Sappy Warm Fuzzies

Years ago I made these for my little campers and called them "Warm Fuzzies."

I can't remember if it was for BYU Sports Camps or church Girls Camp.

In any case, we made them for the girls and told them these little warm fuzzies would remind them of all the fun memories and "warm & fuzzy" moments they had during that week of camp.

I'm a huge sucker for sentimental sappy things.

I save a lot of crap.

I don't think of it as a "pack rat" kind of thing... but I just keep random things that most people would throw away.  Example:  fruit snack wrappers, gum wrappers, movie tickets, rocks, feathers, lint balls, tiny trinkets, etc.  If there is a sentimental memory behind it... I want it.

I had an awesome 2 days this week at a school counseling conference.

I volunteered for one of my graduate school professors and she let me attend the workshops for free.

AWESOME.

By the end of these 2 days I felt inspired, happy, and super excited about my future career.

As I was walking out to my car today, something in the grass caught my eye:

A little orange fuzzy pom pom ball!  Just chillin' there in the grass.

I kept walking... then stopped... turned around, and walked back to the pom pom.

I picked it up and rolled it around between my fingers.

I thought:

"Yes... I need to keep this."

But before I keep things like that I have to think of an official reason.

So I thought:

"This will remind me of these past 2 days and how awesome it will be to be a school counselor."

Done.

So now I have a happy orange pom pom ball in my car and it makes me happy.

And I am thankful for my little surprise in the grass. :)

eHarmony Good-bye

Well... I finally decided the $29.95 isn't worth it anymore.  I'm really grateful to have met David because we had such a fun time getting to know each other and it was proof to me that "online dating" isn't totally crazy and uncommon.  It was a fun process and even though it didn't work out, it was worth the lessons learned and personal growth.

Other than David,  there wasn't really anyone else worth pursuing... not even a little "graduation" to real life phone calls or anything.  And that's disappointing!  5 months of paying for a membership and really no one else to spark my interest... or at least someone who might at least respond to my efforts.  So now it's just become frustrating and dumb.  Days will go by without a match, or when they finally "find me a match," it's really no match at all.

So I'll save my $29.95 and feel good about that decision.

Quitting eHarmony officially cuts off all social connections to dating opportunities, since I've exhausted all my "Hey I want to set you up with someone" people in my life.  That is a little scary!  But since I'm already awkward with dating, maybe I'm more suited for "normal" social interactions in real life.  I can't remember the last time I met someone in person and was like, "Oooh, I want to flirt with him, he's cute."  That never happens.  Either I'm super-mega intimidated and nervous... or I just don't think about it.  And since I'm on my 2 yr plan to have dating success once I'm a school counselor... I won't worry about it for now.

I'm 32.

Soon I'll be 34.  Maybe 36.  Who knows.

But I'll still love orange, still love crap food, still act like a teenager, and still have freckles.

So there. :)

Dating Plan

So here's the truth:

I really don't have a plan.

I just figured I'd re-visit the topic of dating since I haven't mentioned it for quite a while.  I haven't been in touch with eHarmony David since that initial "this isn't working" phone call and a few lingering texts about a month ago, but maybe that is for the best.  At least for now.

So the world spins on and I continue to live a single and solitary life.  I am blessed to be surrounded by family members that I love, and an amazing roommate who listens to me chitter chatter about nothing.  Well, usually about anything related to the teens I associate with, but I'm sure she is sick of all that by now.  I sometimes think I need to diversify my life a little-- spend time with new people.  But I continue to move along, day after day, and fill my life with work, church, family, and roommate.  I rarely just "hang out with friends" because I really don't have a lot of that kind of free time.  But I am a happy little lady.

This is my dating plan!

When I become a real school counselor in 2-3 years, I will be working in a school setting with a variety of faculty, secretaries, and administrators.  There is bound to be SOMEONE in that future school of mine who will observe me and think, "Hmmm!  That "Miss Toone" is quite the active, fun, and friendly lady.  I wonder who I know that I could set her up with."  And then I will get to enjoy some rather awkward but maybe successful blind dates, and who knows where that will land me.

Or maybe I will be like the guidance counselor on "GLEE" who falls madly in love with the glee club teacher and they have their own little romantice adventure.  However, I would prefer not to live their story because it's rather dramatic and a little scandalous.  So scratch that idea.

My point is, though, I am not in any hurry.  Although my teens tell me differently and remind me that the clock is ticking and I'm getting old... I feel calm, comfortable, and satisfied with my life right now.  I can't force love, nor do I want to make all kinds of excuses and rationalizations to make it work.  It needs to at least feel right to put all that effort into it.  And I hope I feel that some day.

This is what I told my teen groupies:

"I love my life right now.  I really do.  I love my job.  I love where I live and who I live with.  I love my church family and church calling.  I love my real family.  I love my dog.  I am happy!  So it is going to take some amazingly awesome and fabulous man to make me want to leave all that I love right now.  If it is real love and someone who I truly care about and want to be with... what I leave behind won't be such a factor anymore because I will be so excited about what lies ahead."  

Awww... isn't that a happy thought?  :)

And that is basically the thought that remains in my heart and mind.  Whoever that future man is-- if he really exists-- is going to be pretty darn special.  And then all of you will say to him, "Wow.  You must be super amazing because Bree always said she wouldn't leave her happy life unless that man was absolutely the best thing that ever came into her life."  So cheers to that mystery man.

In the mean time... life is good and I'm super happy. :)

Fun Crafts! :)

Okay, so I won't claim to be all fancy and crafty myself.  But I wanted to give a shout out to some crafts my sister-in-law, Allison, has been working on.  I love how cute and creative she is!  :)  Check it out...

Custom-made Sock Puppet Family Members

She made everyone in my family a sock puppet last Christmas and I LOVE mine!  It's totally me. :)

Fabric Checkerboard Game

Fabric Play Money  

Enjoy!  Especially those of you who have little kidlets!

Playing the Drums

Here's some random added *FUN* to my life.  I'm playing the drums for a song in the middle school choir concert. Bahaha.  "Eye of the Tiger"... classic.  The choir is singing their own a capella version and one of the teens came to Club all frantically asking if I could be their drummer. Uhhh... sure?  I guess they just needed someone and this teen kind of volunteered me in class.

I don't know what kind of a drummer I am.  I mean, when I was in 8th grade it seemed like I stood out because I was a girl drummer, but I knew I wasn't super skilled or fantastic.  And I really hated drum solos and always got sooo nervous.  But now that I'm a "grown-up" just playing for fun... what a blast!  I sent the choir teacher this video just to let him know my skill level and to see if that would cut it for him:

I went to the school 2 or 3 days during the choir class period and I loved seeing a lot of the Club teens in the hallways.  "Bree!  What are you doing here?!"  "Playing the drums of course!"  And then they just get this confused look on their face--- huh?  It's super fun to walk through the halls and give shout-outs and high 5's and shoulder nudges to a bunch of kids.  I like having that kind of reputation... and it makes me look forward to being a school counselor, mingling with a variety of students all at once.

It's been fun to be so involved with the school and I've enjoyed playing the drums for this song in the concert.  Thursday was the "in school assembly" for the choir and I got to be a part of that.  It was funny to be up there and hear some of the teens screaming out my name from the crowd.  I loved playing and adding my own style, little drum fills, and eating up the opportunity to rock out.  :)

The real concert is Tuesday night (May 29th) and I'm really looking forward to it.

p.s.  The other day after the school concert, I had scheduled to interview one of the school counselors for my graduate class.  It was an awesome experience and made me all the more eager and excited to have that career one day.  I have a great relationship with that counselor and he said I'm perfect for this kind of thing.  He said, "Bree, you already have it" as far as what it takes to be a counselor.  He said I have that advantage, especially since I'm willing to go out there, get involved, and support the students in their interest.  It was a great experience and I love that aspect of my life.  My job and future career!

Here's a big cheer to playing the drums and livin' it up. :)

Sock Wars With My Dog

Consider this a tribute to my little dog, Sadie Skippee-doo, who is 3 years old today.  That's 21 in dog years but I think she's certainly still in her sassy teenage dog years.  She has a little mind of her own and definitely "speaks her mind" when something is not going her way.  

One of her favorite things to do is steal socks.

Every day.

Whether it's my room or Cassity's room... she'll grab a hold of a stray sock somewhere and dart out of the room and race around the apartment trying to show off her great prize.  She can dodge humans like no other so it's usually impossible to try to pin her down.

Sometimes she'll just lay there and entertain herself by tossing it in the air, catching it, pouncing it, shaking it, chewing it-- but not necessarily tearing holes-- just chewing and holding it in her mouth.

Sometimes she's a champion and steals more than one sock at a time.

This is her "Just try to catch me" stance and I pretend like I really want to get it from her and lunge towards her... but I just enjoy seeing her quick reflexes as she jumps back or to the side and takes off past me.

The all-seeing dog eyes guarding the hostage sock.

Finally she'll just relax and lay there closely next to the socks.  Sometimes, if I haven't immediately chased after her, she'll lay there and rest her chin on the sock, like, "C'mon... aren't you even going to TRY to get it from me?"  It's pretty darn cute.  Pretty much an every day routine.

Happy Birthday Sadie! :)

The Great Job Hunt!

Holy Cow.  I never thought going on a 2 hour job search with teens could be so entertaining.  I'd been planning to do this field trip for a few weeks-- ever since one of the teens expressed her eagerness to find a job but not having any luck.  It was like a little light bulb went on in my head and I thought, *ding*... I'll take them out and help them learn the routine of applying for jobs!

A few days ago I drove a big square route near many of the teens' neighborhoods in West Jordan.  Ideally I'd want to help them find a job where they don't need to ask their parents to give them a ride.  As I drove I took note of any place that seemed "teen friendly" as far as applying for jobs go. I jotted down about 20 places and typed them up in an organized fashion, according to location.  Before we left today I had each teen mark their top 3 places they'd want to apply, and then I compiled all their responses, made a "master list," and we were on our way!

The best part about these field trips is how cool I feel when I drive the bus.  HAHA.

I glory in opportunities to embarrass the teens or honk at them enthusiastically or be sure to "reverse" at just the right time when lots of people are around and the very noticeable *beep beep beep* is sounding as we back up.  They just roll with it and it's all part of being a member at the Boys & Girls Club.

I had 6 teens-- 5 girls and 1 boy.  Most were over age 16, some were not, and I had no idea what kind of success they were going to have.  I thought I would have to go in each place with them and show them how to do it.  But upon arriving to our first location (Leatherby's ice cream parlor), the one girl jumped out of her seat and said, "Okay, I'm going in!"  I asked if she needed me to come with her and she said, "Nope!"  Awesome.  This was even better than I thought it would be!  And that's basically how the next 2 hours went down.  They filed out of the bus in little groups and went in the stores that they found an interest in.  Sometimes as we were driving along, we would notice more places or a whole bunch in one little cluster so they'd all branch out and go in to different places at once.  

We were SUPER excited when one girl FINALLY came out carrying an application in hand. YEAH!!  Success!!  Granted, an application really doesn't mean much, considering the chances of actually getting a job there... but it's SOOO much better than coming back empty-handed!  There were actually quite a few places that gave them applications, and many places that either rejected them or told them to apply online.  I hate the whole online application process.  Who even looks at that stuff?  No one.  They'll never call you back.  But such is life... finding a job is hard!

Here are some of the businesses we visited today:

      

         

     

                          

                                              

                                  


                    

     

So here's the thing.  I knew many of these places probably wouldn't hire a 16 yr old kid.  But they were on fire and didn't even need me to talk them into going in-- they wanted to!  It reminded me of going tracting as a missionary and how it felt so scary and difficult those first few minutes.  After a few fun and positive conversations with people at the door-step it got easier and more enjoyable, and soon it was just a good experience overall!  I think that's how our job hunt was for a lot of these kids today.  The more places they went in, the higher the likelihood that someone would give them an application.

We laughed lots.  The kind where tears were rolling down my cheeks.

I told stories of some of my first jobs and the dumb things I said in my very first job interview:

"What is one of your weaknesses?" --> My response:  "Oh, I'm late all the time!"  The manager's response: "Oh, but you won't be late for this job now, will you."  My response:  "Oh of course not!"  Yeah, I didn't get that job.  Duh.  (Olive Garden, haha).

I hope they went home and told their parents of our productive and entertaining adventure.  Their parents need to know that I actually do helpful and responsible things for their kids some times, rather than just play and hang out all day.  I'm going to type up a little "report" of our findings from the job search and include tables and graphs based on what the teens found out.  It was a great experience and I hope the teens enjoyed it as much as I did. :)