works there is such a fun person, we get to talk to wonderful Alumni every day and we also get to play games at work. Awesome! Next week we are starting the Telefund Bachelor(ette). It should be fun, there will be a Bachelor and a Bachelorette I am told, and there are several guys and girls signed up to go on dates with these two. The Telefund is funding very cheap dates that the Bachelor and Bachelorette will go on each week with a different person from the list, each date will be given a theme by the members of the Telefund. I'm signed up to go on a date with the Bachelor (it seems a little awkward, but it's not like my dating life is super full right now so I might as well go on a date with a fun guy from work right?) and I will report on my Bachelor date when the time comes. Another thing I like about the Telefund is the fact that we can put "Tele" before anything at work. We have Telebucks as incentives, Teleromances, Telegossip, Telephones (of course), Telefunders (the callers), and the like. It's fun. Another fun thing is the fact that I was pictured on LDSP's website as a result of working here. Awesome! I'm the one with long brown hair on the left.

My other job is working for some really, really, rich people cleaning their house. Mostly though I just visit with the wife. She talks a lot. Mostly about David Archuletta. Seriously. She's really funny though and today she said something that made me want to blog about it. She was trying to figure out her computer, which has a camera built-in. She pushed the wrong button and it was going to take a picture of her, but her face showed on the screen. This was a problem for her because she thought she looked awful. She said, "Oh it is time for me to die, I'm just getting too ugly." I felt bad that she felt that way, but at the same time I wanted to laugh because that is a really funny thing to say. She's 70 and not likely to die anytime soon so that makes it a bit safer to laugh about. Plus she's totally not ugly. So anyway, I knew I had to keep that funny saying written down and may as well share it with all of you.

Michigan

2011-09-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Aubrey and I went to Emily's house in Michigan last month. It was so, so, so, so fun! Emily and Riley are wonderful, and Brody and Afton are two of the cutest kids ever!

On the first day we were there we went to Kensington (a lovely park) and saw the animals. It's like a petting zoo kind of but there are lots of other parts to the park. It was so pretty and green!

This one is a Thestral from Harry Potter.

The next day was Emily's birthday, that was fun! We went to a science museum in Toledo, Ohio (Holy Toledo was uttered a few times en route). It was easily the coolest science museum I've ever been to! My favorite part was the combustion presentation we saw at the end of the day. Awesome. Blowing things up? Always cool, when it's safe at least.

The next day was church, we both got to help in nursery, as there are like 22 kids in the whole nursery. I love nursery! I got to play with Play-Do, go on a walk, sing primary songs, and play with toys. Successful day at church if you ask me. Then Steve, Laura and Baby Kaylee came for dinner. It was a big deal. Especially to Afton, who did not want Steve to come. Only Laura and Baby Kaylee. She even cried once when we mentioned Steve coming, it was really funny. She was fine with him being there though, who knows what all the fuss was about? Monday we went to Ann Arbor to go to the University of Michigan's Natural History Museum. There were dinosaur fossils there, so it was obviously awesome.

Then we went on a lovely road trip (or maybe got lost and ended up there) to the Beef Jerky Outlet. Free samples!

The next day we went shopping at H&M and I bought a way cute new dress! I also bought some new shirts the night before on Threadless. This one is my favorite:

So all in all, it was SUCH a fun trip!!! I'm so glad we got to go, hopefully we'll get to go out there again next summer because Michigan rocks!

Geek Squad

2011-09-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

So, my computer was acting up a little but luckily it was still under warranty, so I have been getting it fixed for the last three weeks. I never knew how much I love my computer until it was gone. It might be a bit weird, but I've named my computer Kevin and I really feel like Kevin and I are friends, it's a great relationship. Needless to say, I'm grateful that those Geeks at Best Buy fixed him and gave him back to me.

In other news...I applied to graduate from college today!!!!! I am so excited! Graduation is still about seven months away, but it's becoming real to me that I am actually going to graduate from college! Weird! School is going well, I really love most of my classes, which is good. I'm still excited to be a teacher, which is even better! For classes I'm taking:1. Teaching Math in the Elementary Classroom- the teacher treats us like we are elementary school students, so I do not like this class. 2. Special Education- love it! The teacher is super sweet and we're learning how to accommodate for all the students we will encounter.3. Teaching Reading and Language Arts- I'm not retaking it, this is the second half. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this half. My professor is Brad Wilcox, who is an amazing man. Google him if you have never heard about him. The first result isn't him, but the next few are. He's great, smart, funny, and knows what he is talking about! He makes it seem like we can actually teach this stuff! Last semester I felt like I would be the worst teacher alive because my professor made it seem impossible for me to teach a student to read. Now I'm beginning to think that I actually won't fail too miserably!4. Science Methods- amazing. My teacher is so cool. She understands what we need to use in the classroom and actually knows how to teach it to us. That is so nice to have a professor that doesn't do what they say not to. (example: professors saying, "Don't lecture! Don't lecture"! While lecturing you.) She's so much fun! Plus I LOVE science!5. Social Studies Methods- I love social studies. Love. It. I want to teach 5th grade mainly because I love the social studies curriculum in that grade. I'm really excited for this class. I'm doing a project on Martin Luther King, Jr. and I'm really excited to make it something I will use as a teacher!6. Instruction & Assessment- This is my teacher miscellaneous class. We learn stuff about teaching here. It's always good, because we learn so many different things that we will need to know as teachers. This semester it is focused on instruction and assessment and last semester it was planning and management. Just important teacher stuff. We have the same teachers, there are actually four of them, and having four gives us quite an interesting mix of ideas in teaching so it's great.7 & 8- Practicum for Teaching Reading and Language Arts, and Practicum for Teaching Math- These are one thing but I will be focusing on teaching math as well as literacy. This happens in November and the last few days of October. I'm SO excited. I don't know what school or what grade I'll be working in yet, but I requested 5th grade, and I find out in a few days. Last semester I was in a 2nd grade classroom in West Jordan and it was so, so, so much fun. I am so excited to be a teacher!!!

SYTYCD

2011-08-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

I'm so sad that it's over tomorrow!!! I love So You Think You Can Dance so much, it's the best part of my summer!!! I had a few favorites this week, I'll just post all of them because I liked them so much.
First: Sasha and Mark. Wow. This is about overcoming odds. Just awesome. She's such a strong dancer and he's so twisted and great that it is a wonderful combination.

Second: Marko and Lauren. Lauren is probably the best dancer I've ever seen. She's phenomenal. Marko paired with her does every bit as well as she does and I love it! This is such a beautiful piece.

Third: Melanie and Tadd. Favorite routine of the night. Just awesome. Loved it.

Lastly: Melanie and Sasha. I had no idea being a 50's housewife could be so emotional! I actually really liked this one, they bond together in a difficult situation and it is just so beautiful to watch!

I love this show. Love, love, love it. I'm kind of sorry that my only blog posts are about So You Think You Can Dance but only kind of. You should all love it as much as I do! :) Enjoy the videos!

Favorite SYTYCD Dance From This Week

2011-08-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

The finale is next week and I'll be so sad that it's over. Thank goodness for YouTube so I can watch my favorite dances every day!

I love my family!

2011-07-29T19:39:00.001-07:00

My nephew a few years ago:

I just have the funnest family!!! This nephew isn't the only cute one, there are three other nephews and a niece, all who are so incredibly cute!

Total Eclipse of the Heart

2011-07-28T16:36:00.002-07:00

Favorite, favorite, favorite dance of SYTYCD this week. The jump towards the end is unbelievable!!!

The only problem with this dance was that I kept thinking of this video because of the song:
(unfortunately not the full version, the full song has been blocked from embedding.)

Sequels: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2011-07-27T20:11:00.001-07:00

Some sequels are a good idea, like when the movie is a trilogy. Other times a sequel is a good idea include when the movie is a good one like Batman or Superman or when you end the first movie with an ambiguous ending. Both fine times for sequels.

As a child I enjoyed the movie Balto. I just now found out that there are now two sequels to Balto. Why?! Balto ended! There was no questions as to what happened at the end of the movie! Also, how many Land Before Time movies are they going to make? Right now there are thirteen of them. WAY too many. I did like the first one quite a lot though, but thirteen is way too far.

Weirdest. Date. Ever.

2011-07-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

So I went on a date last night, but before I get to the actual date I need to relate how I met this boy...

...One day at work a boy came in. This boy was reasonably attractive, and we started to casually chat about the book I was reading when he came in. School came up, the fact that I served a mission also came up. He then said, "A mission? What's a mission?" I asked as politely as I could if he was serious, then proceeded to give an overview of what an LDS mission is. The conversation went on for a while and he mentioned that he recently read the Bible, so we talked more about religion. I guessed that he was either a less-active member or a nonmember. He seemed nice enough so I didn't think too much of it. Well, he asked if he could give my number to his friend. I wasn't worried about him wanting the number for himself, I didn't think that would be a big deal so I gave it to him.

Over the course of a few days he sent me a few text messages, letting me know that he would like to take me on a date and that he actually was LDS, he was simply lying to me when we first met. I figured I might as well go on a date with him, I didn't have a good reason to turn him down. So I went. Boy was I in for a treat.

We got beverages first, at Starbucks. Weird choice for two LDS people, but I just got hot chocolate, he got a tea-free smoothie. I guess he had that smoothie before and just really wanted another one that day. That's not the interesting part though. Because he was lying during our entire conversation when we met, I didn't know anything about this guy. One of my questions was this, "So, tell me about your family." Easy right? Well, his answer was, "I actually ran away from home when I was younger so I don't know where my family is and I don't care. What about you?" My answer was less shocking by far. When I had answered his question he said, "Well, that was very concise. Most people go on and on about their families, which is why I came up with that answer. It keeps it simple, even if most people don't appreciate or even really like that answer." The tricky thing is, the guy keeps a straight face while telling you these absurd stories so I really had no idea if he was serious or not! Anyway, conversation continued like that for about a half hour. I still have NO idea if he is actually a student, what his actual major is, how old he is, or where he is from. He told me answers but I'm not sure if he was being honest. I did know his name because I looked at his credit card when I sold him candy when we met. This helped because yes I did facebook stalk him before our date.

Moving on, our next destination was the dollar movie theater to watch Source Code. The movie was fine, interesting idea but too many holes. The interesting part of the movie was my date. He would lean over periodically and whisper things in my ear, getting so close that his lips would actually touch my ear! Gross! I would lean away and give short answers usually. Well, at one point he grabbed my arm, trying to pull my folded arm out of that position so he could hold my hand! I patted the hand he was grabbing my arm with then folded my arms back up. He then leaned over and whispered, "I figured that we probably won't ever see each other again and the movie is getting boring so I thought I'd hold your hand to make things less boring." Really? I told him I don't hold hands on the first date and he said he usually doesn't either. Weird. It never occurred to me to leave the date. I didn't feel unsafe or physically threatened I just felt very confused and almost in shock at how he was behaving. It's like one of those movies that you don't actually like but you keep watching it because you really want to know what is happening.

WELL, after the movie we left (and ran into his sister on the way out. Uncanny family resemblance and her introducing herself to me as his sister clued me in on that one, he does know where his family is after all.) and I thought he was going to take me back to my car. We met at the mall because I had just gotten off work and I didn't want him knowing where I lived just in case. Well, he didn't go to the mall. He went to In-&-Out. He hadn't eaten dinner and wanted food. Well he got his food and proceeded to psych-analyze me. Oh, he did offer to share his fries. One of his questions was, "Have you ever actually had physical contact with a boy outside your family?" Who asks that, on a first date especially!? He asked me lots of rude questions about why I am the way I am, telling me that I would be more appealing for guys to date if I basically was more dramatic. I guess I was too boring for him.

So after a while I pointed out that we should go, which we did. He took me back to my car, in a well-lit parking lot that actually had several people in it. He walked me to my car, grabbed my face and put his cheek on mine! It was like he wanted to see what I'd do if he tried to kiss me! I just kind of backed up and started to get in my car at that point. This guy was super weird!!! I got in my car while saying goodbye and drove off relatively quickly. The end.

As I said before, I think I was too shocked to ask him to take me home before I did. It gave me a good story to tell but I am sadly not surprised that boy is single. Needless to say, I've never experienced anything quite like that before and hopefully will not have to go on a date like that ever again. Again, it's a good story though.

Sonic Promotion

2011-07-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Dog at Sonic is amazing. Go try one.

California and HARRY POTTER!!!

2011-07-16T09:31:00.001-07:00

So, for those of you that read either Melodie or Aubrey's blogs, you will know that Aubrey and I went to California!!! It was so fun!!!

We:
1. Drove forever
2. Went to the beach
3. Got my first ever pedicure
4. Went to the Fashion District in downtown L.A.
5. Drove down Hollywood Blvd to see people dressed up as movie characters
6. Bought a bacon-covered hotdog
7. Went out to eat sushi
8. Went to the Getty Art Museum
9. Went to the park to watch Casablanca
10. Stayed up late
11. Watched approximately 15 episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress"
12. Slept in
13. Went to church
14. Kept score for the Sunday School jeopardy game
15. Drove home. I'm sure this took at least 2X longer than driving to California, it was such a long drive!

It was a fun, fun, fun trip though and I'm so glad I got to go! I didn't bring my camera though, so if you want to see pictures, to go http://justinandmelodie.blogspot.com/ or http://aubreywinner.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!

Next item of business:
HARRY POTTER!!!!!!!!!! The last installment of this 8-part movie series came out Thursday at midnight. I was there. I dressed up. So did Aubrey. I was Professor Trelawney and Aubrey was Bellatrix Lestrange. Here are a few pictures:

Tribute to Moses Lake, WA

2011-07-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

I loved this dance. It received a standing ovation from the judges, and rightfully so. The girl, Caitlyn, is from Moses Lake, WA, where several of my friends are from. It must have good water or something.

Also, I went to California to visit Melodie with Aubrey. It was awesome. More details to come.

I LOVE THESE TWO!

2011-06-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

These two are my favorite couple from So You Think You Can Dance this season. They are just great every week! Sorry about the judges commentary at the end, I couldn't find a good clip without it, but it is actually pretty funny if you want to watch on after the dance is over. Story behind this dance: Marko got left at the altar, so his best friend, Melanie comes to comfort him. In the midst of this interaction between the two, he realizes that the girl he is meant to be with has been there all along. Aww...
Vote for Melanie and Marko!

Oh yeah... these guys are decent too. Eric Luna and Georgia Ambarian, phenominal! They were guest performers on the show tonight.

What?!

2011-06-29T17:44:00.001-07:00

I guess it's International Dogs Tilting Their Heads Day. Really? Who thinks these things up? I guess I'd better celebrate though. Here is to dogs that tilt their heads. May their day be full of head-tilting opportunities.

Obie, tilting his head.

Sam, the ugliest dog in the world (yes there is actually an award for that) tilting his head.

Double head tilt.

A dog that looks like Sophie kind of tilting her head. Sophie doesn't photograph well, hence my lack of pictures of our dog.

A humanoid tribute to International Dogs Tilting Their Heads Day, by the Winn ladies.

Happy International Dogs Tilting Their Heads Day.

Bucket List

2011-06-21T15:17:00.001-07:00

My life in Provo will someday come to an end. This is my last year in Provo and though a year may seem like a long time I don't actually do many fun things during the school year so I'm trying to cram in all the fun this summer so then I can study then graduate in April. Who knows what I'll be doing next summer. Whatever though. I have a summer bucket list being constructed currently and I wanted to post that for you all to see. Feel free to comment and add suggestions.
(In no particular order)
1. Eat at Hotdog King. (It's on State Street in Orem and looks exciting)
2. Hike the Y
3. Hike Timp
4. Float the Provo River
5. Eat at a BYU restaurant. Any of them (Skyroom, MOA Cafe,whatever else there is)
6. Go to a BYU Women's Soccer game
7. Take flexibility at BYU (also known as napping class- I'm totally signed up for the fall!)
Any other suggestions? Turns out my bucket list is really short. And kind of lame.

AMAZING.

2011-06-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry I never actually write much on this thing, it's usually just pictures of videos. But this is so amazing!!!! I loved this dance last night and wanted everyone who ever looks at this blog to enjoy this dance as much as I did. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!

College

2011-06-07T09:40:00.001-07:00

I just want everyone to know that the end of my Undergraduate education at BYU is in sight. I have eight classes left. I am taking them this fall, then I will be doing student teaching starting in January. Then I am DONE! I'm really excited about it. Then I'm planning on moving out into the real world (not Provo) to find a teaching job. Anywhere in the U.S. could do really, any suggestions? I'm thinking of staying in the west, somewhere like Colorado maybe.

Top Ten Things I Love About Summer

2011-05-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

(In no particular order, though number 1 really is probably number 1 of all time.)
10. Going places like Nickle City and Chuck-e-Cheese and getting awesome prizes!

9. Sleeping in

8. Soon to come: SUNSHINE!!! (For those of you who are unaware as to the current weather conditions in Utah, there isn't really much sunshine going on yet, but it'll come!)

7. Dance parties across the street nightly (or so it seems)

6. New movies coming out!!! (My favorite so far: Thor. Hands down. Loved it.)

5. No School

4. New Summer job at the Candy Barrel- this will last longer than the summer, but it is what my summer consists of.

3. Popsicles- even though I have yet to have one

2. Visiting family in Georgia, Michigan, California, Wyoming and Utah. Here are some pictures of my nephews from the trip to Georgia:

1. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!!!

Spring, Spring, Spring!

2011-04-28T22:53:00.000-07:00

It's Spring!!! The weather hasn't quite made up it's mind yet but it is spring. Almost summer (it's supposed to snow in Provo tomorrow). I love spring and thought I'd share this lovely video with you all.

This spring/summer I am not going to school but am currently looking for a job. It's so nice to have a break! The last few days I have slept in, read, not done homework and just enjoyed it so much! AND I get to go to Georgia next week to visit Jess and his family. I'm so excited!

It's Friday

2011-04-15T23:59:00.001-07:00

There is a video out on YouTube that, if you have not heard about, you are one of the few apparently that are a bit out of the loop. It is called "Friday" and it is by Rebecca Black. As of right now there are 104,766,179 views and counting. It is a ridiculous song, and this poor girl has gotten a lot of criticism about it. There are 2,101,468 dislikes for this video and numerous parodies as well. Personally, I think it is a catchy, though awful song. So, as it is the end of a fun, fun, fun, fun (part of the song) Friday, I present to you: Friday. Enjoy.

I Love Baking...

2011-04-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

I recently was interviewed for an Internship. If I was hired for said Internship I would have my own classroom and be a full-time teacher in the fall, being paid half-salary. The downside of this Internship would be that I would have to finish my college classes this summer, and I would be very busy. The other option would be to finish my college classes Fall semester then do student teaching (possibly in Washington D.C.) starting in January.

So, I decided that trying for an Internship wouldn't be a bad decision. I interviewed with the Salt Lake School District, felt I did really well, and lo and behold they did not hire me. I wasn't upset. I figured that I did well, it must have been more personality matching that didn't so much work with me. If I don't fit with the personality of their school, I would rather not work there. Good news then!

Next came my second interview. I interviewed this time with both Provo School District and Jordan School District. The interview went fine until they asked me how I handle stress. I said some boring stuff then I said, "I also love baking, and serving people, so I would give people the things that I bake..." and continued on with the rest of the interview. The thing is, I do not like baking. At all. Why did that come out of my mouth? I do not know. So I outright lied to those people. I'm sure if they would have hired me they would have expected me to bake for them frequently though, so it's a good thing that they didn't want to hire me!

So that was my recent interviewing experience. I'm excited to not take classes all summer and I know that I did all I could to place myself in the position to get hired for an internship if that is what Heavenly Father wanted for me. I also think that my blurting out that I like baking might be a sign that I should start learning how to bake. Those of you that live close to me may someday benefit from an interview faux pas. :)

I LOVE TEACHING!!!!

2011-03-18T20:37:00.001-07:00

This month I have been able to have a wonderful experience. It is called a Practicum experience and is like short-term student teaching. I have been in Mrs. Schilder's second grade classroom. I spend all day there except for two days a week when I leave at 12:30 to get to class on time. It is so fun! The only bad part about it is I have to leave at 7 in the morning and I do not like waking up early. Other than that it is wonderful! I love the students, I love learning how to teach, I love the school, I love teaching lessons, I love messing up and finding things to work on, I love planning lessons even! I know planning lessons will not be fun for long but I love it not for that reason, but because I love teaching! I'm so glad I've found the right place for me to be.

Here is a little update as to my future. I have applied for an Internship. If accepted, I will have my own elementary classroom starting this Fall. I would finish all of my college classes by August then work as a teacher for the whole school year. I would still technically be a student of BYU and will have to be observed several times and things like that but I could be receiving half salary and get a head start on a teaching career! I interview for this in two weeks and will find out within that week, so stay tuned! The other option, if I am not accepted for this Internship program is to work two jobs for the summer to save money, then take classes from September until December. Starting in January I would do my student teaching and I have the option of either staying here in Utah, going to Texas or going to Washington D.C. for that. I would totally choose D.C. but I also have to apply for that. I would rather get accepted for an Internship but that's not up to me I guess, so we'll see!

That's basically it for what's going on in life, but it's amazing and I love it!

Love It!

2011-03-05T23:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I go to BYU, for those of you who may have forgotten. BYU just so happens to have an AWESOME men's basketball team this year. Currently they are ranked #3 in the nation. We also have... wait for it... Jimmer Fredette. He's a pretty big deal. All-time leading scorer for BYU, all-time leader for 3-pointers, leading scorer for ncaa men's basketball, and just an inspiringly good basketball player. Plus his name is fun for saying things like, "Fredette about it!" Anyway, the last six games have been sold out, so it is a big deal to go to games because Jimmer and the rest of the awesome team are such a privilege to watch. I went to their last home game of the season today. It was awesome. We had been prepped beforehand for this, but watch this dance, it's what the student section did during a timeout during the second half of this game. I am among those students kind of, I am at the very top. It was so fun!!! So here is my ode to men's basketball.

Disclaimer: This Video Is NOT Just About Geese.

2011-02-26T13:40:00.000-08:00

In my planning and management class we were discussing teamwork. My professor played this video clip for us. I must admit it moved me, so I figured I would blog about it. I know it's just about how geese fly, but somehow those filmers were able to help me connect to those geese. Silly I know, but true nonetheless. For your viewing pleasure, here is the nice little goose video.

Winter Semester 2011

2011-02-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

I LOVE MY MAJOR!

First of all, I just want to say how amazing my major is. I love what I am learning, even if sometimes some of my classes are a little bit boring. These things are so interesting (usually) and applicable! It's great! I just want to take a second and say what classes I am taking and tell a bit about them.

Teaching Reading and Language Arts: We are learning so much about reading in this class! It is fun to see how much really goes into learning to read. It is a wonder any of us actually have figured out how to navigate our way through the English language. We're learning right now about phonics and different combinations and factors that go into teaching students how to read. It's very interesting and I am more excited than ever about words and what they are composed of.

Teaching P.E. for Elementary Teachers: I got to teach 1st graders PE last week and it was so fun! We're learning basically about management skills, all of which apply in the classroom, not just in the gym. It's fun to teach PE as well, it's a time to relax and exercise!

Educational Psychology: This class gets a little bit boring sometimes because it is three hours once a week. We learn lots of interesting things but I wish it were spread out over a few days or shortened or something. My teacher is so cute and funny. This class ties so closely into many of the classes I am currently taking as well as classes I have already had, so this is more a cementing class rather than an informative class. It's good fun though.

Math Education 306: I am not a fan. In my mind, English and Math should be separate, but we are taking mathematical concepts and writing a description of how to do the problem. I know that we are doing this so we can one day teach the things we are doing, but my teacher is a little bit vague and I never can tell if I have it right or not. This aside, I still do like math. It is so fun when you figure it out and can get excited about figuring out a difficult problem. It's like a game sometimes!

Drama in the Elementary Classroom: This is so fun! We just play theater games every week. We are learning how to integrate play into our classrooms basically. There are so many ways to teach a simple concept that you might as well use the funnest way to teach it! Today in class we are practicing our storybook reading. I bought a new book for it. I love books!

Multicultural Education: Very interesting. My professor likes to make us think so he brings up slightly controversial topics each week. He is approaching diversity from a good standpoint though, he is not focusing on the weaknesses of different groups of people but rather on how we can learn to love everyone, including ourselves. The second great commandment given by Jesus Christ is for us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are learning a little bit about how to do that. Next week we start into how specifically to bring this into the classroom.

Planning and Management: This is the class that is specifically preparing us for teaching. It is exciting! There are four different teachers for this class and they take turns teaching us aspects and important things to remember about the ideal teaching situation and classroom. We are working on forming our personal management plan right now, so I am thinking about what I want my classroom to be run like. I've been thinking that I could use the theme, "Miss Winn's class: A WINNing Team!" I would focus my classroom theme around teams and helping one another find success. We'll see what happens.

The other class I am technically taking is my Practicum class. March 3-30 I will be in a 1 or 2 grade classroom working alongside a teacher. That's basically all I know about it right now. It should be fun though!

I am graduating next April (2012) but before then I have two options. I have applied to the internship program the ElEd department has. If accepted, I would start with my own classroom this next school year. I could have a mentor teacher who I could ask questions when I had them, but this is the ultimate teacher trial by fire type of deal. My other option, if not accepted for the internship program, is to student teach starting next January, and I would hopefully be doing that in Washington D.C.!

So, my life is pretty exciting. I have a lot of homework usually, but it is applicable! I love being in classes where I know why I am learning the things I am learning! Life is good.

Validation

2011-01-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

We watched this video at work a few weeks ago to help us discuss the principle of helping others feel good about themselves and why that is important. If you have the time, I highly recommend watching this video. It's fun.

Help!

2011-01-08T20:59:00.000-08:00

I am considering going to Grad School. I have a few options here. I will graduate April 2012 with a degree in Elementary Education. I could always teach then come back to get a degree. OR I could just go straight after graduation into a masters program if I got into one. I have a few things that seem fun to do for this option. I think law school would be amazing. I also think library sciences would be wonderful and I would hopefully work in elementary school libraries. My other option of course is a Masters in Education. What do all my readers think?

Harry Potter

2011-01-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

So I totally went to the Harry Potter Premier but never posted any pictures. Here are a few goodies. It was a fun night! I was dressed like Bellatrix Lesgrange and the other people in the group dressed as the golden snitch, Hagrid, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Professor Trelawney, and various other characters. It was great!

A Family Favorite

2011-01-02T23:27:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Veggie Tales, for giving the Winn Family this wonderful song to keep close to our hearts forever. Enjoy!

SYTYCD

2010-12-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

That's right people. I went to the concert of So You Think You Can Dance last month. November 4 Aubrey and I were able to go sit in the Maverick Center in West Valley City, Utah to see the best dancing we have ever had the chance to see. Plus... we had front. row. tickets. For real. It was phenomenal! Here are a few of my favorite pictures that I took, there are many other wonderful ones, but check these ones out!

ART!

2010-12-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

So I'm in this wonderful art class, which is meant to give us the tools to teach elementary school art, and I love it! I am having so much fun and I'll be sad when it's over. We've done some cool projects! Here are some of my favorites that I've done.

This is simply a sphere teaching us shading or value, but I liked it a lot.

One always needs a good drawing of some type of fruit. In case you can't tell, this is a pear.

We did printmaking, and I did this image, a lovely turtle.

Watercolor flowers, patterned after Georgia O'keefe's work.

We tore up paper to form a landscape. This is a night sky with lightning in it, along with bushes on the ground. This was a really fun project to do because it was semi-destructive rather than merely creative.

Mmmm ceramics. This is probably my pride and joy. I did not think up the design, but I did create the masterpiece.

Lastly, my ode to Jackson Pollock. If you look closely, there is texture to the paint, it is not all flat on the page. This was incredibly fun!

Those are some of my favorite art projects from this semester. I love that they have been so fun and easy, yet they make me feel great about myself because I feel that I am an artist in my own special way because I enjoy what I am creating. The good news is, this class was just made a GE, so everyone should take it! Take Christine Palmer's class, she's the best. Yay art!

Leggings

2010-11-30T20:34:00.000-08:00

Leggings are not pants. Or jeans. Nor will they ever be. Stop trying.

One Thing I Miss The Most About England

2010-11-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yorkshire Pudding, Veg, Sunday Roast, yum. Better than roast is lamb with mint sauce. SOO good. Someday, when I learn how to cook I will make food like this.

Do Give Warning Before Heaving About!

2010-11-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

I went to the Scarlet Pimpernel musical today. It was amazing!!! I absolutely loved it. I have known the music for several years, loving it that whole time but I have not seen the musical until today. It was so wonderful!
For any of you who haven't read The Scarlet Pimpernel, it is a beautiful story. The point of the story is that Sir Percy Blakeney and Marguerite St. Just fall madly in love, get married and on the night of their wedding he finds out she betrayed one of his friends which led to his and his family's execution on the Guillotine during the French Revolution. This leads Percy and his friends to devise a plan about how to save people from the Guillotine. This leads to the creation of the Scarlet Pimpernel and his gang. The band is very secretive about what they do and they successfully save many lives. The rest of the story is based upon French authorities trying to find this Pimpernel and upon Percy and Marguerite's broken hearts. In the end he finds out she was tricked into the betrayal and they reconcile, knowing that despite their lack of trust for one another they never stopped loving each other. The Pimpernel stays in disguise and of course, defeats the bad guys.
I really love this story and highly recommend the book to anyone. The musical is even better because there is beautiful music along with a great story! The title of this blog is a quote from the musical that was really funny. Hence the usage of it.

Sorting BYU majors into Hogwarts houses | Universe.byu.edu

2010-11-12T09:30:00.000-08:00

For most readers, Hogwarts is a school they can only dream about attending. Harry Potter fans daydream of being sorted into houses, taking a weekend trip to Hogsmead and having long talks with friends at the Three Broomsticks.

However, upon close inspection, the way we divide ourselves into our majors at BYU is similar to the Hogwarts houses.

The house of Gryffindor includes those who are brave, loyal, courageous and have nerve, according to harrypotter.wikia.com.

“Mathematics is Gryffindor, because we are courageous,” said Preston Redd, a mathematics major from Great Falls, Va. “You think anybody can just look at those equations and do them? You have to be brave. Math is right or wrong. That’s loyal, math is loyal to the truth.”

Along those same lines, statistics, economics, engineering, industrial design, history and geography can all be sorted into Gryffindor.

The house of Ravenclaw is intelligent, creative, witty and learned, according to harrypotter.wikia.com.

When looking at the characteristics of Ravenclaw, the majors that would fit here are art, chemistry, biology, physics, media arts, theater arts, exercise science, music and English.

“I don’t know who is more intelligent and creative than an English major,” said Jon-Michael Dreher, an English major from McLean, Va.

The house of Hufflepuff is tolerant, fair, friendly and hard working, according to harrypotter.wikia.com.

Other majors that fit these qualities include humanities, special education, elementary education, wildlife and wild lands conservation, family history and communication disorders.

“I see elementary education going in Hufflepuff, but just the fact that there are people like Ernie McMillan and all of those other weird characters is a little disheartening,” said Cassie Rindlisbacher, an elementary education major from Fresno, Calif.

The house of Slytherin is ambitious, cunning, resourceful and craves leadership, according to harrypotter.wikia.com.

Kendrick Holyoak, a junior majoring in business strategy, believes his own major belongs in this house.

“I am proud to be in Slytherin. Harry Potter almost got put in Slytherin, so I am perfectly fine with that,” Holyoak said.

Other majors that fit the qualities of this house include communications, political science, international relations and any major in the business school.

“That’s why everybody in the Tanner building wears suits, to cover up their Dark Marks,” said Erik Hatch, an information systems major from Naperville, Ill.

Hogwarts and BYU have other similarities. TAs can be considered the equivalent of prefects and Park City compares somewhat to Hogsmead. The Ministry of Magic is strikingly similar to the Honor Code Office and if you dare to venture over to Nocturn Alley, just head up to the University of Utah.

Thank you Tessa Farnsworth from the Daily Universe.

Tis The Season

2010-11-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

Translation of a few words:
999- British version of 911
CBeebies- Children's show for young children
Lemsip- Similar to Theraflu

Colds are becoming more and more common this time of year, and as one would imagine, man colds are a frequent malady seen amongst men all around. Not all men suffer from man colds, but those that do are often similar to the man in this video. It provides for much humor amongst those of us who are not directly affected by these illnesses.

Jess, the Brother.

2010-10-26T21:02:00.001-07:00

In a family of five children, one of which is a boy, said boy is bound to have some interesting qualities. Exhibit A-

"Brother" is the blonde one.

"Brother" is also affectionately known as Jess. Jess has many wonderful qualities. One of which is that he doesn't mind being the center of attention-

In addition, Jess has been known on more than one occasion to shake his booty-

Note that Jess doesn't really have long blonde locks, but he is actually bald.

This being said, Jess is hands down the best brother ever. Plus Cari, his wife, is the best sister-in-law in the world. Jess and Cari: Winn family celebrities.

BYU Running Man

2010-10-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

Dear BYU Running Man,

Put your shirt back on. No one is watching you run, we're just grossed out that your shirt is off. Plus you don't have a good body. In fact that is the very reason for which you should be running. Lastly, it's raining. That's when it is time for warm things, like wearing a shirt. Go figure!

Sincerely,

Andrea.

Happenings

2010-09-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

It's about time I posted something on this blog of mine. I don't have anything witty or funny or remotely interesting to say, so I'll just update you on my life. First and foremost, my birthday is next week. That is the most important thing you all need to know about my life. :) Secondly, I go to school. That takes up most of my time. I work on campus as a Student Assistant in the Treasurer's Office. Basically I type numbers into the computer and put checks into an endorsing machine. It's mindless work and wonderful at that. I really enjoy my job. After work I go to school, I'm taking:
1. Beginning Jazz (the dance kind)- awesome. We just dance.
2. Rhythm & Dance- for elementary school teachers. We're learning how to teach little kids how to dance. It's good, fun, but sometimes boring. We had to make up dances for this week and teach them to our groups. Mine had a heel-toe step in it- woo, woo!
3. Health for ElEd- we learn about health so that we can teach little kids. I like it, last week we watched Cipher in the Snow (if you haven't seen that, watch it. YouTube.) and yes I cried. But we learned about how we can make a difference in the life of our students.
4. Concepts of Math- story problems. We get to solve lots and lots of story problems and learn new terms. Apparently there are more than one definition for types of division. I'm not talking long and short, I'm talking about measurement division versus partitive division. Oh boy... it takes some concentration. But I like it because when you get it, it opens up a whole new world of math understanding. Plus we get to play with blocks.
5. Music for the Elementary Classroom- kind of boring. We are writing a book the next few weeks though, where the storyline has to go along with a song and we have to include the music in the book. This could be fun. I think I'm doing mine to a song about witches. I like Halloween, that's why. Plus I didn't know many of the songs we could choose from. Plus, I don't know about you, but I didn't have elementary music, so this is very foreign to me, not the music part, but the part where you put it in the school.
6. Instructional Technology for ElEd- We learn about how to use the computer in the classroom. I have mixed feelings about this class, the workload is great and I'm learning good things but I'm not entirely sure I will ever use many of the things I'm learning. I hope it's not wasting brain space. But this week we're making a digital story. Mine is a twisted version of Princess and the Pea. It's fun.
7. New Testament(second half)- for those of you who are well-read in church literature, you might recognize the name of Andrew Skinner. He is my professor. He is amazing. I love him. He's inspiring. Probably my favorite class.
8. Art for Elementary Teachers- tie for my favorite class. My teacher is really funny. She's one of those people that we awkward people try to sneakily get closer to so we can pretend some of their coolness is rubbing off on us. :) Plus my art is actually not that bad. I'm impressed with some of the things I've done, like shading a circle. I did an excellent job.

That's all my classes. There are a lot of them, but the workload is ok. I'm pretty busy but I like it. Also I'm still dating Andrew and he's great! He's a great way to spend time away from school and work. That is basically all! Life is good! Last great thing, I have awesome brown snakeskin heels. Plus they were free! The sad part is I haven't worn them yet. I will though and it will be fabulous. That's it!

Dino-Rama & Holding Hands

2010-07-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, I need to update my blog. It is time. So, I'll start with Dinos. Last weekend Melodie, Aubrey, Justin and I went to visit the local dinosaurs. We took pictures. This is a picture of the four of us with the Sinclair Dino in lovely Evanston, Wyoming. He's a good friend of ours.

We also visited the dinosaurs at the rock shop. There are four there. I was doing dental work on the t-rex and I broke a tooth out. There goes my career as a dentist! Then a man yelled out the window at us and we ran away fast! It was quite the party.

Second topic for this post is holding hands. This is an interesting topic, very different than any I've ever posted before, but there's a first for everything, right? So I found a great article on "How to Hold Hands" that gave a few steps that I would like to relate.
1. Find someone to hold hands with (girlfriend/boyfriend).

2. Think about it. Thoughts can then become actions

3. Take a hold of the other person's hand. While sitting, standing or walking next to that person, grasp his or her hand and lightly squeeze.

4. Wait for a return squeeze. If they squeeze back, most times, they enjoy your company and don't mind you holding their hand.

5. Use a hand-holding method. There are two approaches to hold another person's hand.

* You can just grasp their hand and hold it (easy to achieve, but harder to stay held on longer).
* Interlock fingers, which sometimes takes some work, but because the other person is holding on too, you can stay holding hands longer.

6. Relax! It's okay to be nervous, bet he or she is probably every bit as nervous as you are, so just enjoy it.

So I thought this was funny and accurate. I like holding hands personally, it's fun. I also want to include something from John Bytheway. He speaks to us about non-verbal communication, specifically in the dating setting. To quote him about holding hands, he says, "What if you hold hands with your date? Maybe that’s like saying “I really like you.” I think it's true. I'm so good with my thoughts, clearly.

That's all. Enjoy!

Plant Crossing

2010-07-20T11:51:00.001-07:00

So... England has the most random signs. I was just thinking about this today and thought I would share this with you all. This was was a favourite. My companion and I drove in a circle three times to get a good picture of this. That's all.

Robinsons Fruit Shoots and Waiting Rooms

2010-07-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

There was a time on my mission when I had to go to a doctor's surgery (office). I went to a walk-in centre with my companion. Now, they were great to get us all in quickly and taken care of, but let me describe a little bit about the surroundings. We were in a large room with a lot of people. All these people were sick. Side note about the Robinsons Fruit Shoot, as we were waiting my companion and I got these to drink. It will forever remind me of this waiting room. So, one of the patients that came in was a small boy who was quite sick. He ended up getting sick all over the floor, about three feet from me. Forty-five minutes later, it was still all over the floor. Soon after that, a nurse came to clean it up and used a plastic tablecloth-type thing to wipe it up. That's all. No sanitising or anything. Yuck.

The reason I bring this up is because I now work in the medical field, kind of. I am a receptionist at a dental office. I have learned a lot about insurance policies as I have worked here. I have now formed an opinion on socialised healthcare. I don't like it. At all. The British health system is socialised. My experience with this type of healthcare makes me annoyed. I understand the point of available healthcare and agree with it, but when the plan makes healthcare quality go down the drain, I believe it needs to be re-thought. That's all. We had a lot of Medicaid patients come in this morning so it made me think of it.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter & Disneyland

2010-07-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to preface this post with the fact that I did not, unfortunately go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but my dear uncle Barry and his family did. I am a little bit jealous. Harry Potter is something I dearly love.

Once, when I lived in Provo, we had a cupboard under the stairs. We liked to pretend Harry Potter lived in there (we may or may not have been 20-year-old girls at the time) and I even had post sent to Harry Potter living in the cupboard under the stairs. It was basically the best thing ever.

Harry Potter is awesome.

Also awesome is the place fondly known as "The Happiest Place on Earth", also known as Disneyland. I went there almost two months ago. I have yet to post any pictures. It was great and our trip again proved to me that it is indeed the happiest place on earth. We also went to the beach where Aubrey and I built the Malibu Temple and Riley built the Manti Temple.

.she rocks.

2010-06-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

This is Carolyn. She is cool. We lived together once when we were sophomores. Only for 4 months. You see, she went crazy. And had to be institutionalized. She was in a padded room. She had lots of nice nurses checking on her 24 hours a day. She was still there when I went on my mission. Sometimes we exchanged letters. I couldn't always understand hers. However, she is doing fabulous now. She is out of the hospital and living her life. And we are friends.

PS, I am kidding about her being in the hospital. We only lived together for 4 months because she got married. To a really nice person. His name is Brent. And they are in love. So she isn't crazy. She's just crazy in love. Don't worry.

I Played Dolls Today

2010-06-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day. My lovely Grandparents came up for a visit along with my aunt & her husband, and my uncle and cousin. My cousin, Ashley, is seven. I got to be the "best friend" today and enjoyed playing with Ashley. This included playing dolls, which I haven't done in years! I played with my American Girl Doll, Felicity. As we were changing the outfits of the dolls, Ashley made a comment about something not fitting. I told her it was so close, to which she replied, "Can't you feel the pain of being so close?" It was awesome. Other than that, the visit was nice and we ate great food. That's really about it. I did however want to make some sort of mention about the fact that I did indeed play dolls again and really enjoyed it.

Mission!!!!

2010-06-11T01:05:00.000-07:00

So I know that all of you may have been wondering why it has taken me so long to tell anything about actually going on a mission. Well... I went and loved it. I served in 6 areas and had 11 companions. Living in England and Wales was great, but preaching the gospel there was obviously greater. I have learned so much about the gospel of Jesus Christ and I'm glad I had the chance to learn and to share with others what I was learning and already knew. :) So, here are some pictures, anything you'd like to know more about, just ask!

I'm Back!!!

2010-05-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I'm back from my mission! It was the best 18 months of my life indeed! I've since been to Disneyland and the beach in California and it was amazing. Pictures are on their way. Mission pictures are coming as well. That's all for now!

Cheerio!

2008-10-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last blog post before I go! I will miss you all and I expect to hear from you! See you in 18 months!

Mission Information or Parcel Post

2008-10-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's coming up fast! I'm leaving the 30 of this month and I want you all to write to me! I will be in the MTC for approximately 19 days, so if you send me anything before November 18, send it here:

Sister Andrea Winn
England Birmingham Mission
England Missionary Training Center
Temple Way
Chorley, Lancashire
England PR6 7EQ
United Kingdom

After about the 18 or 19, please send it to the mission office until I have contacted you letting you know my real mailing address. Packages will always go to the mission home, the address is:

Sister Andrea Winn
England Birmingham Mission
187 Penns Lane
Sutton Coldfield
West Midlands
England B76 1JU
United Kingdom

Note that I specially included the part about packages. I do expect them. The only things you cannot send to me are meats, explosives, animals, toxic materials, and the like. Other than that it is free game. When sending packages, however, please send them via U.S. Mail, as Royal Mail is a bunch of mail snobs and only accepts mail from certain people I guess. Postage should be about $1.50 for regular sized letters.

I will have e-mail eventually from what I'm told, but I have no idea how that works, so let's just do snail mail until I find out what the deal is. Love you all, and expect at least one more post before I go!!!

Aubrey Sumo

2008-10-03T13:20:00.001-07:00

Create your own FACEinHOLE

My True Look

2008-10-03T13:04:00.001-07:00

Create your own FACEinHOLE

Carebears

2008-10-03T12:56:00.001-07:00

Create your own FACEinHOLE

Andrea Hepburn

2008-10-03T12:47:00.001-07:00

Create your own FACEinHOLE

Winn Children

2008-10-01T11:58:00.001-07:00

As a tribute to how awesome my family is, I decided to see what we would look like with afros. Turns out we look real great!

Create your own FACEinHOLE

Burger Bob's

2008-10-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

A great part of my employed life has been spent at a wonderful institution known as Burger Bob's Drive-In. It was my first job as a sophomore in high school, one of my summer jobs last summer, and my current place of employment while awaiting my departure to England. Because of the important place in my heart occupied by this business, I feel that it deserves both a haiku and it's own special post on "The Blog."

Haiku to Burger Bob's Drive-In:
Burger Bob's is a where
burgers, fries and shakes abound.
Good job Burger Bob.

Trip to Georgia!

2008-09-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous trip to Georgia a few weeks ago, and it was, I repeat, fabulous. Mom, Aubrey and I spent two weeks out there, one of the weeks was spent baby-sitting Lucas and Kaden while Jess and Cari were on a cruise (lucky!). Those boys are so incredibly cute!!! Dad was able to join us for a few days at the end of the trip. It was so nice to have a break from life, I think I may have read probably 6-7 books while on this trip. Jess and Cari had a great time on their cruise (lucky!) and didn't even run into the hurricane that was raging elsewhere on the southeastern coast. While there we walked along the Savannah River (I totally saw South Carolina), went to this amazing establishment, Jump City, ate at a Waffle House, shopped at a white-trash grocery store, and were the recipients of hurricane rain. It was awesome! I am sad that we couldn't have lived there forever, it was such a fun trip, but apparently there were things to come back for. Yay for Jess and Cari's house!!!

Mission

2008-08-10T01:24:00.000-07:00

Big news, I have e-mail in my mission, so give me your e-mail address if you want to ever hear from me! :)

Still Excited!!!!

2008-08-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am totally excited for this mission thing!!!! As it is slowly getting closer I am getting more and more excited!!! I have spent a lot of time researching the area, and it is so beautiful. I thought I would share some really pretty pictures of some of the areas I may have the opportunity to see!!!

Birmingham England!!!!!!!!

2008-07-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! I got my mission call last night!!!!! We tried to web cam with Jess and Cari and Mom, dad and Aubrey. It took a while to figure out but we finally got it! Then I opened her up! It said I was called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I would be assigned to labor in the England Birmingham Mission!!! I report to the MTC in Preston England on October 31! I can't believe it! I am so excited to serve a mission, and go someplace I've never been before, and I won't have to worry a ton about not knowing the language!!! It includes Wales, and I've heard Welsh is pretty tricky to understand! Also English accents are way cool! This is so amazing, and I am so excited to get out there!!! If you have any good mission tips let me know!!! I know in the MTC I can only write letters, and I am not sure about the mission field. If you want to write me a letter though, I am pretty good at getting back to people, we'll have to see what this mission schedule allows though. My address is...

Sister Andrea Winn
England Birmingham Mission
187 Penns Lane
Sutton Coldfield
West Midlands,
England B76 1JU
United Kingdom

Pretty long I know. I just thought I would share the great news!

Update

2008-07-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

I talked with my bishop on Sunday and he told me that the stake was searching high and low for my papers and they were no where to be found. Bad news. But... I had a thought in my mind that my old bishop may have kept a copy of these documents that were lost. I expressed this feeling to the bishop, so he went to look in my file. Lo and behold, there were the copies. I ran super-quick over to the stake offices (as fast as I could go in heels) and gave them a new copy of these papers. So, as of last night they were able to go in. I am not sure when my papers will go in for real, but it should be the next few days. THEN I'll get my mission call. I am so incredibly grateful that Bishop Hardy kept a copy of those little guys. I am expecting to get my call by next Thursday or so, if not I'll call the stake to see how things are going. So now the dilemma is over and I am SO glad. It was lame. Turns out the same thing, or at least similar thing, had happened to my bishop, my brother, and to a boy in my ward, so they all understand my feelings. Also lots of other people that i don't know I bet. Well, that's the update!!!

Lost...

2008-07-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

So the newest development in the mission area is this: my mission papers have yet to be turned in. I had supposed that they were turned in on June 22. Today is July 12. This morning my bishop informed me that he found out that the stake had not sent in my papers yet. Funny how that happens, I called the 23 of June to make sure that they submitted them, and according to them everything was turned in just fine. Apparently, one of the men who works alongside the stake presidency was supposed to mail in my medical and dental paperwork. Didn't happen. He went on vacation or something... I wasn't paying much attention at this point. All I know is that this fellow thought he had my papers in one briefcase, when he looked, they were not there, so he is supposing that they are in his other briefcase. If not, I'll have to get new papers filled out by the doctors and dentist. I have yet to be informed of the current status of this man's briefcase examination. He may find them today and send them in, in which case, all is well. I may, however, find out tomorrow that he can't find them, then the real work begins and it may take a good chunk of time to actually get these forms. Then they'll call me on a mission. Right now I'm sort of angry, and the more I think about this problem the more angry I will get I think, so I am trying not to think about it. This happens all the time I am sure, so others know just what I am going through, my bishop for one. My brother also had to wait a ridiculous amount of time to get his mission call. So, I guess all my frustrations have been sufficiently vented. My papers will eventually get turned in for real, and I will eventually find out where I am going and when, then I will go. And do.

Pretty Girls

2008-07-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

So, the Winn girls have this amazing trait of being able to make possibly the ugliest faces known to man. You'd think we look so nice and normal, until now...

Fourth of July Pictures

2008-07-09T21:50:00.001-07:00

Fourth of July Jubilation

2008-07-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

I went home for the lovely holiday of Independence Day. It was very interesting to think that I might miss next year's Fourth of July if I happen to get called to serve outside the United States... interesting. Anyway, it was a super-fun weekend, the fam went to Wallowa Lake near Joseph Oregon, and it was beautiful. We went boating, Aubrey learned how to wakeboard, and I attempted (unsuccessfully), and we saw some real neat stuff. Here are my pictures!!!

Imagine...

2008-06-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Imagine I go on a foreign language mission. Now I'm not saying out of the United States, just foreign language. I'll say some words now in various languages and I think we should see what suits me. :)*

¿Dónde puso usted mi maíz dolce? (Spanish)

Est à quelle heure le défilé de mode? (French)

Ich denke, dass Miley Cyrus dumm ist, und muss hinter zu Mittelstufe gehen. (German)

Amerei realmente del dolciume proprio ora. (Italian)

Kijk voor de tulpen uit! (Dutch)

Minha cor menos favorita é verde. (Portuguese)

Так долго и спасибо за всю рыбу! (Russian)

Jeg forstår ikke hvorfor noen liker komisk bøker. (Norwegian)

我不认为我会从来能学习中国人 (Chinese)

これは最後のものです。今私は終わりです。 (Japanese)

So there are other language possiblities, but these were the only ones I could find. Sorry. These languages sure are neat though!

*I don't actually know any of these languages, I got these translations from freetranslation.com, and mostly they don't seem to be very good. Don't judge me!

Top 10 Events of Spring 2008

2008-06-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

Spring term is quickly coming to a close, and it is now appropriate to look back on exciting spring term events.
10.I got a 93% on my first test of the term
9. I got a 96% on my first final of the term
8. I got a new calling- activities committee member
7. I read a whole lot of amazing books, about 75 to be precise
6. I got two new roommates, Jessica and Natasha
5. I got a new job, and it is great
4. Pudding Twister
3. Seven Peaks Lifetime Rewards Pass
2. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!!!!!!!!!!!
1. I am getting ready to turn in my mission papers- SUNDAY!!!!!

Hilary Clinton... a Haiku.

2008-06-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hilary Clinton
is out of the race for now,
I am overjoyed.

Online Madness

2008-05-29T10:34:00.001-07:00

Things often get slow at work, and when times are slow there are a number of websites that are frequented by myself, along with my co-workers. Facebook is probably the most-visited site in the entire world of student employees, particularly at BYU. Many are logged into facebook the entire time they are at work, taking periodical glances to see if anyone has "facebooked them" as the saying goes.

Another website that brings the office joy is wikipedia. This amazing site tells you everything. Today I performed a wikipedia search on President Cecil O. Samuelson, and it greatly enriched our current topic of conversation. (note that "wikipedia" is not yet a verb. Give it time...)Viewers are able to look up one topic, connect to a link on the topic's page, and spend hours of fun just weeding through the information in this online dictionary.

Lastly, google.com brought joy to the office today. We not only "googled" each other, but we put our settings in different languages. There are not only your common, everyday languages like English, Spanish, and French, but there are more bizzare languages included like Klingon, Bork, Bork, Bork, and last but not least, Elmer Fudd. Several minutes of fun were had experimenting with these different languages. A hint: if you find that you cannot find "English" in the list, go to Elmer Fudd, it is usually identifyable and one can find English from Elmer Fudd quite easily.

It is peculiar to me that we choose to write on each others' facebook wall rather than speak to each other, that we seek out each others' names on a google search engine rather than ask each simple questions about our lives. Wikipedia is perfectly explainable though. It is also odd to me that I am writing all this in a blog rather than telling it to you to your face. Technology truly has changed our world.

Pudding Twister

2008-05-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

I write some really pointless posts, and this is going to be one of them. Truth be told, I get bored these days, hence the lame blog entries. You're the one who keeps reading it though, not my fault. :) So... today my ward played pudding twister. We got pudding, and put it on twister boards. The twister thing lasted about ten minutes at most, then the pudding fights began. It was SO messy, but so much fun! I even got pudding in my ears. Yuck. Pictures will be posted soon. That's it.

Typing Speed... Take That Kiki!

2008-05-14T23:21:00.000-07:00

82 words

Speedtest

What can I say? It's not too shabby. :)

Shots....

2008-05-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I am working on my mission papers right now, and while one is in the midst of this process, there are shots to be had. As many of you also know, I am scared to death of needles. Bad mixture. Last Friday, I had a physical that included blood being drawn. I was such a champ! I didn't even cry. True I whimpered a bit, but seriously, who doesn't, or at least who doesn't want to? But, then today I had TWO MORE SHOTS!!! I got the preliminary shot for my TB test, and my last immunization! Well, I have to have two more follow-up shots, but I am well on my way! It's an exciting time in my life, practically overcoming my fear of needles along with filling out mission papers!
Speaking of mission papers, I would like everyone to comment on my blog and let me know where they think I will go. Two guess maximum. I can't turn my papers in until June 30, which is quite a long ways away, but I'm sure the time will go by fast, and I'll keep you all updated!!!

Cinco de Mustache

2008-05-12T21:21:00.001-07:00

Cinco de Mustache :{o

2008-05-08T10:19:00.000-07:00

Monday, as many of you know, was a lovely holiday known as Cinco de Mayo. May is a lovely month in which many things are celebrated. The fifth day is only one example. Mustaches are also celebrated by many during this beautiful month of Mustache May. Monday night I held a Cinco de Mustache party at my apartment and it was a hit! We all wore mustaches (mostly drawn-on, but still amazing) ate amazing food (some related to mustaches, like the cake) and played mustache-related games. A great time was had by all and more Cinco de Mustache parties will undoubtedly follow in future.

Children's Literature

2008-05-02T22:22:00.001-07:00

I kind of have a problem. I really enjoy children's books. In the last year I have bought about ten, but that is only because I have had to have incredible self control. Today I bought my books for my classes and I got mad because they didn't have one I needed, so I made up for it by buying myself a new kid's book. (It's great, it is called "Some Things Are Scary: No Matter How Old You Are" by Florence Heide, and it is very cute). Also, I'm in a children's literature class this term where we are going to be reading about 60 books (mostly picture books). At this point I'm holding back and going to the Provo Library to read these books (I got my library card today!!!) and I'm not going to buy any until after the term is over. So, as I read each of these books I will be giving a short report on my favorites. At the end of the term, many of these favorites will be added to my book collection. If you have any favorites, please let me know! I hope you find some of these books to be some you haven't read, and I also hope that you will find them and read them.

Spring Term

2008-05-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

Spring term started Tuesday, and I'm taking 4 classes this term, Children's Lit, Foundations of Education, Judaism and the Gospel, and Beginning Golf. I love them all. This term is really quite an easy load, so I have time to have fun and not worry about being too busy. I am actually getting the hang of golfing believe it or not. Also, Thursday in class Max Hall, BYU's quarterback, used my golf club because he was passing by our class and wanted to hit some. It was awesome, I met someone practically famous. Also a few days earlier I met Cecil O. Samuelson, President of BYU, finally after working on the same floor as him for 4 months. It was very neat.

I've started a new job, so I'm working two jobs. Both are really easy and I work with incredibly nice people. Job #1 is with Treasury Services, where I process checks. Super easy. Job #2 is for Rebecca Waldron, the assistant to Brian Evans, the CFO and Administrative VP of BYU. I sit and read for a few hours while she goes to lunch. Even better, I get paid to do those things!!!! I got a raise on Monday, $0.35 even!!!

I got two new roommates last week, Jessica Hickman, and Natasha Sirrine. They are both super nice. We get along really great and I'm glad we're roommates. Jessica is from Moses Lake, Washington, where my old roommates Deidra and Carolyn are from. Natasha is from Riverton, Utah. They both have boyfriends and the boyfriends are very nice. Jessica is going skydiving tomorrow and I'm jealous.

Monday is May 5, and there will be Cinco de Mayo parties going on all around. I have decided to stray from that path and host a Cinco de Mustache party. Everyone will be wearing mustaches and celebrating the greatness of mustaches. I'll write more about that after the party.
Well, there is the beginning of Spring Term for you, I know I have an exciting life, don't be jealous. :)

School's Out!!!!!!!!!

2008-04-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

Today I took the last final I will ever take as a Sophomore in college. Two years left!!! Things went well with my finals, my lowest score was a 75%, which is much more than I can say for past semesters. Plus it was in a hard class, so I'm really pleased with that score honestly.

Another big event of today was the dumpster fire. Deidra (my roommate, for those of you who don't know) got a call from her brother while we were watching a movie. He asked her what all the fire trucks were for. Then he told us something about a dumpster. So, naturally we ran outside to observe our dumpster, burning. Sort of at least. There was fire inside it and the firemen had done a marvelous job of beginning to put the thing out. Because it wasn't that exciting and it was also slightly cold, we went inside to finish our movie.

Lastly, a sad thing has happened. My roommate and dear friend Deidra has decided to move home to Washington for the summer. Why she chose to do that I'm not sure. She leaves in a few hours and I am very sad. I get two new roommates, but who knows if they might end up to be crazy??? It has happened before! I have met them though and they seem really nice and I'm excited to get to know them better. You'll hear more about them eventually. But at this point I'd like to say that I will miss Dee-dee, as she is most affectionately known by Melodie, very much and wish her the best of luck in her escapades up in Washington.

I'm an Artist Too!!! :)

2008-04-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

So, as an assignment for my Humanities class I painted this lovely picture, imitating Claude Monet. I got to use Melodie's watercolors, some real, some fake. It was an exciting experience, and the painting turned out pretty good actually. These pictures make the painting look better than it actually is sadly. Just so you know, it is currently displayed on my fridge. It is the only original. Copies cost $300. Or we can bargain...

Global Warming... a poem by Andrea Winn

2008-04-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung and all around
I see snow upon the ground.

The heat in my apartment is turned way up
And all I really want is hot cocoa in a cup.

It's the middle of April and I'm starting to think
Those global warming idiots have had too much to drink.

While they sit around and tell us about melting ice
I'm starting to think some heat would actually be nice

I'm eagerly awaiting the day
That those dummies come out and say,

"Global Warming was really a lie,
One we were really hoping ya'll would buy."

Well this global warming hoax is getting really old
And I continue to be really cold. :(

(Provo in April)

Ward Talent Show...

2008-04-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

So, my ward had a talent show tonight, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. (if lucky is the right word, I'm not sure...) Anyway, I performed a song called "Falling Slowly" from the movie Once with Neal Davis, Sharolee Hall and myself. It was really scary actually. When we performed in front of the ward it kind of went quite poorly, so we did a re-take after everyone had gone home. :) Also, in the first one, that is NOT a fat roll on my tummy, it must be a shadow or something. The second take has poor sound and you can't hear me singing at all, that's the piano's fault. I really did sing. The three of us are going to find someone with a computer that can record our song better, because we had a really good time doing it and we want a good copy of our masterpiece. I will post the new copy as well so you can hear us at our best! :)

Take One:

Take Two:

All About Conference Weekend

2008-04-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

So, our friends Jill and Meredith came this weekend and we ended up going to Salt Lake on Saturday to try and get tickets for a session of General Conference. Well, Jill and Deidra ended up having tickets and Meredith, Carolyn and I weren't able to get tickets because we got to SLC right when people were supposed to be getting in their seats. Too bad. We actually ended up watching it in the car. We had a picnic with fun treats like tongue-tattoo fruit roll-ups and stuff. Then we went shopping at The Gateway. After we got back to Provo, Deidra, Jill, Meredith, and I went out to dinner with Carolyn and her husband Brent, Deidra's brother Garett, and Carolyn's brother Kevin and his fiance Stacie. We went to Red Robin to celebrate Carolyn getting into her major, she's going into special education. We ate a lot of food and had a lot of fun.

Conference Weekend!!!

2008-04-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend is General Conference, and we get to go to conference!!! We may or may not get tickets. There are six of us in the group and three already have tickets. Last time we got tickets no problem, but either way it will be a fun party. Our friends Jill and Meredith came down from Rexburg and it has been so fun. Also, dad's birthday is on Sunday, and I hope he likes what we got him!!! I think he will. :)

Easter Egg Eggstravaganza!!!

2008-03-28T15:45:00.001-07:00

I went home for Easter this year and one of the best parts was coloring eggs!!! We colored and colored and colored. Mine were the best. But just in case anyone was unsure about that, dad judged our eggs.
We also put together a little Easter egg hunt for Brody. He loved it. The best part was that he kept banging all the eggs together when he would get excited.

I Kinda Feel Left Out :(

2008-03-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

So... everyone has all these cool blogs and I don't. To solve this problem, here is my blog!!! Don't get mad if I never have anything on it, because I don't really have much to actually talk about. But here it is anyway. Ta-da!!!