We Welcome You, Springtime!

Winter quarter finished up and I landed with 3 A's and a B+! Barely better than last quarter, and I was hoping for all A's but I guess that's still good! I work so well under pressure (my procrastination problem). It's nice having a little break, however I was feeling ready and motivated for the next quarter and now that is wearing off already!

The sun is trying so hard to shine! We've had a few nice days. I'm ready for some consistency. April's the month! Hopefully we'll have some nice sunny days and get our yard going, and then...my family is coming for Easter! I am beyond thrilled! I already started thinking last month about where they would all sleep, what we're going to do, how they're going to react to our house, what I need to do before them so they will be so so impressed! It's basically all I think about...those few days they'll be here. They'll be the best days of this year thus far! My mom hasn't seen the house outside of pictures yet. My dad and brothers saw the inside before it was even ours so that will be fun. I'm not sure if Britt (and Mike?) are coming yet but she's never even been to Wenatchee! So that would make my life if they all came! Then, right when they leave, Lane and I will be headed to southern California for Dusty's wedding (his "bff")! We'll have to cram in seeing all my relatives into basically two days but it will be awesome!

...and then there's May: my dad's birthday, both of my brothers' birthdays, Lane's dad and brother's birthdays, Lane's birthday, Mother's day, (lots of friends' birthdays) and our anniversary. As long as the sun is shining I will be a happy Jannica.

As mentioned, we will be working in our yard and finishing some stuff before my family comes. I haven't updated our house blog in a while because they day we moved in the projects have basically stopped. My family is incentive for us to get going again (and we need to finish some inside before we start spending money outside)! So, there will soon be updates because Lane is working on our backsplash as we speak--or I type.

Can I get a "hoo-rah" for springtime?!

Teachers

Between school, recent experiences, and watching the film "Waiting For Superman," I have a lot of thoughts about being teacher. I have always wanted to be a teacher--ever since I was a kiddo playing school with my siblings or stuffed animals, fighting over being the teacher. I started this elementary education program and had some doubts about myself. I still have doubts sometimes because of my shyness and comfort zone. However, I know that I can be a great teacher. I LOVE children. I love being around them, I love watching them learn and grow, I love hearing what they have to say, I love hearing their life stories, I love watching them interact, I love helping them understand things, I love watching them help each other and build relationships. I don't know how a parent could not love their child and want what's best for them and for them to get a good education. It kills me to see kids fail and lose hope for themselves. I hurt for those who don't have the support, confidence, and hope that they can fulfill their dreams. Every child is capable of success, no matter how big or small. I cannot wait to have my own students, let alone my own children. I would like to thank those teachers who actually care about and love their students. I appreciate them and I love learning from them. I hope to soon be one that people appreciate. Good teachers love, care about, pray for, cry for, lose sleep over, plan for, spend endless hours for, doing everything they can for their students. I feel I am heading in that direction.

This... is addicting.

There's 1 week left of the quarter and I need to not be addicted to this. We started playing it at Brady and Leah's house, and we've only had it for 2 days. Being at work is what's prevented me from playing it. However, with my procrastination problem, I have pushed the limits and it has come to the point where I have to crack down. (Then I'll have a whole 2 weeks to get sick of the game!)

♥

Valentine's Day 2008: Lane surprised me and proposed in California (to read story go here http://jannicalarson.blogspot.com/2009_02_15_archive.html).

Valentine's Day 2009: You can also read there...We were living in Rexburg and spent the day together going to Idaho Falls and stuff.

Valentine's Day 2010: We went to HAWAII with my family!

Valentine's Day 2011: I woke up and got ready for school and found a cute little envelope from Lane with free facial coupon at a local spa. I honestly wasn't expecting anything so that was a nice start to my long day of school. I had a break after my first two classes so I came home and found these...

I was thoroughly surprised. The first flowers he bought me were when we were dating and both went to our homes for Thanksgiving. I went back to Rexburg, and he told me he was going to be there the day after but had me go to his apartment to get something...and surprise! He was there...with roses. The second time he bought me flowers was when I went home for Christmas 2009 and he stayed here in Wenatchee. I came home after 2 days of flight attempts/delays/cancellations to some beautiful roses.

...and this is the third time...

...and I was happy...

So I went back to class and brought some Dusty's burgers home with me and found a new candle lit with some glasses set out. He got out some Martinellis and we had a romantic, candle-lit Dusty's dinner.

...and I loved it...

I went into our room to put my sweats on and found a Reese's message on the bed, "I ♥ U". He has done this for me a couple times (that's my favorite candy). He has also bought me perfume a couple times for Valentine's Day, so I found a picture of one I've been wanting that said it's on its way. I've also been wanting long socks and he got me some nice ones. The best part was his cute card and the touching, sweet message in it. I truly have the best husband in the world, whether he buys me something for Valentine's Day or not. I regret to admit I did absolutely nothing for him. I guess I'll just have to start showing my love for him more every day instead of the day that St. Valentine was killed! I guess I had said something along the lines of him not being very romantic, so he felt the need to prove me wrong. Well he is romantic and I love him just the way he is. He's perfect for me.

(This is from Faith)

Other than bragging about my hubs, I'm bragging about this...

I'm sure you can't read it but...I made the Dean's List! Some of you smartypants may not think that's very impressive because you've made it multiple times, but I'm stoked!

Girl's Night

I don't have kids (obviously) but a bunch of us girls decided we needed a break from our homes the other night. We went out to celebrate a few birthdays and have a girls night. A bunch of us went to Shari's for some dinner/dessert. It was basically a bunch of women sitting around eating chocolate being loud in a corner of a quiet restaurant, talking about babies/kids, birth stories, boobs, etc. (you get the picture). I was one out of the ten that didn't have kids to talk about. The stories I tell are about my niece and nephew (but Kim was there to do that), or about my friend's baby (but Leah was there to do that). It was still really fun and relaxing to just get out! After chatting for a couple hours a few of us went to a late (9:45pm) movie...I know, livin' it up!

Oh, I guess I'll document my biff story too. So I was at work the other night, it was pretty busy so the restaurant was full...of people. I was bringing the check to one of my tables and another server was kneeling down next to one of his taking their order. Well I was walking briskly, not looking down, and tripped on his leg that was sticking out halfway in the walkway, flew a couple feet and landed on my hands and knees. All I heard was "Oooooh!" and myself slapping on the floor. I quickly got up and said, "Thanks Mike...really?!" My eyes watered up as I tried to laugh it off. I was more embarrassed at the time, but now I feel the physical pain. Now that I think about it, other than the guy who tripped me and a man at one of my tables asking if I was okay, none of the 25 bystanders even asked if I was okay or tried helping me up. Maybe I just got up too fast for anyone to turn around and offer me a hand? Sheesh! Well the man at one of my tables that did ask if I was okay left me a nice tip, and even left a message on his receipt, "Go hard or Go home!...Good job tonight!" I guess all I have to say is that I'm glad I wasn't carrying a tray of food/drinks! I would have left the restaurant immediately.

The End.

Homesick

I am homesick. And you may think "That's silly, you are at home." Well if you're my Mitchell family, or from California, you will know what I mean. I miss my family in California. I need a break from this little town they call Wenatchee. It's not the people, it's just the lack of Mom, Dad, Brittani, Trevor, Devin, Paco, Boodah, Rocklin, In'n'out, warm weather, etc. It's only been 3 months since I've seen all of these, however 3 months is like 3 years in this little emotional mind of mine (I would die if it really was 3 years)!

Valentine's Day is tomorrow. I guess I don't really get all hyped up over it. I mean, I got engaged Valentine's Day 2008, and the 2009/2010 with Lane were pleasant/romantic, but all I'm thinking is that I get to sit in class for 9 hours tomorrow. ~woot~ Hopefully Lane doesn't think he's getting any kind of surprise from me because I'm planning on just picking up some burgers and watching a movie or something when I get home from school! Maybe someday I'll be romantic! (I sound like an old fart that's been married for 30 years.) I suppose if anything exciting happens tomorrow I'll write about it!

Isn't this cute?

 Lane's not a fan of animals. I grew up having cats and dogs. I'm not obsessed with them but I do love having them around, especially when I'm by myself and need company. When Lane and I were dating, I was aware of his disliking of animals, but I do remember him saying "maybe someday." I wouldn't make that up because that was momentous. I should have documented it because basically the day we got married he claimed he never ever said that. Welllllll, he made a comment today out of the blue about how he thought Huskies were good looking dogs....I know, I know....crazy. And the comment didn't stop there. He kept talking about them, and even started looking up how much they cost in general, pictures, and videos of them online! Now, I know this doesn't mean anything but I am documenting it because I definitely approve of a Husky and this is one giant step towards...something!

That's all!

Some January Randomness

What you're looking at is your future K-8 teachers.

So this is my cohort for school. We have every class together, present together, eat lunch together, stress together, and after 5 months of knowing each other we know quite a bit about almost everyones' quirks/stresses/worries/love life/family life/leisure life/etc. This may sound cheesy (as I thought when we met and they told us it would happen), but it's so true. I have made some good friends in this group.

Some of us had a little shin-dig last night. We played a little pool, ate some snacky-shnacks, played Guitar Hero, and proved we are all white with a little Def Jam Rap Star (a rap/karaoke-style game). It was one of many fun nights to come!!

In case you didn't see on Facebook, this is our newest investment. Lane had a job last week at this guy's house--they needed to move some furniture out so they could clean out the water damage, and the guy basically asked him to take this pool table. We paid $250 for it which is a steal-of-a-deal! It's in great condition. We will probably replace the felt some day and eventually upgrade on the balls/cues, but it has served us some fun in the last couple days.

(new topic)

Lane and I went for a little run yesterday. Our new neighborhood is great for running/walking. There are always people out on walks sun, rain, or snow. We took a short route, but boy did I hate it. I am so out of shape! It did motivate me to finally start working out though. Now I will actually use my exercise bike and do work out videos instead of just thinking about them.