Catch Up

So I haven't blogged since September. I'm a slacker. So here's the readers digest version.

1. Got a calling in church. I'm one of the ward organists. I love Sunday callings.

2. I went sky diving. Yes, sky diving. Falling 120 miles per hour--AMAZING!

3. School is crazy, but it's better than being bored with my job.

4. Halloween! I was Kat Von D. Smokin' hot if I say so myself. Ha ha!

5. I love spending time with my sister! Favorite night this last few months was the night when we went to the store and bought whatever we wanted and ate it all for dinner. Bacon, cinnamon rolls, garlic bread, lemondade/pepsi, apples and dip. Sounds gross but was delicious!

6. I caught up with an old friend that I haven't seen in 7 years! It was really nice!

Following the leader

So I decided to take my good friend Blake's advice and write myself an encouragement letter. I'm hoping it inspires some of you to do the same; it seems to be quite insightful. Here it goes:

Dear McKenzie Rae:

Congratulations! You have made some great strides this last month. You started back to school and didn't cry for a whole two weeks! You're eating more fruits and veggies and trying to cut out the sweets. Way to go on deciding to go sky diving and inviting a cute boy to go with you to boot!

For the next month, get back into the exercising mode. You loved doing that this summer and although school is crazy, take some time for you. Get involved in your ward and try to be friendly. Also, READ YOUR SCRIPTURES EVERY DAY!! No excuses. Cut back on the TV.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Take everything one day at a time and rejoice in the good moments. Laugh. A lot. Don't forget to email grandma & grandpa to tell them how much you love them and send them pictures! Save your money for Cambodia and New Zealand.

Keep thinking about grad school. Make some plans but don't be afraid to change them. Never pass up an opportunity.

Text Morgan funny quotes and Blake horrible fashion mistakes and always call your mom with the funny things your students say.
Love, me.

My Five

So my family has this quirk. We each have a list. This list contains five people that we can abandon all morals for. Inappropriate, maybe. Hillarious, yes. I was talking to my sister last night, discussing our "five," and I thought, I should share this. It's funny, it's odd, it reveals a lot about me. So here it is:

The first man on my list will ALWAYS be number one. While others may float in and out of the rankings, Michael Vartan will always hold me in his grasp. No questions. Want to know why?

Yum. I'm thinking about becoming a Mets fan just because of this picture.

Man number two, Jensen Ackles. Supernatural is a great show because of his smokin' bod and great wit. He makes my heart burn. And no, it's not indegestion.David Boreanaz is beautiful. I watch Bones reruns just to watch him. I'll admit, I've even watched a few episodes of 'Angel' just to stare at him.

Next: Cory Monteith. So hot. Amazing voice. Great story.

And last but not least, Joel McHale. He's hilarious and he's sexy. If you haven't seen Community, you should watch it. The Soup is also a personal fav.

That's it. Those are the men I am enamored with. Infatuation doesn't even describe it. So now I ask you, who are your five?

It got better.

Yesterday got better. For me. My awful luck spread to my sister. Her car ran out of gas...at a four way stop.

My Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

I'm challenging Alexander for his terrible horrible no good very bad day. Here it is:

1-Woke up late for Zumba. So I rushed around the house like a mad woman brushing my teeth while washing my face and slipping my gym clothes on.
2-As I'm rushing out the door I can't find my keys. I know there around somewhere but I don't have time to scour my house for them. So I grabbed my spare set from my secret hiding place and run out the door.
3-I arrive at Zumba only slightly behind and proceed to jump in to the first dance. Halfway through I trip. Over myself. Because I am not coordinated. It doesn't help that there are mirrors in the room so I'm sure everyone saw me. But I suck it up and keep going.
4-I run home so I can get showered and finish up some things for a meeting I have with the district director of special education. I grab my keys and while proceeding to open my door I realize that my spare set of car keys doesn't have my house key. Great. Hopefully I was in such a rush I didn't lock my door. No such luck. It's locked. This reminds me I need to work on my B&E skills.
5-I reach into my purse to call my sister who has my spare house key. Oh, wait for it....NO PHONE! It's in the house. With my house key.
6-I drive up to campus to see if my sister is home. She's not. I drive to the Lundstrom center and find her car. But she's in a massive meeting and I can't see her through the crowd of people. And I'm not about to walk in and search for her as I look like a sweaty and red from embarassment and lack of oxygen. So I wait. For 20 minutes. I decided to leave a note on her car which read:
HELP! I'm locked out of my apartment. Please come rescue me. I'll be camped out at home. Love your stupid sister.
7-I figure her meeting will be going for a little while so I head to the library to pick up the books I have on hold. I'm too late, they've returned most of them to the shelves or given them to other people. This is just the icing on the cake. I try to hold in my tears as I search for some new books. And as I do I run into someone who was roommates with my ex and didn't like me much. Great. He sees me all nasty. I know this doesn't seem like a big deal, but it rubs me wrong all the same.
8-I find some books and head home. It's too cold from all the darn rain to sit out and read so I sit in my car. For 2 hours. And I'm starving. I wanted to go ask my neighbors to borrow their phone, but one set was out and the other apartment houses an oriental woman who avoids me at all costs and has not spoken to me since I moved in over a year ago.
9-Finally my neighbors came home, and gratefully my sister picked up when I called her. I picked up my keys and got into the house.

My day sucked. All before 1:00. If it doesn't get better, I'm not getting up tomorrow.

Shark Week

Discovery channel has a drug called Shark Week. You sit down thinking that you'll watch for a few minutes and the next thing you know, the couch is molded to your body and your eyes are flitting back and forth watching out for sharks. And it's not just for one day...but a whole week- hence the name Shark Week. I love it.

There are some very odd facts that are presented in shark week. It never hurts to soak up useless information or watch insane people. Here are some of my responses to the interesting information and exhibits of ridiculousness I have observed.

-- "There have been 125 documented unprovoked attacks [in this area]. There have also been 78 provoked attacks. I'm going to provoke the bull sharks and see what happens." Seriously- why would anyone provoke a shark? Let's get some chopped tuna and wave it around in front of me while I'm NOT in a cage just to see what happens. Smart. No wonder you're a marine biologist that is on TV, you couldn't get a respectable job anywhere.
-- Bull sharks have a testosterone level of 900. The average male has a testosterone level of 40. Men, let the envy begin.
-- Flapping your feet like a seal is never a good move. Especially in murky water. You don't have to be a genius to figure that out.
-- "I decided to go for a sunset swim by myself." When you hear that on a shark-week show, you know what's coming.


However, the survival stories are amazing. And most of the people are eager to get back in the water once they've healed. I'm enthralled by the awesome power of these animals. Great Whites are like rockets that can hit you with a two-ton force. Some sharks can even lower the salt water levels in their bodies to migrate to different waters. Although I'm not eager to jump in the water where sharks are known to hang out, I'm happy to watch their majesty from the comfort of my own home.

Beware of Cardboard

Enough said...well, shown.

Seattle

Seattle was great...long...but great. I was able to go to the Summer Institute at Morningside Academy, a lab school started by Kent Johnson. While I didn't spend much time in the school in the first week, I was able to work in a classroom the second week. With my group of fellow teachers, we were able to visit Pike Place Market, go up the Space Needle and some of us went to Victoria, British Columbia for a side trip! Here are some pics of the trip. Getting ready to eat at the Crab Pot

This lady drew the Mona Lisa with CHALK!

Hanging out in China Town in Victoria, BC. We took a pedicab tour!

Feeding a peacock! They love peanuts.

You get 15 seconds to laugh...

So I went to the Eclipse premier with Janalyn and some of her other girlfriends. I have to admit it was really fun! Janalyn's friend rented out the ENTIRE theatre! And she had a party beforehand! You get 15 seconds to laugh at my silliness of going to the midnight showing.

We went to the Beehive Grill for some dinner before heading to the party where we got our pics taken with...

It was fun to be a silly girl for a night!

Also, this last weekend my family went to Miller Motor Sports Park. My brother works there so we get a deal! We had fun hanging out with the family and watching trucks flip around.

However, I do have a question...what is the deal with the oversized beer cans? Don't they come in regular sizes anymore? I was enthralled with the culture at the races, and a big part was the beer. My sister was really angry at the guys speeding around on their golf carts with their many oversized cans. I thought it was interesting how everything in our culture is getting bigger and bigger. Soon people will be carrying around gallon-sized beer cans and no one will bat an eye.

Running from Justice

So there used to be a show on Fox called Prison Break. When I had my wisdom teeth removed, we rented the first season to keep me occupied and I was hooked! I watched the following seasons with a ferver only fellow fans could appreciate. Alas, the show is no longer on television, but Netflix has made my dreams come true by putting the seasons online for me to watch to my hearts content.

However, there is one drawback to my refound love. Whenever I hear sirens, I feel as if I am a fugitive running away from the law. When I'm driving at night, I'm consistently looking over my shoulder to see if a black SUV is following too closely. I'm determined to make my way to Panama where I can live with my family free of worry. My heart races when the doorbell rings and I'm constantly thinking what my next move will be. Then I realize...




McKenzie, you live in Logan. You teach special ed and have never committed a crime short of a traffic violation. Calm down. But it's these bad boys that make me rush for my computer to watch the next episode and when you look at them, I'm sure you'll start acting foolish, just like me.

Carnival Night

So every Wednesday a group of us meet together for a 'themed' dinner. We've done Mexican, Crepe-night, and tonight was CARNIVAL NIGHT! My cotton-candy machine inspired the theme and we had a ton of fun. We had hot dogs, soft pretzals, popcorn, balloons, nachos, raspberry lemonade, cotton candy, and churros. It was delicious!

And, to top it all off, a girl taught us how to breathe fire! Here is a clip of me breathing just a little bit of fire. But I'm determined to get better at it!

Trying to stay busy.

I'm trying to stay busy! Here are a few photos of what I have been up to lately.

My surprise birthday cake at David and his roommates BBQ.

I sewed a pillow for a girl in my ward.

My family came up for my birthday. We used my cotton-candy machine my parent's bought me.

My cousin stayed the weekend with me and we sewed her an apron!

My cousin, Jordan, got married! This is my family at the temple and he and his beautiful bride.

I also started my micropigmentology training! I've been practicing away and I start applying on models next week. Institute starts and I'm glad to start getting busy!

How cute is this?

So I've decided to become better at sewing this summer. Look what I made!

Cute huh?

Why, oh why?

So I'm determined to get in shape. I don't have much else to do this summer, so I'm trying to hit the gym daily and eat healthier. It's true that teachers have the worst eating habits; andI'm trying to change my patterns now while I have time so hopefully the habit will continue come fall.

As I've been at the gym more often than usual, I've discovered something that distrubs me. Boys. If you could answer this question for me, I'd be extremely grateful. Why do you find it necessary to wear skater shoes, Vans or anything besides athletic shoes to the gym. There is no way that those shoes provide any type of support as you are running on the treadmill, grunting under huge weights or strutting through the gym. It it too much to put on a pair of Nike's? I promise, no one will think of you any less of a 'home-boy' or a bad-A. Please, someone, end my confusion and tell me why, oh why, boys are determined to work out in untied shoes.

School's Out for Summer!

I cannot believe it! School is out! Today was my last day and as I left the classroom I felt so weird. I was so glad everything was done for the year; anxious to start again next year; and sad that it's over at the same time. I can't believe it! I am no longer a first year teacher! Next year will be even better (the smart-board I'm getting is a nice perk too!)

Also, drum roll please...I'm starting my micropigmentology classes on the 9th whoo hoo! Check out my other blog to learn more about it if you haven't already!

I'm excited for the summer to start, to study for the GRE, take my classes, go to SEATTLE, and spend some time fishing and working on little projects.

Celebrate with me... School's Out for Summer!

Spring Break

So it has taken me ages to get my pics from spring break up, but here are some of them! Chelsea, Blake and I had a blast in Disneyland. It was so much fun to take someone who had never been before (Chelsea). The new Toy Story ride is AMAZING!!! It was definetely worth the wait. Blake and I went to Disneyland two years ago, and I hope I get to go in two years again! By then, the "Cars Land" will be open and so with "Ariel's Undersea Adventure" not to mention the cool water/laser/color show in California Adventure.

I love Disneyland! I truly think it's the happiest place in the world! No matter your race, religion, marital status or anything else, Disneyland makes you kind to everyone else who is there enjoying their time as much as you are. I think if everyone just took a trip to Disneyland once in a while, we've have a little less contention in our lives. And hey, if world leaders had a character breakfast with Mickey and the gang, maybe there would be a little less war.

Here is Tigger and I! We were so lucky to catch him!

Wearing silly ears! Blake was the only one who bought his though.

Enjoying some grub at the Blue Bayou (Pirates of the Carribean)

The chicken gumbo was amazing as was my blackened salmon. YUMMY

Another Blog

Check out my new blog for my new adventure! http://allmadeupbymckenzie.blogspot.com
I am beginning my journey toward learning how to do permanent cosmetics. Check my blog out for information about permanent cosmetics as well as how to sign up to be a model!

A random and yet hilarious train of thought...

So yesterday I was watching a little television in my room. A commercial came on for a pregnancy test claiming that 1 in 4 women misread a pregnancy test.

Thought #1: How can you misread a pregnancy test. One line not pregnant, two lines pregnant. If the lines are fuzzy then your test isn't accurate. It's not that you misread it, you can't read it. If you misread it, you must be blind. Which led to...

Thought #2: How DO blind women take pregnancy tests? Do they make auditory ones that say "Pregant" or "Not pregnant." Do you tell it beforehand whether you want to be pregnant or not so that the voice sounds chipper when you get what you want? Or do they make tests that vibrate once for not pregnant twice for pregnant--but no, that would me VERY messy. What about pregnancy tests in braille...again, messy.

While this may be a little politically incorrect...I thought it was a funny train of thought.

And if any of you can answer my question- Do they make pregancy tests for the visually impaired? Let me know!

Indian Food

So when I was in New Zealand I found a new favorite food--Butter Chicken! It's amazing! So I brought home some packets to make it and finally found some people brave enough to try my Indian cooking. It turned out really well! I made butter chicken, rice and Naan bread. I've never made Naan bread before but it tasted great! (It was a little thick, and I baked it a little too long, but it was edible and enjoyable!)

Before and after adding tomato paste water and sour cream.

My homemade Naan Bread! I added garlic---yummy!

Basking in the glory of my successful meal! I only have three chairs and there were four of us, so we truly Indian-styled it and sat around my coffee table cross-legged.

David contemplating my cooking. After eating I got a huge thumbs-up!

New Bathroom

So Janalyn and I finally got around to adding some color to my bathroom. We polka-dotted my walls with vinyl and added a fun quote by Jennifer Garner. It says "Beauty comes from a life well lived. If you've lived well, your smile lines are in the right places, and your frown lines aren't too bad."

My curtains aren't quite done yet, but you get the idea!

I also added some vinyl to my bedroom...

I just love making my home 'mine!'