Top Ten Things I Love About My Parents

I love my parents. They celebrated their anniversary this past month. My dad called me the day after to let me know I hadn't called them on their anniversary. I told him that anniversaries have never been a big thing to me, which hurt his feelings a little, I think. So I figured this could be a great way to make it up to both my mom and my dad, who have both had a huge hand in making me the well-adjusted individual represented digitally before you.

Top Ten Things I Love About My Parents

10. They go all out for the holidays. Especially Christmas. Even though it's really a LOT of work and they don't have the patience or mobility they had 20 years ago, they are always willing to make the house look amazing for the family (and friends) to enjoy.

9. I love how Mom will constantly surprise me by watching some of my favorite shows with me. It all started with various Jane Austen movies. However, I usually bring home a different series every time and Mom watches them with me. She's enjoyed "Arrested Development," "Vicar of Dibley," "Flight of the Conchords," and "Big Bang Theory."

8. My dad is a born leader. Being the eldest in his family probably helped a little, but being a marine, a sheriff, a lawyer, and so many other roles, Dad is always willing to step up to the plate when others hang back. Even if you don't agree with him, my dad is someone who people are genuinely intimidated by. Until they get to know him and realize how absolutely gigantic his heart is.

7. I love how much they push. Granted, I didn't always appreciate it. But looking back on high school and college, they gave me motivation to succeed when it would have been so easy to give up. I never would have stuck with playing the piano without them, and I'm eternally grateful for that.

6. They love to play. There are certain games I'm guaranteed to play if I go home. Among these are Yahtzee, Phase Ten, and Chicken Foot Dominoes. It's always cut throat. And it always ends with everyone ganging up on Dad (he totally has it coming).

5. My parents are avid readers. I know my love of reading comes from them. There have been many afternoons when all three of us are lying on different couches reading from our books, and alternately napping as appropriate.

4. I love how much they care about animals. People think I'm kind of a freak about pets, but meeting my parents puts it all in perspective. Dad once called the dog "Son" on accident.

3. Dad always gets to say the prayer. It doesn't matter what prayer, whether it's for a meal, or family prayer, or whatever, it's automatically assumed that Dad gets to pray.

2. My parents have so much faith in me. Much more than I do in myself. A few years ago, when I first got into community theater, Dad told me that I should think about Broadway and ask my voice teacher if I had a chance. He won't remember saying it, but I'll never forget how my dad told his college educated, elementary school teacher daughter to give it all up and look into acting.

1. Sincerely, they are the MOST generous people I know of on this earth. I've mentioned it before, but I don't think people in my home town are even aware of the secret and special acts of service my parents are responsible. They're definitely instruments in the Lord's hands. Most recently, my dad buzzed his hair as a fund raising effort for his local Rotary club.

The Joys of Camping!

Every year I get to go camping in the snow with my fifth graders. I love it. It's crazy tiring, but the kids have such a good time, I can't help but love it.
However, this year was a little interesting. It started the week before when life got a little strenuous. I won't go into details, but let it suffice that my mind was on several things at the same time. I didn't even pack for camping until the night before. It was around 10 o'clock at night when I tried to get everything together.
This was apparent by the next day, when we arrived at Clear Creek Camp and I started to unpack. Here are the things I forgot (you may determine the importance):
-toothbrush
-towel
-gloves
-hat
-fire wood (for our nightly campfire)

However, all of my makeup made it into the suitcase, along with hair supplies (curling iron, hairspray, thermal setting spray, split end repair, etc.). And I took complete outfits for every day I'd be there (three days= three ensembles)
Day one, I used paper towels to dry myself off from my shower.
Day two, I used my "Jem and the Holograms" sweatshirt.

We borrowed firewood for our first night's campfire and, after teaching the boys how to build the perfect fire, one of the dad volunteers dumped diesel fuel onto the logs to ensure a good blaze. At first I felt this was cheating, but I was willing to go along with it because the winds were crazy and the fire pit was covered in ice with several inches of snow.
With the gals, I was all excited because the wind had died down and nobody would be telling me that I had to pour diesel fuel in order for it to work. I built the fire up, it was burning awesomely. 5 minutes later, it was a pile of coals. I try again, start from the beginning. Get a fantastic blaze going that burns for 15 minutes before it goes to poo. By this time, all of the girls have arrived at the campfire and I'm supposed to lead songs and stories. I ask the other teachers to help out. One throws a log on (which would accomplish nothing), and the other pokes at it with a stick causing the entire structure to fall over. For the next 40 minutes we sang songs while two of the mom volunteers blew on the coals with minimum results.

Moral of the story: I might be a failure at campfires.

Things That Make Guys Hot

So, I was watching "Stardust" with several friends last week, and I was overcome with how easy it was for a very homely man to become an extremely studly man. Or at least more studly than he was previously. I realized that there are several things that men can do that will make me instantly attracted to them. And since there are so many men out there who are just chomping at the bit to know what to do to appear more attractive to me, here you go. A helpful list, just for all the men out there. (P.S. This is not a top ten list, because I think there are way more than ten things that make a guy hot.)

1. Play an instrument (other than the organ).

2. Drive a motorcycle and be willing to give me rides.

3. Sing . . . well. I've said it before and I'll say it a thousand times more. If a guy sings well, I am instantaneously attracted.

4. Sword fighting. Not fighting on the lawn of a BYU quad, rather fighting on stage. However, offering to fight with me onstage during a date at a restaurant is not desirable either. There's a fine line with this one.

5. Be comfortable around kids. Yay for good dads! Or uncles! But not grandpas.

6. Ride a horse. Viggo in "Lord of the Rings," Viggo in "Hidalgo," or really Viggo in just about anything. That's it, be Viggo.

7. Use a whip. Get your brain out of the gutter, I'm talking "Man From Snowy River" style. My roommates and I used to watch and rewatch some choice scenes.

8. Be confident. NOT ARROGANT! But confident. A guy that's comfortable in his own skin is extremely attractive. A guy that assumes most women are attracted to him, not attractive at all. In fact, arrogance usually kicks in my mean sarcasm mode as I feel compelled to take the man down a peg or two.

9. Be nice to animals. This one sounds a little weird, I'm sure, but how a guy treats animals is indicative of how he will treat other helpless, innocent things/creatures/beings.

10. Be well-read. Guys who are intelligent are hot. Having an intelligent conversation with a man is requisite. If there is one thing that is a huge turn-off, it's having to explain my vocabulary on a date.

Actually, this did turn into a top ten. Which is just fine with me. If I think of any other amazing things (which of course, I will) I'll be sure to post them.

Oh Where, oh where has Michelle gone?

I suck. Not a lot, mind you. Just a little. My school year has been relatively stress free (hear me knocking on the top of my desk), so I can't use that as an excuse as to why I haven't updated this for so long. It's not because I've become a professional actress (though I am taking voice lessons). It's definitely not because I'm going on dates (not going to dwell on it, though).
Laziness might end up being the overall culprit. That, and absent-mindedness, which if you've known me for more than an hour, you've already witnessed.
October was a grand month. I got to celebrate my birthday along with five other people (those were the other people celebrating their birthdays at our joint party, not the total number of guests), and my principal gave us permission to use the gym at my elementary school, so it was a blast. We played with the parachute, street hockey set, and wrestling mats (just to name a few).

It also was my favorite time of year. Not just because I was born, but because Halloween is the best in my book. I get a lot of odd looks when I say that most of the time, it beats out Christmas for me. I had the idea for my costume at the end of Halloween last year (and you might ask, do I know what I'm going to be next year. The answer is abso-freakin-lutely I do.). I dressed as Miss Piggy and my friend, Randa, at school dressed up as Beaker. The kids loved it, though there were a lot of students who didn't know who Miss Piggy is. That, I feel, is a tragedy in our times. Most years I have two costumes. This year was the same. On Halloween Eve, a few of us went to see "Dracula" in Springville. We decided to dress up like vampires from Twilight. I was Bella, and I will tell you it is difficult to dress as someone so detestable. I practiced speaking without expression and biting my lip for hours.

Reasons Why I Love Teaching

So, the new school year has started and it's going to be a fun year. These are things I can already tell. My students have a lot of personality, which for me is the sign of a good class. I feel I really have had some fun moments thus far in my teaching career. So many that I felt a Top Ten list would be ultra appropriate for this great time of year.

Top Ten Teaching Moments

10. Getting a note from a student that said: "Miss Rotar, I will miss you forever, even when I'm dead." There you have it, teacher love from beyond the grave.

9. After spending hours choreographing a 75 student dance to "Seize the Day," I watched all my cute fifth graders in newsies hats do the routine flawlessly for our Dance Festival. Best dance ever!

8. During our faculty softball game against the 6th graders, I was wearing my senior t-shirt from high school. Across the back is the year I

graduated ('98) in really large type. While I was up to bat, my students started chanting what they thought was my number. Ninety eight! Ninety eight! It was amazing.

7. After being sick and having to miss a day of school, a student presented me with a picture of me with horns and a tail being operated on by the devil. The caption at the top? "Get Well Soon" of course.

6. After telling my students about my favorite cartoon character from childhood (Jem and the

Holograms) one of them told me a few weeks later that she had been watching the episodes on Youtube. She finished them completely in another week or so. Two other students would follow suit. One of them even gave me a watercolor painting of Jem for Teacher Appreciation Week.

5. Being lovingly nicknamed "The Rotar" after the infamous Matilda character, "The Trunchbull."

4. Getting a note from my student with the name of his cousin and his cousin's phone number. The note said "Call him! If you have any questions, ask my mom."

3. Reading "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" a student was very confused during one part. "I don't get why the squirrel's head fell off." What? When we looked up the page she was talking about, the book read: "And then the squirrel completely lost his head." Yay for lessons about figures of speech, but I couldn't stop laughing for a few minutes.

2. When talking about dogs and how they give kisses, a student told me, "If people kiss like dogs, it's called french kissing." Such a great mental image.

1. Sincerely, when an old student of mine came to speak in front of all the teachers when my Teacher of the Year award was presented. I was crying pretty profusely, but they were good tears.

Being a teacher is too much fun. This is my 7th year, and I hope to have a whole other list in another few years.

How to Tell if You're in Oroville, CA

I recently had a chance to visit my hometown of Oroville, CA. Some of you will know exactly what I'm talking about, and some of you will find out some interesting tidbits of information.

You might be in Oroville, CA if:

* You wake up early and find coyotes outside your house (and no, it was not just my dog )

* You find many people are wearing underwear as tops

* You don't feel bad at all going around town with no makeup on at all.

* You look out to the horizon and all you see is yellow grass with brown spots (kind of like dalmation foothills)

* You feel embarrassed to ask at the store if there is any Oroville memorabilia for sale.

* You get to practice "Dodge the Cow-patty" on the family ranch road.

* You have oodles and oodles of time (and I mean oodles)

Any Orovillians out there are welcome to add their own in the comments section.

I love Oroville, even though I make fun of it a bit. It will always be home to me.

Sometimes I Forget About Blogging

But not today!

With all the different social media outlets these days, I can only focus on so many. Here are the latest things I've been up to!

1. Participated in "Bells are Ringing," a play in Springville. My character was relatively a small role, but my director really let me go nuts and ad lib all over the place. Plus, I wore three wigs for the show.

2. Became a Heritage Makers consultant. I've done digital scrapbooking for over a year now, so it seemed the best thing to do when my own consultant moved out of state. Love it!

3. I went on the best vacation to Boston! My brother, Mike, and his family provided us with a place to stay, meals to eat, and a car with GPS to get us around. We were there for the 4th and I have never seen such an amazing fireworks display! We also visited Salem, Lexington, Concord, and Plymouth.

4. Biggest accomplishment of the summer has definitely been the increase in bicycling activity. With the help of my friend Mike, I have embraced it and overcome several fears (such as riding around cars and semi-trucks). It even inspired a ward bicycling activity! LaNell would be so proud!