Here are some things...

Here's the thing.
I'm taking the last 3 classes of my undergraduate career right now.
However, I can't seem to care about them.
I do my homework 2 hours before it's due. I do the minimum amount of work needed to pass. I often think to myself Well my teacher is so crazy she won't care if what I turn in makes no sense...
I still can't believe that I'll be a teacher in the fall. I don't know how to do that. Sometimes an uncontrollable urge to freak out creeps up on me, but then I just push it aside and think - one day at a time... That's what AA people say right? Alcoholism is just like becoming a teacher: One day at a time. I just have to have a strong will power and stay away from bars...

Here's another thing.
One of the classes I'm taking is sailing. Sailing!?! you may ask. Yes, sailing. It may seem like the best ever, but for the first 4 weeks of class I didn't touch the water, I got a 24/40 on my last test and when we finally sailed yesterday there was barely any wind so it took us 2 hours to go 100 yards. I wish I was taking motor boating instead...or tanning.

Here's the last thing.
I bought a mountain bike. So now I'm officially an outdoorsy woman with a helmet and biker gloves.

My thoughts.

This is all I think aboutWell, and this guy too:

A Marathon

So, I did it. Robbie and Sarah came out to Utah and Robbie and I ran the Salt Lake City Half Marathon.
Let me tell you our story...
So, the Trax decided not to run up to University where the race was starting. But we didn't know that. So we waited. And waited. And swore. And waited. Then we ran to a different Trax station which took us to ANOTHER Trax station and then we rode up to the University. And when we arrived, it was 57 minutes after the race had begun and so, surprise surprise, no one was there.
We started running anyway.
CAN'T STOP ME NOWW!

So Robbie and I ran together. We talked about things. I complained about how hard it was to run over 3 miles. We ate these really nasty energy gummy things which made me want to vomit and followed the trail of clothes people had peeled off an hour before us.
Suddenly we were on a road that wasn't blocked off. Cars were honking at us like we were idiots. We had to wait at a stop light and Robbie tried to run out in the middle of it, almost getting us killed and definitely getting us flipped the bird.
Now, take a look at this map:
As you can see, the blue line is the half marathon. We do half of the red line, which is the whole marathon. We were supposed to run along the blue line.
Now, take a look at this next map:The fuchsia line is where we ran. We missed a vital turn (marked by the fuchsia star)and ended up being lost for a few blocks and then meeting up with the top runners of the full marathon. According to Google maps, we ran an extra 2.6 miles.
So just to be clear:
We started an hour late
AND
We ran an extra 2.6 milesAt one point, I thought I couldn't do it anymore. It was SO HARD. Robbie kept holding my hand to pull me along, but then he'd want to keep running to stay ahead and had to eventually leave me behind because I kept telling him things like, "I hate you!" and "Stop telling me mind over matter or you're dead!". But, that's okay because then this happened:


I started power-walk-dancing: Punching the air. Playing air guitar. Screaming the words to Britney Spears songs...it was magical. And it helped. The only way I made it the last 3 miles was with that air punching. Man, that helps.

I finished. Only 2 minutes behind Robbie. I DID IT!

I AM MICHELLE OBAMA!!

And even though now I am sore and I feel silly because I didn't train for it, I also feel victorious. They gave me a medal and cheered me on. I went 15.8 miles without stopping.
I want to do it again, but next time train harder. Be ready. Run without crying. haha.

Official time for 15.8 miles: 2 hours 47 minutes
I am a champion.

Life is a grab bag.

My life is pretty hilarious.
My friends and I used to say "Life is a grab bag."

So Tuesday Lehi Junior High calls me and tells me...Oops, budget cuts. You can't be an intern after all. So I'm shocked. I was so excited and someone pulled the rug out from under me. I emailed the lady who sets up all the interviews for BYU and she tells me there's one more junior high that needs an intern. I called the principal and set up yet another interview.This interview was basically a tour of the new school. It's AMAZING. SO gorgeous! I mean, my middle school had a gym and a little carpeted pit they called a "little theater." I think it sat about 40 and was PATHETIC. The only extra curriucular activities we had were choir or band so you could either be a geek or a geekier...This school has:
- a gym
- indoor track
- auditorium seating 700
- fitness center for students
- dance studio for students- metal shop
- art room
- sewing room
- 2 stories!
I can't even believe how amazingly nice it is; how much is offered to these students. We didn't even have second languages available to us in our middle school. So, walking through these vast, empty halls, all I could say was "amazing" and "so beautiful." The principal showed me where my classroom would be. We walked in it. It has an LCD projector, a sound system so I can use a mic, a white board, a window, and a built in teacher's desk. I could hardly breathe. We stood there in the empty room and he asked me questions. Interview questions. I answered them. And he told me, "Well, Natalie, the job is yours if you want it." I WANT IT!

God has this way with me...He is constantly throwing things my way that make me think and whine whyyyy. But then something else comes along and I say, Ohhh. That's why.

One day last summer when I was having a particularly hard time I prayed for a lot of things. I prayed for the things I thought I needed, for the things I knew I wanted and I prayed for a rainstorm so I could go outside and feel heavy. Just take my shoes off and walk through the puddles feeling the thunder. It started to rain and I ran outside. I kicked my shoes off and as soon as I took my first step outside, the rain let up. It drizzled and I felt so disappointed. Why couldn't I have anything I wanted!? I needed that rainstorm! So I walked around for a while in my bare feet, feeling completely confused and discouraged. And as I was walking, I heard a distinct voice in my mind say to me, "Natalie, be patient. This is all I can give you right now."

I realized I was asking too much, for things I wasn't ready for. He was telling me, hold out for something better. So I try to remember that when something off happens. Just be patient, God won't let me fall too far.

So now I have this internship at a school in Saratoga Springs. This brand new, amazingly beautiful school with a window and my own desk and I couldn't be happier.
And Robbie and Sarah came into town tonight and we're "running a marathon" tomorrow. Robbie signed himself and me up for the Salt Lake City half marathon which I have trained this much for.
0
And I'm this ready for0
But, I just keep thinking. Hey, I keep telling myself I need to start exercising. What better way than to start by power walking 13 miles?...

Yay for Robbie and Sarah coming into town!
THEY'RE HAVING A BABY!

New favorite quote:

"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde

quotes

I decided to start watching some video blogs of my favorite YA author, John Green, while Kelly is at the priesthood session...
#1 He talks so fast I feel like he might explode.
#2 He talks o fast, I'm pretty sure he is on crack.
#3 Crazy crazy crack man.

But. In one of his video blogs, he says that one line from one of his books, The Abundance of Katherines, has been tweeted over 10,000 times. That is pretty incredible. However, the quote they have all twerted is, "What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable," and this quote was used in the book only so the main character could discover that that line is nothing but bull. So. People are just taking a quote out of context. So. Context is everything. And then he goes on to say that our favorite quotations say more about us than they say about the actual book.
Then I thought, what is my favorite quote?
One of my favorite quotes is:

"I like flaws and feel more comfortable around people who have them. I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."

And I know it's from one of Augusten Burroughs' books, but I don't remember which one. And I don't remember why he says it. But, I love it. I guess I love it because I feel the same. I am made up entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions. And I love being around people who can admit they are too. Not dwell on it, but just admit it. Be at peace with it.

I don't know

I'm just blogging because I'm waiting for Kelly to get home and I don't want to do homework...

I went to Lehi

Remember that post a few posts ago when I told you I had an internship?Well. What that meant was, he just wanted to interview me for the position. And interview 6 other people.
And then not give it to me.
So I've been interviewing with other places, talking to principals, visiting schools. And yesterday I had an interview at Lehi Junior High.
I drove around Lehi a little before my interview and saw horses and sheep and a man burning a pile of trash. I had flashbacks to Ryle High School - people driving their tractors to school. Coming out of class to see goats in the parking lot...it felt like home. It was like Kentucky, but with fewer trees, and suddenly, mountains had sprouted up all around it. I was in love. I had to force myself not to stop the car and get out to talk to the horses.

Let me show you some pictures of people I know in Kentucky...This is the kid who would ride his tractor to school. He loved that thing.
That last one is for Kelly. Don't worry, Kelly. Someone is out there fighting the good fight...

Anyway....The interview was fun. The principal was really nice and genuine, his shelves lined with Coke paraphernalia. The vice principal had this dry sense of humor that I wanted to burst out laughing at. The English chair was so sweet and smiley, and we laughed and talked about April Fools day.
I tried to answer the questions as teacher-minded as I could. I kept stumbling over my words and forgetting how to explain what I would do with that one kid how will inevitably act up everyday.
I left feeling happy, unsure, and wanting that internship position. I want it.
I want to wander the halls and keep candy in a drawer I'll call "the candy drawer".

They said they'd let me know on the 12th after their spring break.

I drove away from the interview and made it to work 20 minutes late, still in a skirt and tights with a diet coke from McDonalds. I say hello to everyone and they tell me I look snazzy (because I do) and sit down at my desk. In my email inbox is a message from my Practicum professor. I open it. All it says is
You got it! You got it! You got it! Congratulations!!!!!!!! Happy conference. Happy Easter.
What? Totally confused, I write her back. Are you referring to Lehi, because I Just barely got back from the interview...
and I get an email back saying the principal called her and asked permission to tell me unofficially that they want me. I look at my phone, he's called me. Left a message saying call me on my cell. I run to the stone stairwell and dial his number. I then proceed to hear the phrase "very very impressed" at least 4 times come out of his mouth. They were impressed. With me!
I get a candy drawer.
I get to wear heels that clack on tile.
I get a carpeted room with desks.
I get to hang posters.
I get to bring in puppets.
I get to scold children.
I get to read Romeo and Juliet.
Teacher. Me. I'm a teacher.
Candy drawer.
Can't wait until that candy drawer...