"DJ takes up Prostitution...

a Very Special Full House... I mean Friday Fave Fives!

e-Missions: Moon, Mars, and Beyond, (the WannaBe Space Camp) Highlights!

1. Best Resource: STELLARIUM. Available for FREE at http://www.stellarium.org/ for download it is really fun and the kids love making the ground disappear, zooming in on planets, and making the PICTURES of the constellations appear over the constellations themselves. You can do a TON with it if you are willing to explore the hot keys.

I HIGHLY recommend it.



2. Best Book: Next Stop Neptune: Experiencing the Solar System by Alvin and Steve Jenkins. Well, my favorite illustrations anyway. I liked the collage-style, especially the cloudy stuff. Awesome.



3. Best way to teach graphing: Draw a Shuttle.


4. Best hands on way to understand the size of the Solar System:
Marking receipt paper with scaled distance. One half did Astronomical Unit equaling one centimeter. But another we did AU equaling a METER... and look how far it stretched!

5. BUT THE VERY BEST PART OF THE DAY CAMP:

It is over and it is the LAST day camp of the summer!!!!!!!!

However, some other, ummm, honorable mentions and basically random stuff from camp.

* glue sticks, scissors, and a lot of patience... build a shuttle that FLIES! (It's a pdf)

* a cool NON-flying paper model shuttle (the other models are awesome too, if you like those things!)

* A TON of logic puzzles like this:

Outer Space Circus Sideshows
by Randall L. Whipkey

Last Tuesday when the Outer Space Circus came to town for a performance, Bobby and Teddy thrilled at the Midway with its panorama of exotic sideshows featuring beings from across the Milky Way. The boys paid to see five sideshow performers, including the Head, a being with no body. Can you find the order during the day in which Bobby and Teddy saw the five outlandish acts: the name (one is No Wa Ben) and home world (one is from PsiReef) of each geek and what makes each Outer Space Circus sideshow material?

1. Bobby and Teddy saw Ji-Dome earlier in the day than the being from the planet New Oz; they saw the New Oz alien earlier than they enjoyed the perplexed look on the Teleprobe's face as he read their minds.
2. Immediately after visiting the tent where they were in awe of the Transparent Man, a creature whose internal body parts are visible through a totally clear skin, the boys took in the native of Ilegate.
3. Bobby and Teddy were wowed by the Walking Stick, a 13-foot alien also billed as the Tallest Being in the Galaxy, right before they saw the Incredible Kreskeno's act.
4. The boys saw TuPaK immediately after paying to see the native of the planet Andromeda-77 but earlier in the day than they saw the Sheebang Charmer, who works with the Milky Way's deadliest serpents.
5. The being whose sideshow they saw 2nd isn't Azaliana.
6. The tents of Kreskeno and the sideshow geek from New Oz were next to each other on the Midway.
7. Ji-Dome, who isn't the Sheebang Charmer, and the native of Andromeda-77 require special breathing chambers to live on Earth.
8. TuPaK was Bobby's favorite sideshow entertainer; the being from planet Qrptn was Teddy's.

(Answer)

* a little rocket Tangram. (another pdf, just fyi)

* hot dog shuttle. Eww. Hot Dogs. But cute?

* hilarious kids. Because, well, they just ARE.


You'll notice I am only talking about the good stuff. That is on purpose. This was a rather hellish week. And I would rather just FORGET some of it, you know?

Yeah, even though I love the SUBJECT, just bad... timing. Emotionally.

Anyway it was the last day today. And the last day camp of the summer. WOO HOO!

So, between field trips and after school classes, my next big project will be to do for the Children's Garden what I was doing for the Dinosaur Museum. Basically make up field trip curriculum that follow state standards. So that's where my job is headed temporarily (like, till winter. (When I will definitely NOT be moving to California...))Well, that and I may go back to substitute teaching if it doesn't give me enough hours, but I am not that worried about it right now... I am a "part-time" employee who RARELY goes home before 7 at present. So, yeah, I am not worried about hours yet. I *will* be... but right now I NEED less. Because I can't really handle things right now.

Last night I set up my Padre's tank for my little boy Tortuga and he LOVES it! It is only temporary (I am BORROWING it... he gets it back for fish when they move. And so I will keep looking for a big tank) but needed and he looks SO much happier already! He LOVES more room to swim. It makes me happy to see HIM happy. He's a good little turtle.

Exits Suzy, Enters [fill-in-the-blank?]

Holy cow today has been SO FRICKIN LONG!

I got up at 8, went to work, which then ENDED at 8 pm, ran errands and just got home in time before The Roomie went to bed so I could see our newest member of the household (because, you know, Suzy has been gone all of a DAY and really, the house feels emptier!) a WOUNDED BABY STARLING she found in the road! Okay, and sis you know they can learn to TALK? I had heard that, but nobody told me they sound like creepy whispering ghosts!!! Anyway, if the bird is not TOO hurt she doesn't plan to keep it in captivity long enough to teach it to say "Good morning, Liverlips!" or anything, but we will see how well it heals.

Anyway, the reason today was so long was it was ROBOTICS CAMP TRAINING! We learn how to teach THIS (and look how expensive our equipment is! YIKES. I am afraid to BREATH wrong on it!) to start with. But look how awesome me and the 2 little volunteer 4-H girls did making our bottom feeder?! (the lady behind us so did not help. She was their leader, but I swear just DROVE. But whatever, BE in our picture, lady.) Oh, and CC and Cupcake, they are from Weber County 4H, just FYI. We were SO proud of ourselves it was ridiculous, but it was seriously tough! So neener neener!

But I still feel wofully unprepared for teaching the whole CAMP Monday.

For now, just pretending that's years away and focusing on happy things. Like the fact that even though I have a cold still, I am feeling MUCH better thanks to prayers and correctly prescribed antibiotics. YAY!

Also, tomorrow is THE TRIP. I am actually sort of panicking about that but trying not to. Especially since it is just your basic I-Hate-Packing-I-Know-I-am-Forgetting-Something panic not a relationshipitory panic. REALLY trying to ignore those. Tonight my mom on the phone said either "try to come back engaged!" or "try not to come back engaged!" and I HONESTLY don't know which it was and that kind of bugs me, not that it matters as I answered the same "umm... NOT ALLOWED yet." and sort of laughing with out really laughing. Yeah, I THINK we have talked enough about this that he knows that if he officially asks me I won't say yes yet, because we have talked ABOUT it a lot and I really really think we need more FACE time, you know? And I don't mean just kissing. I just mean, I really want us to be living in the same state before we get any more serious than we already are.

I would also like to be more financially independent first, have a better handle on my health, be Flying a little better, etc. But even if not, well, yeah... SAME STATE. This is as Long Distance as I am willing to do right now and it is frustrating as is.

And I just need to be sure about a few more things. Not even about HIM. HE is great. Just... about myself. It's just a me thing I need to conquer. Aside from the boy, who is pretty perfect, I know. It really is JUST ME.

(So, I don't know what Mom even SAID, but DON'T expect me to come home wearing a ring or anything.)

Anyway, I feel like I am not ready for the trip either. Well, I am NOT but it seems like EVERYTHING has to be a last minute, on my way out thing. That scares me. Plus I feel like I am forgetting stuff, though I don't know WHAT and have to remind myself that I have a HOTEL and they can provide me with, like towels and stuff and probably stuff I forget. Or I can go to a store. It's Fresno, CA... not the Amazon. But trips always make me nervous.

At least I know my babies will be well taken care of. The Roomie is on top of that. But maybe I should cut up fruit so she doesn't have to. I dunno. I just want it to be easy because it is a nice favor.

I really DO like to fly. It is just taking trips and packing that makes me anxious. The FLYING part is cool. It is the Lay Overs, the baggage, the 6 dollar cans of soda in the airport that give me stress. Also I don't think my cell works there. I am rather sickeningly attached to HAVING a phone even when I don't ANSWER it. However I made dang sure that my room had WiFi. Because that is one addiction that I don't intend to quit just because I leave my house.

Though I do wish I could bring my sugar gliders too. Just HAVING them with me makes me feel better. (I *have* taken them with me to Vegas... to Temple Square... to Zion's Park... yes, I am a dork) But stupid California has them ILLEGAL. In Hawaii I LOVED it there but had nightmares about things happening to my babies almost nightly. But this time I have to keep remembering that they are just at HOME, not at a kennel, and that The Roomie is a SUPERB animal person. But still... I rarely leave them over night. Like, almost never. More for MY sake than theirs at times, but they bark and stuff... I just... yeah. They are my babies. I can hardly remember life before them and can't imagine life without them in the future. I am, like, a miniature, Australian version of a crazy cat lady.

Anyway, I may pack a LITTLE more, but I should FEED my aforementioned fuzzbutts, take pills and go to bed and finish packing in the morning. And the next time I write I should be in CALIFORNIA!

Very Funny, Peter.

Rinny sent me these. I don't know if any are fake, or what ages some are, but what I do know is they look A LOT like some of MY math papers growing up. Only my teachers never thought they were funny.

Apparently, had I been born a little later in the internet age I would have been famously funny (instead of famous for owning rubber duckies.)... instead, they just sent me to "Resource"... a lot. Not because I was dumb, just because I would doodle and get bored and not focus, etc. (Aaaaand NOW they are diagnosing me ADHD. Whatever.)

Anyway, FREAKING. HILARIOUS....



I especially like the part about "aesthetically pleasing." Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!



Mali, I think Liz or April must have done this as a kid. (my friends from the old ward)



I don't understand the comment from the teacher, but this just makes me think of The Office.



Honestly, I swear this is straight from my papers. In high school. Possibly college. I had to be remedial... SHADDUP.



If I was the teacher I WOULD.




This is NOT like me. Why? Because my little math man would have hung himself SEVERAL lines ago! GEEZ! How do math-y people do that kind of stuff? Like numbers just seem... so... INTERCHANGEABLE to me. I know they AREN'T. But they SEEM that way.

Anyway, I LOVE the last kid best.



Seriously... AWESOME. Peter, whoever he is, is adorable.

BoyKid is and was VERY good at math. He passed me up in math skills by the time he was in 3rd grade or so. He just DOES numbers in his head REALLY fast and just GETS stuff. But he also does not listen if he doesn't want to. So once in kindergarten his accelerated math class was doing Lesser and Greater numbers with the symbols. Only he only listened to the fact that <> meant greater than, etc, but not what greater meant.

He KNEW what less meant... so you would think he would figure it out IN CONTEXT. But instead, each time they asked Less Than he would tell the smaller number.

Each time they asked Greater Than he would write a long explanation of why than number was BETTER. I remember he said "5 is greater than 7 because we have 5 people in our family." And that "8 is greater than 6 because 6 is when you get baptized."

Anyway, my baby bro may not have been immortalized on the internet with those gems, but his teacher did use them as an example of how smart he was if he would LISTEN, and my mom put them in a memory box somewhere.

Speaking of adorable boys, holy crap, Fresno is. Because my phone has been out of commission all day (and I got NOTHING fun... NOTHING. Just a working phone of exactly the sameness. Oh well. Working is better than broken.) till just a couple hours ago and then I listened to my messages which were all (but one) HIM and all of them cute and silly. And then he answered some survey I had sent him a long time ago(because he asks for them) and he even answered THAT cute and just silly and dumb and funny.

For instance...

9. Loved someone so much it made you cry. YES. I felt like Romeo losing my Juliet. I didn't know at the time that there are more Juliets out in this great big world.

19. Favourite fast food restaurant? Kneader's just cuz BethAnn I miss you!

23. What do you do when you are bored? I practice Zoolander faces in the mirror with an occasional "I'm so hot!" ... funny, but all the faces seem to look the same. I am getting better at it though!

Yeah. I miss him.

Aaaaaand now I should really just up and go to bed as it is, oh, 3 AM. That was DUMB of me to finish a movie (I was watching Dodgeball) GOOD NIGHT!