than/then

So I have been grading papers, and I just want to make anyone who cares aware that there is a difference between 'than' and 'then'. If you say 'if' before it, then you need to use 'then'. If it is a sequence of events, such as, "First we, then we," then you use 'then.' If, however, you are talking about an amount, then you use 'than'. For instance, "I want more soup than that." "I was hoping for a higher score than this." "You did better in that contest than he did." All examples of when to use 'than' instead of 'then'.
Sorry I'll dismount from this soapbox. Tomorrow I'll talk about nouns of direct address and threw vs. through. That's a tricky one ;) Gotta luv hi scool!

Loverly Weekend

I am back from St. George, and I had a really good time. As usual Bret and Lori were great hosts, and Faye was quite accommodating. We did a lot. Obviously we karaoked, but on Saturday we hiked a little bit in Snow Canyon in the late morning. The sunshine lasted and made my weekend. I ate a lot of food with a lot of family, and I even got to do a little shopping. I only ended up buying something for my nephew, Parker, whose birthday is tomorrow. He'll be three can you believe it? Neither can I. I bought him some cute pants and can't believe how tall he should be these days. Oh, I also bought a bridesmaid dress for Amber's wedding, my cousin. I remember the last time I shopped for dresses for a wedding it took us months to find something. Our luck was great though. We found something today that will be perfect for all the girls and the colors. I also got to have breakfast with my good friend Cassey and her husband Landon. They took me to a place exactly my style. They know me too well. :) The weekend ended with some great bowling where I won the second game. I don't think that has ever happened before. Now I am exhausted and not ready for tomorrow. I guess I'll go prepare the vocabulary worksheets for the week now. Thank heavens for President's Day though. It comes at the perfect time when people need a day off. Happy President's Day!

Kuala Pork and Karaoke: Arti-style

Hey, guess what? It is sunny in St. George! So much for snow, bwah-ha-ha.
So far the weekend has been a blast. I arrived in S.G Friday night and met up with Bret and Lori. Lori talked us into walking down to the Hawaiian Grill for Friday Night Karaoke. Yes, I did karaoke for those of you with raised eyebrows and questioning my bravery. We had a really good time. Lori picked some fun songs, starting off our singing with "Turn Around Bright Eyes" or "Total Eclipse of the Heart" for those of us who thought that was the actual title. ;) She also sang "Oops I did it Again." Bret and I signed up for "Sweet Caroline," and despite his total allegiance to the Angels I think he had fun singing the Red Sox anthem. Holland and Carly walked in just in time to see us in action, and everyone in the restaurant helped with the chorus. There weren't many patrons and most of the people there seemed to be employees, friends and regulars, but they welcomed us and even had us all do the "Electric Slide." We talked Holland and Carly into singing a song a piece: Holland "Hotel California" (a definite crowd pleaser); Carly "Wide Open Spaces." So that's how we finished off the night.

It was a blast. I will never nay-say Karaoke again. Enjoy the pictures and the play list of all our favorite songs of the night. If you want another view of the evening, check out Bret and Lori's blog. They tell it pretty good, too.

Sunny St. George

It is so funny that I am in St. George this weekend. Apparently it is supposed to snow tomorrow, so of course Ibrought Chacos, shorts and hiking gear in stead of ski apparel. Bummer. I am staying with Bret and Lori and they are usually pretty accomodating. Bret often has a plan b up his sleeve. Mostly I am just glad to be here. I need a weekend off, as I am sure most of you feel too. Well, happy Friday the 13th, Valentines Day and President's Day. Here's to a weekend that is sunny and bright. :)

Hard Day

I know we all have them, but I had a hard day today (and judging from the statuses on Facebook it seems like a lot of people had a hard day too). I don't so much want to talk about it because I will just be doing what my students seem to be pro at: whining. Plus, I got to go this meeting after school and got some of the doom and gloom situation about the economy and what might happen to education. It scares me, and it makes me mad, but what can I do? And on top of it all, I found out I need one more stupid test to get my level 2 teaching license. I think I am personally making the Praxis people rich. Argh! It is hard to be an optimist sometimes with all the pessimism around and today the pessimists won. Congrats! (I was trying to think of a silver lining from today to add here for humor, but I got nothing. . .) But I guess tomorrow is another day. Until then, however, I'm going to be cantankerous (one of my students vocab words this week +1 for me). >:(