Lately....

 I will start with Audrey Podrey...  My treadmill died (moment of silence) but it was replaced with an elliptical that was given to us for free (shout out to Katie and Zack for that!).  One morning after I woke up and got myself some breakfast (which is currently always bran toast and honey with a side of gummy vitamins) I came upstairs and to find little miss Audrey pants working out on our new elliptical with her ipod/headphones and tennis shoes on.  It was super cute so I had to take some terrible quality pictures on my phone.

 Next thing about Audrey Podrey, she takes after her daddy on the skate rink... they are terribly uncoordinated on skates.  I can't fathom how I had a child who doesn't like cake and can't skate but here is video proof.



Here is some randomness that made me laugh lately:

Dreams do come true people!  My Taco bell receipt tells it like it is!  

I don't know why but I could not stop laughing about this.  I guess you had to be there for this one, but our students are always having problems with our vacuums.  This day, my students came and told me that they couldn't get the bag out of the vacuum.  I had a hard time believing it but there it is. 

Ok this one is my late birthday card from Josh's family.  It looks like the inscription from my father-in-law says, "u ass great".   After much laughing and confusion we were able to see that it actually says, "u are great".  

The awesome shirt that I got for Christmas!!!

I think it is so cool that an app can make a picture look like a painting!  See the original and "painting" pictures below.  It's cool because in art class these would take me forever and it only takes an app a few seconds!

My recent trip to my academic symposium in Provo; a rare look at the inside dialog in my head (after all, I went to a bunch of interesting writing classes while I was there). 

Backstory: I slept less than four hours and had a three hour drive down to Provo.  My drive ended up being longer because there was an accident on the freeway and I got stuck in stand-still traffic (I took the picture below while sitting in a sea of impatient cars). This is what was going through my head at the time...

This has got to be one of the worst places to have to pee.  There is no way to move my car and it will take forever to get anywhere near an exit.  I guess I have three options at this point.  I can pee somewhere in this car whether it be in a water bottle, if I can find one, or in my seat.  Option two, I could pee outside.  Worst case scenario, I get arrested.  Best case scenario, I entertain some people, maybe scar a few, and possibly go viral on YouTube.  Or option three, I could hold it until I get to my  hotel like a champion and since I am a champion, that is really my ONLY option.  

I need to think about something else besides peeing... I am really tired.  NO April! You have fallen asleep at the wheel too many times already in your life, you have to stay awake! No sleep for you! You are getting yourself to this conference! You are using vacation time for this! You have paid money for this! You did two weeks worth of homework in one week for this! And you are taking an absence in class to do a bunch more classes for this!  

....

(after finally getting off my exit, I get a little turned around and all the Utah people are looking at me like I got problems) 

Yes, I am a hot mess and maybe I did put an earring on backwards this morning but if you don't like the way I drive, get off the sidewalk!!! (thanks dad)  If you people only knew how great I am really doing at this point.  I am somewhat functioning on barely any sleep and I didn't fall asleep on my drive even ONCE and I have not only held my pee through my drive down here but also through a sneeze! I am unstoppable!  Watch out people, I am here to learn crap! 

Highlights of this trip:

• Josh and I went to the hotel bar and ate some dessert and I got carded!  I don't know if he was trying to flatter me or if he actually thought that I was under 21. 
• When Josh got to Provo on Friday, he took me on a date to Tucanos.  I could live off their beef and grilled pineapple! 

Favorite Classes:

• Thursday: Channeling Personal Adversity into Great Work.  I loved how deep and open the authors were in this class.  I think it made everyone a little more comfortable with their own personal struggles and they also offered us great advice. 
• Friday: What Your Book Cover Says About Your Book. I was very surprised that I liked this class as much as I did but it had lots of art and marketing information that I found fascinating and highly educational. 
• Saturday: Writing Characters with Disabilities. I was already anticipating this class to be a favorite because I have been so interested in representing this population into my writing.  The teacher did a great job and the girl I sat by was very open with me with her problems with disabilities.  Not only did I learn a lot for writing, but I was also able to gain more perspective and feel more grateful for the things I have. 

And while Josh and I were at the conference, Audrey was having a blast with her Nanna: