My Christmas Miracles

So here I was laying in bed, praying actually, that I would just not be sick anymore.

For those of you who live with me/know me pretty well, you already know I have probably had every sickness known to man in the last 2 months. Weird colon problems, strep throat, mono, head to toe itchy hives... I'm currently feeling nauseous...it's going around my apartment... it only seems logical I would get it too... haha

So here I was, feeling sorry for myself. Then I remembered something Clint showed me a little bit ago. His mom always finds a Christmas miracle every year and writes a little blog about it. So I stopped praying to not be sick and instead prayed for a Christmas miracle. Then I realized how many I've already had and I have to share.

My students are angels.
I realized this month how absolutely INSANE kids get from really little things. Snow for example, or even just really cold wind if we're being honest haha. Also, pictures coming back from the school (yes. I got my class picture today. I'm framing it this weekend! ) And if little things get them excited, you had better believe that Christmas would make them crazy.
But they aren't.
The other teachers are amazed at how mellow my class is. I know it's not me. I haven't been very consistent with their schedule this week and I give them art projects and they still are just so so good. And o how grateful I am for that.

I am safe
There have been some sketchy things happen around my apartment complex in the past few months, some coming way closer to home than I would ever want. When all is said and done though, I am safe. I carry my pepper spray around with me everywhere I go and my apartment has our FHE brothers and my strong Clint who is willing to escort us around the parking lot and anywhere else we don't feel safe. I could go through this category alone and find enough Christmas miracles to last the whole blog... a cell phone out and ready, the right words to say... I am so blessed.

Peace
I think this is my biggest one. It's not anything I can measure like the others, but it fills my heart everyday. Life is crazy. I'm not saying this to get pitty parties or anything, I don't want you to feel bad for me. That isn't the point of this post. Things in life are chaotic right now, but I have so many miracles that I see everyday and peace fills my heart.
When Christ was born, the angels brought glad tidings of great joy. They proclaimed peace on earth. I know my peace comes from this same source. The love I feel from everyone surrounding me, the patience and understanding of people that are counting on me to teach their children or to help the girls in my ward, the overwhelming feeling that things will just work out... I know these feelings come from the prayers said on my behalf and the fact that the Lord is aware of how much I can take. I have learned so much about the Atonement through all of this. I have learned to take the things that I cannot handle and give them away to the Lord. Of course, I'm not perfect at this, but I'm getting better... hopefully. I have learned that I can't do all of this alone. I need the help of people around me, I need the help of my family, but the most help I get is from the Savior, after whom this season is named for. The things I have gone through haven't gone away, but the promise of peace proclaimed to shepherds so long ago is real. I feel it everyday. It makes me happy.

So these are my miracles. Thanks for sharing with me.

Merry Christmas

Geometry

Miss Pitt: Boys and girls, today we are learning something new. It is called geometry! Only really really smart kids get to learn geometry but I think you can do it. Tap your head if you have heard the word geometry before (a few kids tap their heads). Now I want you to touch your nose if you can tell me what it means....

One little boy touches his nose.

Yes bobby (obviously not his real name)

Bobby: That's when you sit at the computer a really REALLY long time and you look at a bunch of stuff and its the names of your family from a long time ago. Like your ancestors.

Miss Pitt: Well Bobby, that is genealogy.... close, but geometry actually means we're going to learn about shapes...

O the mormon moms that would be o so proud if they knew what their kids knew in second grade :)

Salami

During our weather reports today:
student- miss pitt, have you ever heard of a salami?
me-yes... they are yummy...
student- no, they are very dangerous!!
me- oooo, you mean tsunami? yes. they are dangerous. and very different than salami...

O my kids make me laugh :)

Testing

(If at any point this post gets too long... I made a summary at the bottom. Just for your convenience <3)>

So I had an epiphany the other day.
First, story for you.

I was giving out a test to my kids. It wasn't a big deal. I just needed to know what they already knew and what I needed to teach. I passed out the tests and one of my kids started having a stress out. I really thought he might cry. I tried to calm him down...

"buddy, this is going to be ok. I just need you to try your best and it will just tell me what we still need to work on."
"What if I don't know the answer?"
"Then we can work on it together and figure it out. It will be ok, I promise"

We took the test. He may or may not have failed...

This is the thing. I love him more for it. I get to spend a little extra time with him and we'll figure it out and I'll be pushed to be a better teacher because I will figure out a different way to explain a concept that seems simple enough to me. He'll figure it out. I know he will. It may take time, but we have time. It's only October.

Ephiphany.
Maybe I'm this kid sometimes. I'm not saying that I'm going through this hard test or I'm depressed or anything. I'm actually loving my life a lot right now. But it's a universal concept I think. Tests come along. I can imagine Heavenly Father looking down at all of us-his little class of struggling students- and just saying "it's going to be ok. Just try your best and it will just tell me what we need to work on. If you don't do well we'll work together and figure it out." We might cry a little. We might stress out. The fact of the matter is though, that we have time to figure it out and we'll try to see another side of the same concept and we'll spend a little time on our knees, working out things we don't understand with our Heavenly Father.

This is my favorite part. Like I said, as a teacher, you really grow closest to the kids who you know are having a hard time with a concept. You think about them all the time and how to reach them how they need to learn. Then, you just love them that much more. And I think that's a hard thing for me to grasp as the other party. I think that if I don't get something done exactly right that people might get mad or upset... like my facilitator at school when my class is noisy in the halls, or my bishop when relief society doesn't have a piano player or two people to pray before the moment of... but ya know, I think it's probably a lot like teaching. These people know I'm trying. My Heavenly Father knows I'm trying. They all love me a lot. And the thing is, I might fail. It's a possibility. But because I'm trying, they love me more. Just like I love my students that much more.

Ya know, it makes me excited to be a mom one day. I bet they have these epiphanies with their kids all the time. I mean, my kids right now are really not even mine if we're being honest... haha and I just love them so much.

Summary if this was waaay too long of a post to read the whole thing:
I love being a teacher.
I love epiphanies.
I love my life.
And I love figuring out truths that make life o so happy
<3>

Top 5

Updates.

1. Hair Cut!!!
I chopped off all my hair. I really really like it. It is a. so much faster to do every morning and b. a much needed change :)









2. Class Pet!!!
(yes. you get 3 exclamation points for each. that's how excited I am.)
Clint and I went to Petsmart and I got a fire belly toad for my classroom. I love it despite the fact that I have to feed Mr. Tiki (the name my class came up with) live, yes LIVE crickets everyday. The things I sacrifice for my kiddos ;)
3. Cute Boy!!!
You may have noticed. I talk about this boy named Clint all the time... that's because he is my boyfriend. And I'm loving my life having him back from his mission! We dated freshman year and he left for Brazil for two years to serve a mission. I didn't tell him I'd wait for him and consequently only got like 5 letters in two years... but HE'S BACK!! I'm really happy. He is so so sweet. He is from Idaho, going to BYU studying genetics and biotechnology and he is basically a track star for BYU. He throws shotput and discus (which means he's very strong). I like him a lot and here are a few reasons why.

1. He is always telling me how lucky he is to have me around.
2. He is really really good at calming me down when I have stress attacks. (stress is a part of my life... see #4)
3. He stayed with me all day last Saturday while I went to the hospital (see #4) which meant he missed the football game that BYU actually won for the first time since the first game of the season.
4. He makes me laugh, and smile, and I feel so so comfortable being around him.
5. He was a really good sport when I dragged him country dancing last night... even though that's really not his scene. :)
6. I feel like I come first, like he just will do anything to make me happy, just by how he looks at me <3>
ok. enough with the sappy stuff. Point is, I like this boy :)

4. ER visit!!!
(ok, not excited about this, but it had to follow the pattern)
So about a week ago I was up all night with horrible abdominal pains. Mostly, I wanted to cut my stomach out... it really didn't seem like an important enough organ to go through that kind of pain. I went to the doctor the next day and got put on the worst diet ever. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast and Yogurt. BRATY diet. Believe me, after a week of eating these things, that's how you want to act to anyone who can eat anything else. It was kinda working, then a few days later, the pains came back and I landed in the ER. I got hooked up to an IV and got some morphine- weirdest feeling ever... and felt fine enough to leave. It's been slightly uncomfortable, but Clint keeps me sticking to my diet (except that one time when I convinced him that the only way to make me happy was for us to go to the creamery and get my favorite ice cream... it was absolutely necessary to cheat that day haha) and since it's apparently due to stress in my life- I don't know why I would be stressed...- he also keeps me from doing a thousand things at once. I hear very frequently "Alissa, you can't do everything. Can you give this to someone else to do?" He offers to be that someone else all the time and is always so sweet about helping me. anywho, I'm sick, but it's getting better :)

5. Fall Break!!!
One of the many perks about being a teacher is that I get all the holidays off plus some!! Love that! This weekend is a 4 day weekend due to something I never dealt with as a young child in California. Hunting and Harvesting. Go figure. Who knew people took time off work and life to spend days at a time hunting deer and moose and pick crops and who knows what else, but apparently it's important enough to take the kids out of school too. I'm ok with this because it gives me 2 stress free, lesson plan free days to recooperate.

I love my life <3>

Fall

Dear Fall,

I love you. I love your crunchy leaves. I love that it is no longer 100 degrees outside while I have recess duty. I love that one of my students brought me an entire BRANCH of your autumn leaves the other day (still not sure how to get rid of that without offending said student). I love the smell of the wind. I love that you brought back a certain cute boy from Brazil for me. He is pretty nice to have around again :) I also love that Halloween is coming very soon. I am excited to be in my school's parade. Lastly, I love that so many people moved back into my fun single's ward. They make my life so happy (and taught me the rubix cube. ya. I'm skilled like that). I love that General Conference is this weekend. I get to go. I'm excited. Mostly, Utah is beautiful in the Fall and I just love it all.

Love,
Alissa

The jump rope, the toilet and the jungle gym

You wouldn't usually put these three things together.
-jump rope
-toilet
-jungle gym
...except possibly if you teach 2nd grade.

This is how my Thursday went.

Morning-great. Every lesson went according to plan and the kids loved them.

Recess-I had recess duty. This is not the most awful job, in fact, I kind of enjoy it because I get to see my kids in their natural environment, playing. :)
Then a little boy RUNS from the building...
"Miss Pitt! Billy (not his real name) is flushing the jump rope down the toilet!!!"
*thoughts* this is a little funny. only I must be fierce. These boys are in trouble!
I proceed to run to the building and find 2 guilty little boys and about 6 ft of jump rope coming out of the toilet. I pull the jump rope out (gross I know) and it turns out to be not a regular 8 ft jump rope... but a jumbo size 25 ft jump rope!!! Alas, it is stuck. So we go to the janitor. Don't worry, little Billy has caused a real problem and the janitor tells us that he will need to remove the toilet from the wall... wonderful. I lecture the boys and deliver their consequence (missing the movie and recess, then writing apology letters and I have to call their parents- one started to cry. it broke my heart)

Lunchtime- I was a little bit glad to get kids out of my hair... it had been a stressful day with the toilet.

After lunch- I was reading to the kids and realized that one of my girls wasn't there...
"Boys and girls, where is Sally? (not her real name again)"
lots of looking around... then one boy raises his hand.
"She is outside."
"And why is she still outside?"
"She is stuck on top of the jungle gym"
o dear. I send the kids back to their desks to read a book while I rescue a small girl.
I get outside and there is Sally, sitting on top of the Jungle Gym in the rain, crying. So sad. But a little funny... because what kind of kids abandon their friend!? (and it reminded me of The Christmas Story when the boy is stuck to the pole and no one tells the teacher... ) I help her down and we get her inside and feeling better.

Note to Self. Talk to students about normal things we flush down toilets. Also, help a friend in need or tell someone who can...

O how I love second graders. And o how happy I was for the weekend :)

High of my Day

I'm sorry if you're getting sick of me posting everyday lately... I just have so many stories to tell!!

High of my Day.
This week has been CRAZY. School is wonderful and my kids are adorable. We've done all these crazy projects and today I wanted them all done so next week we can start fresh... there were 5 projects in all.
We had a movie at the end of the day and all the kids were sooo excited about it. I talked it up and told them that everything had to be done or they would have to miss it (I know. mean teacher. good incentive.)
Only one problem. By the time the movie came around most kids did not have all 5 projects done. I lowered the expectation to 3 so they could see the movie. They were the 3 most important anyways. I only had 2 kids who needed to stay and finish up... and one of them finished it quickly.
The other did not.
I felt bad.
I went up to him.

"bud, hurry! we're missing the movie!"
"I know! Miss Pitt, I can't think of anything else I like for my Me poster!!"
"ok. let's brainstorm. do you like being outside? (yes) hurry. draw a tree."
"ok."
"do you like video games? (yes) draw a controller"
"ok. (he is now frantically drawing)
Miss Pitt! I still have so much white space! (we don't allow white space in second grade...)"
"ok. you draw, I'll color the background. hurry hurry! what color do you want the background?!"
"I don't care. any color!! I just want to see Arthur!!!"

so I'm coloring and he's drawing and we're both going so fast (but of course doing our best work) then he's running to get his backpack and put up his chair and put away his things... and he's running out the door and I'm just laughing at how much he REALLY wanted to see this movie... and he stops.
He is halfway through the doorway and comes back to me. He gives me the biggest hug and says

"Thanks Miss Pitt. I'm glad I finished that."

I made this kid miss half the movie! And he still loves me. It melted my heart. And it was even better because he is a major talker in my class, but he really does have a heart of gold.

I love being a teacher
<3

The Garden Gazette

Extra Extra Read all about it!!!

A garden expansion, with a new indoor tree, new students and a brand new excited teacher, is gradually being finished with a few of the expected 19 new students coming in already. The excellent Larsen Elementary will be joined this week by Alissa Pitt, the new and upcoming second grade teacher.

"You have a TREE inside?! How did you do that?!" cried out a young boy who is very excited to be in Miss Pitt's classroom this year. Miss Pitt had to explain that it was, in fact, made of butcher paper despite its lifelike appearance.

Miss Pitt will begin her career as a teacher tomorrow August 24th at 8:30 am.

"I am excited and nervous all at the same time! I just don't even know how I'm going to sleep tonight!" She exclaimed. "I already just love these kids and I know this year is going to be the best ever!"

The construction of this room has lasted all summer and is finally complete. More news to come as the year unfolds.

hey, remember?

took a trip down memory lane today.
remember wyview freshman year?
remember esperanza that first day being sooo awkward taking a first day picture?
but then we all cried (even dana) the day we had to move out... even though we had signed a contract to live together in the fall haha
or the multiple dinners we made that we just free for all because we were just excited it was edible?
remember the bubble fights in the kitchen with dana when we had to do the dishes?
and the reason we had to do the dishes- they had taken over the counter and the microwave couldn't open.. that's how we knew it was time.
remember how i had my own room? but i got lonely so marissa would send me flying hearts?
remember petey? the spider who we found in the doorway and no one would let me kill it....sooo it ended up IN MY BED... o ya. and ON MY HEAD!!! hahahahha
remember the girls downstairs and how they thought we were crazy cause of our dance parties?
then they would join us. and they had good moves haha
remember the snowman they left us on the front porch? it had a orphan note and we loved it.
until it wasn't taken back outside... so it was a puddle on our table
remember esperanza hello and goodbyes? everyone loved them!
and rochelle's awesome story about her brazilian boy? haha
remember when we stayed up late cause we knew someone would have a good story whenever they got back? so we slept on the couch to wait?
remember benny? he was the tree outside the window. it took him awhile to lose his leaves, but we loved him. he's big now.
or watching the kids get off the bus? we were kind of stalkers... watching from the window
and the one day dana was watching and she saw a raintree kid EAT it in the snow.
now we're raintree kids...
remember when we rolled down the hill? :)
remember when we would just sit and talk and be freshmen? :)

I remember. so here is a shout out to my esperanza girls. I walked through wyview today to play piano and walked all the way up to apt 174. building 13. and I ran half way up the stairs. just cause we used to. :)

o hey. ps. this week. I'm pretty excited <3

Pitt Family Fun

I'm home at last!!! It's been wonderful to just relax and not have to worry about anything except what to make for lunch :) Here's the run down:

Saturday.

ALL DAY at the beach. This ended in Emily's birthday bonfire and a really red alissa. (thank you to danny ritter for getting up at 6 am to stake out a bonfire pit with me!!)

yes. this is my home. i love it.

Sunday.

Church- Kelli, Andrew, Chad and Amber (and Sydney only I didn't get to hear hers) all gave amazing talks.

then we ate good food.

Monday.

Angels game!!!

Tuesday.

Aquarium of the Pacific!

I saw cool jellyfish and sharks and crazy spider crabs. ew.

Wednesday.

Girls night out!! Craziest one thus far!! We were walking out of Walmart when we saw spotlights and a helicopter telling us 2 armed people were in the area... then we ran to the car. Only once we started running, the spotlight shone on us!! but we didn't fit the description so we were alright. :)

Tonight.

bonfire. and deena and trent and jessica are coming to stay at our house. 15 people in a 3 bedroom home= we're setting up the tent in the backyard and campin out! :)

2 weeks from yesterday school starts and I'm a teacher!

13 days and one of my favorite people comes home from Brazil!

basically I'm lovin life <3

NBA goes Country...?

For all you Lakers fans out there... take a gander at the player sitting in the front row all the way to the right. Recognize him? Mark Madsen. Turns out he's a really good country dancer...

So last night I went country dancing and this REALLY tall guy asked me to dance. (I asked him. 6'9" - I came just above his elbow) He introduced himself as Mark. So we were dancing and chatting, he's from northern california and likes to cook... and he's debating between Stanford and BYU for his graduate studies... I told him about my classroom and then the song ended. He shook my hand and asked what my last name was to look me up on facebook (ok, that was a little weird, guys reading this... ask a girl for her number, not her last name...)

About 3 dances later, Mark comes back around. He tells me he can't find me on facebook (ok. that was a little weird too... you already facebook stalked me? we're still at country dancing...) so he said I would have to look him up. He has a picture of him fishing, and his last name is Madsen. I said ok. (thinking maybe or maybe not because the whole facebook thing is odd). We dance and we start talking about california and he said he lived in LA for awhile. I asked doing what and he said he played with the Lakers for a bit. I laughed. ("Just because you're tall doesn't mean you played for the Lakers...") the song was over so I thanked him for the dance and walked back to the side.

I came home from country dancing and my good friend Joe-big Lakers fan- had called me so I called him back. I was telling him my adventures about weird facebook guy and I decided to ask if there was ever a Mark Madsen on the Lakers. Joe kind of freaked out. yes. there was. Then he freaked out some more when I told him I danced with him twice and he was good! Mark had even flipped me. (He had said "you're light." I said back "you're big"). Joe insisted that I date him so we could go on a double date and he could meet him. I said that was ridiculous. But he did convince me to be friends with a famous athlete on facebook :)

O how I love country dancing...
<3

Relief Society Success

For those of you who don't know, I was called to be the Relief Society President of my singles ward about 3 months ago. Talk about overwhelming. It's definitely had its highs and its lows and its stressful moments and times when I had no idea what to do about only 18 girls showing up out of almost 60... It's been hard, but today I finally felt like I was doing something right. So I want to share it with you. Not because I am good at this because the first great day in 3 months definitely has room for improvement haha no, this is because I couldn't be happier right now.

I had to teach the Presidency message today. Every month, the first sunday of the month is taught by one of the members of the presidency. This month was my turn.

We've been teaching out of the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet and at first I was kinda ehh about it because its for youth right? Except that once we started doing this the lessons were going super well and I realized how much I could learn from them.

Anywho, so today I was in charge of teaching. I haven't taught in church since last year and I was a little nervous about it. The lesson was on The Living Christ, Agency, Family, and Going Forward with Faith. Topics that don't seem like they go together, but it actually worked really well. The girls were talking and bearing testimony and the spirit was so strong. I had asked a few girls beforehand to specifically bear testimony of some of the things we were talking about and they were amazing.

This is the moment. The lesson ended and I was cleaning my things and a girl in our ward who is fairly new came up to me (I had asked her to bear her testimony during the lesson) and she just hugged me and cried and I hugged her back and we talked and she told me how much she had needed that right now and how important this ward was to her and how it had helped her through hard times. We were both crying. Then the Stake Relief Society Counselor came up to me and told me how impressed she was with the girls in our Relief Society and how spiritually mature they are and I felt so proud of them. They are truly amazing.

Sorry this is long. Congrats on reading all the way to here. Maybe no one cares but I am so happy. I feel like maybe I could be used as an instrument in the Lord's hands to do something good in this world. I love these girls. They are so good and loving and I am strengthened by them everyday.

Today has been one of those days when everything that life throws at me is totally worth it. All I need is one of these days to fuel me for a long time. I want to be the best I can be at whatever I'm doing so I can be used for good everyday.

<3

My life in song

So I've been listening to the radio more lately (and pandora. love it.)
I decided to blog a few songs that seem to sum up my life :)
Feel free to look them up

She'd be California - Rascal Flatts
" she'd be California If California was a girl"

If she's lonely now, she won't be lonely long - Clay Walker
title says it all

In my Red High Heels - Kellie Pickler
" I'm goin out tonight in my red high heels"

Alright - Darius Rucker
"I've got everything I need, and it's alright by me"

Hey Soul Sister - Train
"I'm so ganster, I'm so thug" (just kidding. haha)
"I can be myself now finally, in fact there is nothing I can't be"

Sounds like life to me - Darryl Worley
"Sounds like life to me it ain’t no fantasy
It’s just a common case of everyday reality
Man I know it’s tough but you gotta suck it up
To hear you talk you’re caught up in some tragedy
It sounds like life to me "

<3

some highs of life

ok. so I have to hurry because I'm still sitting in my bed and I have to leave for class in 8 minutes. o dear.

Highs of my life right now :)

~I just finished 2 of my classes (they end early for interns like me so I can set up my classroom). This means I only have 1 more class in my college career!!! Then I'm done! I cannot even tell you how happy I am

~Last night Nikki taught me how to click my heels.

~I went fishing for the first time in my life and I caught 3 fish! We let them go, so I didn't have to eat them. thank goodness

~Emily is up here visiting and I love hearing all her stories and singing in the car with her :)

~I'm reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and I recommend it to everyone!

~My classroom is coming along so nicely! I just got a bunch of stuff laminated and ready to hang up!

~The sun is out everyday and I love feeling that vitamin D soaking into my skin

~ Went to 7-Peaks with the Prisbery's and emily and it was a BLAST

ok. i have more, but I have to leave in 3 minutes. looking like a hat day with no makeup... good thing my classes are all girls anyways! ;)

O the people you meet country dancing...

My conversation last night with a boy who asked me to dance.

Boy: So what's your name?
Me: Alissa. What's yours?
Boy: Skipper. Let me guess. You're up here going to BYU
Me: You better believe it! What gave me away?
Skipper: O just the fact that you look as pure as the drifted snow
(what do you say to that? thanks?)
Me: ...haha... *awkward laugh*
Skipper: Me, on the other hand, I go to UVU. I have a beard.
Me: Yes you do. (thoughts. does that mean you are not as pure as the drifted snow? can I go back to the side now?)

the song ends.
me and skipper didn't exchange phone numbers.

A State of Chaos

that's what it told me. The dream interpreter that is.

So in the morning, my roommate and I tell each other our dreams and we try to interpret them. It's kind of fun. They are pretty nonsensical, so we just are absolutely ridiculous while trying to figure them out.

Then one week, Nikki and I both started having dreams about War. Like we were in a war, or training to be soldiers in a war, or there was a war we were hiding from... so we decided it was a matter for dreamforth.com. This is the website that we go to when we think our dreams really might mean something. This is what it said.

War: Dreaming of war is your subconscious telling you that your life is in disarray. You are surrounded by chaos.
No one likes being told this is the case in their life. haha but on careful consideration...
we might agree.

Some other reasons (besides the dream) why Nikki and I have decided this interpretation might be correct.

-We walk 100 mph everywhere we go. Walking to school is kind of a joke. We are sprint walking until one of us realize and slow each other down... then 3 minutes later we're going again!

-Stress. The other day in class, Nikki turned to me and she said "Alissa, we need a schedule for today. I'm stressing out." so I pull out my planner... put down class from 8-2, then make dinner from 4-5... and that's all we had. We didn't even have homework. I told her we needed to calm down between 2-4.

-We know the lady on the BYU emotional health sound recording by name and sometimes refer to her in our conversations. Like... Nikki, maybe we should go do some deep breathing with Shannon.

All in all... I think I need a vacation. That's why I'm going to california this weekend! I cannot even tell you how excited I am!

A day in the Life of Alissa and Nikki

So... basically I have this coolest roommate ever. and we have A LOT of fun adventures.

so today we documented them.

first we took our last final!! wooooooo!!! We didn't document this with pictures because it was quite boring and we didn't especially want to remember it if we're being truthful.

Next. I went to classroom to set it up a little... Nikki played Spider Solitaire. (only on medium. I play on hard. but she wins more often than I do... so it evens out)
While I was away.... I got my teacher badge!!! So now we both have one!
We are officially Miss A Pitt and Miss N Savage!! Teachers of the second grade!!! Can you tell how excited I am from all the exclamation points? Maybe? haha

I got home from my classroom and we decided we needed to get out of the house. We have a new goal to be more social butterflies. It's good for us. haha Soooo we went to CostCo. I know. That's your place to go when you want to be social too. On the way to Costco... we definitely just had waay too muhc fun listening to the radio waay too loud as we drove. Pictures to prove it:

On the way back home from Costco, we decided to stop by alissa's favorite place of all time. University Car Wash. I would like to remind you that not only did I get my first date with an RM at this carwash (I lent him a dollar... and he decided to take me out to repay me... only in Utah would this happen haha) and once upon a time I may have opened my car trunk inside of this carwash on accident... story for another time... but it has AMAZING tricolor foam!!! I know this may seem like a trivial detail in the car wash scheme of things... but when you are sitting in your car, listening to the iPod (cause the radio on would make the antennae up and that would be bad in a car wash) and your seat all the way reclined and then the octopus things start shaking the car and you feel like you might die....(picture to the left) when suddenly pink, yellow and light blue surround you and you feel like the octopus may have eaten you, but you have indeed gone to a better place. It slightly resembles heaven I'm sure. You may not believe it. Nikki didn't either, but I got her to see the light.
Obviously, the picture doesn't do it justice. You may just have to go try it yourself.

Lastly. Nikki and I are making dinner. Tator Tot and Green Bean Casserole. Recipe compliments of Mama Pitt. It's one of our favorites. We opened the two cans of green beans however, and they were different colors... this was a little iffy- but we figured it would be ok because one brand was "veri green" green beans and the other was generic... guess we don't want generic brown beans next time. haha Also, Nikki showed me a new way to cook the meat, while I blew bubbles in the living room. (Pardon the sieways picture... for some reason I can't get it to flip around. haha


And thus ends another fun filled day at my apartment. Now, I'm off to eat the wonderful dinner that is FINALLY ready!! yay!

Some thoughts today

A boy read this poem in church today. I loved it. Sorry it's a little long. It's worth it.

They all lined up so full of hope,
Each thought to win the race,
Or tie for first, or if not that,
At least take second place.

And one boy in particular,
Whose dad was in the crowd,
Was running in the lead and thought,
My dad will be so proud.

But as they sped down the field
Across a shallow dip,
The little boy who thought to win
Lost his step and slipped.

Trying hard to catch himself,
His hands flew out in brace,
And mid the laughter of the crowd,
He fell flat on his face.

So down he fell and with him hope,
He couldn’t win, not now;
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished
To disappear somehow.

But as he fell his dad stood up,
And showed his anxious face
Which to the boy so clearly said:
Get up and win the race.

He quickly rose, no damage done,
Behind a bit, that’s all;
And ran with all his might and mind
To make up for his fall.

So anxious to restore himself,
To catch up to win,
His mind went faster than his legs
He slipped and fell again.

He wished then he had quit before,
With only one disgrace;
I’m hopeless as a runner now,
I shouldn’t try to race.

But in the laughing crowd he searched,
And found his father’s face,
That steady look that said again,
Get up and win the race.

So up he jumped to try again,
Ten yards behind the last;
If I’m going to gain those yard,
I’ve gotta move real fast.

Exerting everything he had,
He regained eight or ten;
But trying so hard to catch the lead
He slipped and fell again.

Defeat: He lay there silently,
A tear dropped from his eye;
There’s no sense in running anymore
Three strikes I’m out, why try.

The will to rise had disappeared
All hope had fled away;
So far behind, so error prone
I’ll never go all the way.

I’ve lost... so what’s the use he thought,
I’ll live with my disgrace;
But then he thought about his dad
Who soon he’d have to face.

Get up -- an echo sounded low,
Get up and take your place;
You were not meant for failure here,
Get up and win the race.

With borrowed will, get up, it said,
You haven’t lost it all;
For winning is no more than this,
To rise each time you fall.

So up he rose to run once more,
And a new commit;
He resolved that win or lose the race,
At least he wouldn’t quit.

Three times he’d fallen, stumbling,
Three times he rose again;
Now he gave it all he had,
And ran as though to win.

They cheered the winning runner
As he crossed the line first place;
Head high and proud and happy,
No falling, no disgrace.

But when the fallen youngster
Crossed the line last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer
For finishing the race.

And even though he came in last
With head bowed low unproud,
You would have thought he won the race
To listen to the crowd.

And to his dad, he sadly said,
I didn’t do so well;
To me you won, his father said,
you rose each time you fell.

For all of life is like that race
With ups and downs and all,
And all you have to do to win
Is rise each time you fall

There are some things I don't understand, and sometimes I am stubborn and proud and sometimes I get caught up on little things. I've learned a lot in the past year. Mostly though, I've learned from my best friends who knew this lesson long before I did. They have inspired me.

This is what I've learned
<3

Summertime..

... and the livin is easy... kind of... ok. not so much, but I'm having fun anyways!!!

So I'm taking a TON of credits and basically working myself to the point of insanity doing my "fast track" semester to get ready for my internship this fall. But here are a few things I've done this summer to make it still wonderful and fun :)

1. Trip to Northern California :)

Jeff's roommate got married a few weeks ago so he was going home for the weekend so I got to go too!!! It was so fun to see what Northern California looked like and meet his wonderful family and have so much fun :)
Highlights.
the drive. yes. 12 + hours talking and laughing and listening to "The Host" on CD, and stopping at truck stops... sooo fun! Who would have thought such a long drive could be so fun?


San Francisco. Jeff lives super close to the city and we went down and spent a few hours being touristy. I took lots of pictures, we went to Pier 39, watched street performers, watched some sea lions battle it out for some room on the dock, shared a sundae at Gheradelli Square, went down Lombard Street and walked down this cute little beach... I forgot the name of. But it was super cute. :)

Oakland Temple. On the Saturday we were there, we got to go up to the temple and see Josiah (Jeff's roommate) get married in the Oakland temple. It was so pretty. It sits up on a hill overlooking San Francisco and it is just gorgeous. Also, it has this cool walkway on the temple with gardens and beautiful sculptures protruding from the walls of the temple. Jeff and I walked up there between him being in all the pictures and it was so pretty! I loved it.

Jeff's family. I don't have any pictures with them, but they were wonderful! They let me stay in their beautiful home and they made me feel so welcome and comfortable the whole time I was there. I've heard so much about them and it was so nice to finally get to meet them and find out where Jeff got all his wonderful characteristics from :)

And thus concluded California trip with Jeff. <3

2. Dinosaur Museum.

Ya, it may seem random to you, but I bet you didn't even know that Utah is famous for having a lot of dinosaur bones! It's true. I saw a lot of them. And took some funny pictures with my roommates.

There were giant dinosaur heads, footprints, and I even got to shake the hand of one of these huge piles of bones! I would recommend this museum to anyone! loved it. and it was free so who would complain!?

So... all in all, I'm liking this summertime business :)

Angry or a Little Confused?

So the other day I was minding my own business...
driving down the freeway...
(I was in a super great mood cause I was on my way to pick up Jeff from the airport after his week and 2 day long excursion to Mexico. Yes, he is MUCH tanner than I am right now. sad.)

So I'm driving along, listening to "Hey Soul Sister"- another new favorite- when some expensive car behind me starts tailing me.
not okay
I didn't even get angry cause I was so happy thinking of my cute boy at the airport.
I simply tapped on my breaks enough so my lights went on so the expensive car man would stop
He didn't. He got closer
ps. the whole lane next to us was COMPLETELY open...
I didn't like this. It was seriously killing my happy vibe.
I looked in the mirror at him and shrugged my shoulders a little like "Why are you doing this?"
He motioned for me to get into the lane to the right.
So I put on my blinker. No worries. I go to move over...
And he floors his gas pedal and gets into the lane I was about to move into!!
Really buddy? Necessary?
I look over to catch a glimpse of this character...
and he threw a TOMATO at my car!
my poor poor Pooter (name of my car) is now smeared and dirty.

First thought.
Who throws tomatoes at people on the freeway?
Next thought.
Who has a tomato to throw?

I don't know if I should be angry or a little confused...
maybe he has bigger issues - carrying around tomatoes in case he gets angry

Is it weird that I love this?

The Man I want to be - Chris Young (I put Chris Brown when I first typed it. false.)
ps. I recommend fast forwarding the first minute...its just kinda boring. Also, Listen more than watch. Hey, you could do something else while you listen. Don't even look at it. haha I don't know how to just put a sound clip in so I put in the video, but I'm not the biggest fan.



Reasons I love this soooo much
1.This is good country. Listen to his voice! O man, I love it.
2.I seriously cry every time I hear this song. Call me emotional, but I just love the lyrics. Obviously, I'm not a man haha but isn't that just the goal? I want to be the best person I can be.

I'll love Provo in the Fall....

I, Alissa Pitt, or maybe I should say Miss Pitt, will be a 2nd grade teacher this Fall!! For the 2010-2011 school year, I will have 23 second graders all to myself! I'm so so excited I cannot even tell you. Let me tell you why.

1. Second graders are sooo funny. This month while I was in another 2nd grade classroom, I had a little boy come up to me... this is how the conversation went.

boy: Miss Pitt, have you ever seen a real toad? (He was writing a report on toads)
me: No, I haven't, but I'm sure if you wanted to see a real one, they have some at the pet shop.
boy: umm... sooo...after school, how about you and me go see those toads?
hahahahahaha needless to say, I had to decline, but I was honored to possibly be the first girl he asked out haha



2. Second graders are the sweetest. Example number two... There was a little girl in my class who, every day without fail, commented on how much she loved my outfits.

... Miss Pitt, that is such a cute shirt... Miss Pitt, I love your shoes today... Miss Pitt, your hair is so pretty. I like when it's curled... Miss Pitt, where did you get your necklace?...
haha mostly, I need to carry her around in my pocket in case I need a confidence boost haha



3.Second graders write the nicest notes.One I got from a girl in my class:

Dear Miss Pitt, you are a very nice teather and you are pretty. I thick you are gun be a great mom and teather. I thick you very very friendly. Your friend.

I am so excited for a class of my very own!!
<3

My Hill

I think everyone should have a spot. Mine happens to be on BYU campus.
It is a hill.
and I love it.

My hill is behind the McKay building and its kind of hidden.
It's a little steep, but not too bad. I can walk up it without getting too out of breath
but when I walk down it, I have to kind of lope down it... kind of skipping...
I might look weird. but I feel like I look happy.
I love looking and feeling happy.

Today I noticed a sign.
No bike riding down my hill.
$50 fine.
Mostly I really like that sign. why?
No bikers will run me over while I'm enjoying my hill.
I love that.

Another notice today..
I found a bird nest in one of the trees.
I feel like spring is coming.
and I love it.

That is my hill.
You can walk on it too if you want. Its a beautiful hill.
you can love it too

<3

life. and everything that goes with it.

Whew.
snapshots of life this week.

monday.
skipped all my classes for the day to figure out what needed to happen to get my roommate and best friend Marissa well again.

tuesday.
grocery shopped, cleaned my room, went to school and work, then country dancing (so amazing. i loved it! There were tons of people there 60+ and lots of way good dancers) That evening, like most tuesday evenings, I stayed up waaay to late getting homework done.... maybe because I procrastinated... or maybe because my teachers think I have a ton of time and frankly I don't agree.

wednesday.
Marissa went to get a procedure done and I got a phone call during my Teaching Literacy class saying she would be hospitalized for the next week :( I finished the last few minutes of that class, then went to inform the professor of my next class I would not be there today. needless to say, i don't like him anymore, I shed a few tears and he didn't understand why I would prioritize my dying (ok, thats totally exaggerating) roommate above Children's Literature. Who would have thought? ugh. makes me mad just remembering...

also, I get a text that Kelli is having her baby!!! Luckily in the same hospital as Marissa!! Perfect.
Jeff and I run down to the hospital and visit Marissa for awhile, then he came down with me and met my mom (he shook her hand and was very gentlemanly and it was super cute <3>

thursday.
visited the hospital girls this morning, got to hold connor andrew yorgason, ya. he's sooo cute!
he's like a baby model! Look at that! so precious. <3

went to class, then work and just finished 2 - 3page papers in an hour.
I do have to go home to an empty room though. It may seem ridiculous, but I've roomed with Marissa for over a year... sleeping in my room by myself is quite sad. Maybe I'll pull my mattress into one of my other roommates' rooms....

tomorrow will be friday which means the weekend and hanging out with my family and Jeff and sleeping more and relaxing for 2 days! It's been an INSANE week, but I think it will all be ok in the end. In fact, I know it will be. It always is :)

next weekend. CALIFORNIA TRIP!!!

Cultural Diorama

This is for my Multicultural Education Class. These "artifacts" from my life tell a little about me as a person and the culture of my life.

My Label.

Happy Little White Girl from Huntington Beach, California

Artifact 1: A Penny

As a child, I remember a large coin jar in my parents room. It sat under their desk until it was needed. Whenever I wanted to buy lunch at school or needed some quarters for the ice cream man, the money would come out of that huge coin jar. You see, my family didn't have a ton of money growing up, but these pennies and quarters were for us kids to get treated sometimes. I did not know it at the time, but my parents sacrificed so much for me. A penny doesn't seem like much to some people, but I have learned from many pennies in that coin jar, about self control and sacrifice. I hope that those lessons are ones I will retain my whole life and will teach to my children one day.

Artifact 2: A deck of cards

All growing up, and to this day, the card game NERTZ has been a family favorite. This fast paced, competitive, crazy game was a family tradition. I remember playing with my cousins and grandparents and now I live at college away from my family, but my roommates and I have NERTZ nights every Sunday night and we've met so many friends through these game nights. Besides being a tradition and a loved game in my family, I think NERTZ shows true colors. Some would call me a quiet, easy going girl... but when NERTZ gets going, I get loud and competitive and I love it. These little hand held cards get me out of my box and allow me to be a little crazy for the hour or so the game lasts.

Artifact 3: Journal

I write in my journal almost everyday. I love it. It's like free therapy. I can write whatever I want, for as long as I want. My journal is a collage of movie stubs, notes I want to keep, pictures from my neice, to wrappers of the amazing English Chocolate I got to try. It is me. I write in my journal for myself, for my posterity, or sometimes I imagine that someone in the distant future will find it and discover a culture of my life they had never thought of before. I believe in keeping a record of my adventures and life happeneings. I believe in leaving something behind me when I go. This is how I do it. This is my way of being selfish as I keep these thoughts to myself, but generous as I donate my journal to the future archeologists of my room.

These things are just little pieces of me. My cultural diorama attempting to encompass my life and culture in 3 short paragraphs. I hope you enjoyed yourself. I know did trying to to think of things.

peace and love
<3