The Hunger Games Weekend

This weekend after months of book re-reading, trailer watching, and magazine/article browsing...we saw

I overall really enjoyed the movie.  I LOVED the actor who played Cesar Flickerman; I thought he was the best cast of the bunch.  I wasn't really feeling Peeta, but everyone else lived up to my expectations.  I also enjoyed the added clips of what was going on outside the Arena ie. the uprising in District 11 after Rue's death, clips of Gale watching the games, President Snow talking with Seneca Crane, etc.

 

 

Anxiously waiting for the movie to start...

Then after the movie, we celebrated...a couple weeks late...Whitney's 23rd Birthday!

We ate Hawaiian Beef, a family favorite...

And White Chocolate Creme Brulee for Desert!

The Desert that was on fire... :)

Then we also got to spend our Saturday down in Highland before heading back up to Park City for church on Sunday.  It's been a long time since we got to spend some time with both sides of the family, and it made for a pretty great weekend.  Next weekend...GENERAL CONFERENCE!

A Quick Trip to St. George...

 

Last weekend, we decided to head down to St. George for a long 3 day weekend to celebrate the beginning of Brian's Spring Break.  I took a personal day Monday, and we had a nice relaxing time hiking, eating, window shopping, watching movies and especially enjoying the warm weather.  

Rootbeer Float milkshakes

We went to the Brick Oven (our tradition.)

Brian accidentally took night time cold medicine.

I, on the other hand, was wide awake.

Hiking in St. George

I got this 'Y' magnet for $2.00 at TJ Maxx!

One of many gas stops.

My Very Own Secret Food Fairy

This week I have been struck by the most amazing secret act of kindness.  On Tuesday morning, as I entered my classroom after taking Monday off (Brian and I spent the weekend in St. George to start off his Spring Break...pictures to come), I noticed next to my desk to paper grocery bags filled with delicious smelling produce!  (In fact, I even promptly gave myself an internal lecture about how I need to step up my grocery shopping and make it look this healthy.) At first, I thought that my sub must have gone grocery shopping on our lunch break and forgotten to take her groceries with her at the end of the day, but after tracking her down, I found out that they weren't hers and that the bags of produce were already in my room when she got there in the morning. Strange, right!?!

So, I sent an email to all the faculty asking if anyone had randomly misplaced their groceries in my room and/or thanking my mysterious benefactor if in fact the produce was for me.  Nobody ever responded, although several teachers asked me for updates throughout the day, so I guess my generous food fairy wants to remain anonymous.  Somebody at work must think Brian and I are pretty poor. :) Whoever he/she is, I hope they know that they are kind of my favorite person at the moment.  Hooray for random acts of kindness!

Contents of my secret surprise:  apples, oranges, bananas, blueberries, a pineapple, lettuce, asparagus, carrots, cucumbers, scallions, and lots of colorful peppers!

Thank You Secret Food Fairy!

P.S.  On my much unhealthier note, Brian and I did treat ourselves to some peach pie a la mode tonight in honor of Pi Day (3/14).

Happy Birthday Whitney (and London)!

Today has been a pretty momentous day!  Today, I, Ashley Jones Moote, became a godmother to this not so tiny (9lbs 7.4oz) adorable, precious baby girl: London Adele Stone.

And of course, I will never, ever forget her birthday because it just so happens to be the same day as my very own sister Whitney, who just so happens to have been born not that very far away from one London, England.  Coincidence?...I think not! :)

So in honor of my sister's 23rd birthday, here are some reason I love her times a million...

10 Reasons I am happy Whitney was born...

1.  Whitney and I share a love of reading.  I can always talk to her about the books that I love.

2.  Whitney is the only other person in our family who takes a stand against the awfulness of bananas.  She is only partially a traitor because she likes banana bread.

3.  Whitney is quite the homemaker.  Thanks in part to pintrest...she now has a sewing machine and has made some beautiful pillows and other creations using her new talent.

4.  Whitney is always the first one to invite the family over to her house for Sunday dinners.  She makes a great hostess.

5. Whitney pushes me to be a better wakeboarder.  We are always competing to see who can jump the highest and farthest.

6.  Whitney is a hard worker.  She is the only one of my siblings who worked full-time while going to school, and she still graduated in a timely manner!

7.  Whitney has a strong testimony.  Her little primary kids are lucky to have her as a teacher!

8.  Whitney is ready for any Zombie Apocalypse that comes her way.  She has some mad gun skills, and even has legit food storage to boot!

9.  Whitney loves to hum.  All that practice has made her a pro at Cranium's humdinger.

10.  Whitney is a great little sister.  I'm excited that we get to spend so much time together this summer!

Why I came to work today...

At my school, it is not uncommon to receive random emails during school hours entitled "Why I came to work today" from any of staff.  It's kind of a little game we play.  Sometimes we really want to share something inspirational that happened that day, but most of the time, we really want to share something funny/cute/ironic/ridiculous/etc. that a student did or said.  In a work environment that right now is extremely stressful and unnerving (see picture below), these emails are a welcome relief and always put a smile on my face. :)

These are getting a little old, but this one was so good I had to share!

Well, today for me was definitely a "Why I came to work..." kind of day!  And in an inspirational way, no less!  Today in my 1st period Supplemental Math class, I had a student tell me that I made math fun!  That's right...Math with Ms. Moote=Fun! He said that he usually hates math, (as do most/really all of my students), but that today in class math was actually fun.  Another student who has never been confident in his math abilities then exclaimed in front of the whole class that this math is easy! I made writing ratios, finding unit rates, and cross multiplying equivalent ratios fun and exciting and easy.  And the best part is knowing that my students think it is fun and 'easy' because they actually understand what they're doing.  That's a big deal for my kiddos.  The reason that they have to take Supplemental Math in the first place is because they are struggling in the mainstream math classrooms.  My class is essentially an extra math class where we pre-teach and re-teach the material they are learning in their regular math classes.  And that is why I came/went to work today!


Here are some other random/fun "Why I came to work" moments...

1. In one of my reading classes...(We were about to read an article about Woody Gurthrie, the man who wrote "This Land is Your Land."  He grew up in during the Great Depression.)
-Me: "Does anybody know anything about the Great Depression?"
-Student: "The Great Depression is when you get so sad that you might die." 

2. Student - "Teachers know how to text?!?!" (referring to cell phones)

3. Student - "Ms. Moote, the guy who invented homework must have been a nerd."

President's Day Weekend

I have a feeling this is going to be a long post...I apologize in advance.  It has been such a busy, fun weekend, and there is so much to blog about.  Plus, I have all the time in the world to write about it, as I have this entire week off from school! :)

Anyway, this past week I discovered a new TV show: Downton Abbey.  I am in love!  Have you ever felt that you were born in the wrong time period?  I have my own Midnight in Paris moments just about every time I study a different era in history.  I am a bona fide history nerd through and through.  I quickly zipped through Season 1 (The story of an aristocratic British family and their servants spanning from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 to the beginning of WWI in 1914) on Netflix and then dragged Brian with me this weekend in watching Season 2 here (The continuation follows the characters through wartime to peace from 1916 to the beginning of 1920.)

 

Disclaimer:  1) In Season 1, Episode 1, there is a homosexual kiss between one the more unscrupulous male servants and a visitor.  I just fast forwarded the scene.  There hasn't been another scene like it since.  2) For those of you with addictive personalities like mine, be prepared for the disappointment of waiting a complete year before Season 3 comes out.  That is unless you want to move to the UK with me, in which case we can watch it this fall!

Saturday, my biggest accomplishment was probably running 3 miles uphill, outside, in 17 degree weather.  State St. bring it on! But the most enjoyable part of the day was driving down to SLC with Brian to see The Vow with my sister Whitney.  Fun Fact - The daughter of one of my colleagues at school was the producer! I definitely enjoyed the movie and am glad that I got to see it with two of my favorite people.  Brian didn't even hate it, although some of the characters really annoyed him.

Sunday, after church, Brian and I had my family (Travis, Mayra, Whitney, and Alex) over for dinner and games.  It's been awhile (Halloween) since we have got together, so it was a ton of fun to be all together again.  We had my "famous" lasagne bolognese, homemade garlic breadsticks a la Brian, and a salad for dinner.  Dessert was all Brian too.  Don't they look delicious?

Brownies with Nutella Cream Filling

After dinner and dessert, we played some new and fun games.  It's my favorite part of being with my family!  I seriously don't think I ever laugh harder than we are all playing games together.  :)  Of course, I didn't take any pictures of us together the whole night, but here is a look at the games we played.

Cranium, Pass the Pigs, and Last Word

Monday, Brian and I used our Canyon's passes we got for Christmas to go skiing/snowboarding.  It was my first time ever at the Canyon's, and only our second time skiing this season.  It was a perfect sunny day, and we had a lot of fun exploring the resort together. :)

getting all our gear...

taking the gondola up to the resort...

"the bubble lift" complete with heated seats...

Thanks for sticking with me all the way to the end!

Will you be my Valentine?

This was the question Brian asked me Monday night as we were going to bed.  I told him I would think about it...Just Kidding...I totally said yes. :)

Tuesday morning I got up earlier than normal to hide some of Brian's Valentine's Day presents all over in places like the fridge on top of his breakfast, in his back pack, computer case, and in his car.  I got the incredibly cute idea from my mother-in-law, Judy. :)

I'm Nuts About You

I Love You to Pieces

We're Just Mint to Be

You're the Best Catch. Think I'll Keep Ya!

Our Eternal Friendship is Sealed with a Kiss

I'm Bursting with Happiness that you are Mine

Then, this is what I came home to after school!  My husband knows me so well, and is such a thoughtful gift giver!  It was such a great surprise.  Brian is so good at getting me gifts that I never know I want until I see them.  In some ways he knows me better than I know myself.

Enjoy a taste of Italy! (Pasta, Gnocchi, Kinder Chocolate, Blood Orange Italian Soda, Balsamic Vinegar, Sun-Dried Tomato and Garlic Olive Oil, an olive oil mister...)

and...a delicious ear of caramel corn!  This stuff is the best and kind of hard to find!

On the way home from school, Brian grabbed us a pizza at my favorite place in Park City, Maxwell's.  It is this great restaurant that also offers Italian style thin crust pizza.  I beat Brian home, so I got to help set the mood by decorating some and see Brian open the rest of his presents...

I wrote this is the snow for Brian to see on his way down the steps.

Brian's presents set up on the bed so that he would find them when he went into our room.

Candle decorations by me.  Red roses, pizza, and soda thanks to Brian. :)

Brian wanted me to put my hand in the picture just so you could truly see how large this amazing pizza is.  If only you could truly know how great it tasted too...

 Last, but not least, we ended the night by watching "Something Borrowed" (a romantic comedy, obviously) from Red Box and eating rootbeer floats made with IBC rootbeer and homemade vanilla ice cream.  Yum!  I can't think of anything I love more than eating great food and snuggling up with my hubbie while watching a movie. 

Valentine's Day 2012 = Success!

Our First Valentine's Day

I realized the other day that I have never written down the story of Brian and I's first Valentine's Day.  Because I started this blog after we were married, I thought it would be a good idea to flash back occasionally to some of my favorite dating memories from time to time.  Here is one for the books to get me pumped for tomorrow's day of love...

Brian and I's first Valentine's Day was actually spent in San Diego.  We decided to take a long weekend trip to stay with my friend Jessica who invited us.  Renae and her roommate Vilate came too, and we had a great time road-tripping our way down to CA via St. George. 
 

The whole weekend was a huge success!  Jessica was a great hostess.  We had a bonfire of the beach. She took us kayaking and to some really great restaurants.  We visited the San Diego temple. And tons, tons more.

Valentine's Day was actually on Sunday.  After church, we headed down to the beach to enjoy the water and the sun.  Thanks Renae for taking such a great picture!

I had actually brought Brian's Valentine's Day present, a DC hoodie and a gift card for a massage at Massage Envy (his first professional massage experience) down to San Diego with me, but Brian had "supposedly" ;) thought that we were going to exchange gifts back in Park City.  So I got an extended Valentine's Day experience, which wasn't a bad deal at all because we basically got to celebrate twice!

A couple days later Brian showed up at my door with some beautiful flowers and the cutest homemade present of all time.  He said he felt bad that he hadn't spent a lot of money (he had just paid tuition for the semester and was only working part-time and not making a lot of money,) but I thought it was way better than any expensive gift!  Then he took me to this delicious Mexican restaurant, Baja Cantina, at Park City Mountain Resort. 

Here are the first flowers Brian ever bought for me.

And here is my adorable husband's "Ten Things I Love About Ashley" :)

We finished the date off with some great food.

It was a pretty great first Valentine's Day for us!  You can head over here if you're interested in hearing about last year's celebrations: Our first Valentine's Day as a married couple!