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Pumpkin bread

This week has been my Fall Break so I've had the entire week off. I decided it would be fun to try to be Suzie Homemaker this week so I made pumpkin bread for the girls I visit teach. My first batch burned a little because it was done on the outside and not in the middle and the bottom stuck to the pans. The bread still tasted good and I got a lot of compliments but I wanted to do better. I got a few pointers from Lori and tried again and it came out like this! I'm so proud of this loaf of bread. I'm finding that cooking can be fun!

Haircut!

There is a YSA in my ward that works at a salon so I like giving her my business. Here are some pictures from the day. I think I got about 6-7 inches off. You can't tell too well from these pictures but she made me blonde again, cut my hair to shoulder length and even gave me a bang - we'll see how long that lasts. I love getting my hair done. I feel like a new woman!

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After:

Special Needs

I was looking at everyone's blogs recently and went to my blog and noticed my last post was on August 28! It's about time I post something here.

Nashville is as great as ever! The fall is here although it was 85 yesterday but will be 65 tomorrow. The leaves are beginning to turn colors and it's beautiful.

My new job started off a little rocky. There is this particularly "special" child. He has down syndrome and is much bigger than his classmates. They are all in kindergarten and 1st grade and he is in 4th grade but has the mind of a kindergartener. He loves to bully all of the kids. The first couple of days were rough with him. The teacher said since he doesn't know me yet he was testing the boundaries. Within the very first hour of my new job he was getting a drink of water while we were walking down the hall. I stopped to wait for him while the rest of the class went around the corner. He got one last drink while I pulled him away. I could see something in his eyes and caught on just as he spit a huge mouthful of water right at me. I was able to jump out of the way and dodge it. He then laughed hysterically and ran and caught up to the rest of the class. I thought, "oh boy, I'm just going to love this job!" The next day we were in art with another class. The assistants, me and another girl, sit in these classes (it's either art, music or p.e. each day). The other assistant took one of the boys downstairs to be fed (he eats with a feeding tube) and left me in the room with Casper (the down syndrome boy) and the rest of the class plus another class and a substitute art teacher. Casper of course totally freaked out and started throwing crayons and hitting little kids. I held him in the corner for a few minutes but he was being so disruptive to the other kids trying to color so I took him out in the hall. Another teacher came out and asked if I needed help because he was FREAKING out and I was using all of my strength to hold him in the corner to try to calm him down. No exaggeration, it took all of my strength, he is a big kid! He could probably take me down if he really wanted to. Finally the other assistant came up and got him calmed down. So after day 1 and day 2 I was really not enjoying my job. I didn't realize how much work special needs children would be. Day 3 was so much better. Casper didn't try to kick or hit me once all day and he even gave me a big hug at the end of the day. Ever since then we've been good buds and my job has gotten a lot better. There are 9 students in the class. Three of them have "special" special needs the rest mostly just have learning disabilities and trouble paying attention but they are capable of learning. So far I am really liking it! I am the floater assistant so I go back and forth between the younger special needs class and older. I love going to the older class. They all learned to love me quickly and always want to tell me their whole life stories. I love hearing them say, "Ms. Sampson, did I do it right?" I got sick the week before I started and now two weeks later I'm still sick! I have had NO voice the last 4 days but am finally just starting to get it back today. I'm hoping over the weekend I can rest it and be fully recovered by Monday. I think I just lost it because I am not used to having to raise my voice but with these children there is no choice. They don't listen unless you get right in their face and force them to listen.

Well that is a small update. I'm going to try to update this more often. It's really ridiculous how long I went. There are some fun activities coming up so I'll be sure to take my camera and get pictures of my friends and the events going on.

New Apartment

Here is a glimpse of mine and Lori's new apartment.

Hallway.

Dining Room.

Kitchen.

Living Room.

My bedroom.

My bathroom.

My closet.

Highlights from the Sampson Reunion!

Why I Love Living in Nashville!!!

So I have been trying to upload these videos for like over a month now. I'm sorry but either they will not upload or I do not have the patience to wait for them to upload. So please click on the links to watch my youtube videos. Thank you!

This one is Barbra Jean from "Reba". She is reenacting what a fan had just done. She is so funny! If you watch the show then you know what I'm talking about but I'm guessing most of you will just think she is weird.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVfUa2fufgA

This one is Martina McBride!!! I love her!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFEA9ZTwr_Y

Grand Finale - Keith Urban. Dan - he does not look like David Spade!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaSILkiNCj0

This was at the CMT Awards red carpet. I then rushed home to watch the awards live on tv.

Here, There & Everywhere!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. You wouldn't believe it since I'm currently out of a job - but I'm busy! Over the past month I have been to the Bahamas, Georgia, Texas and Virginia plus locating Tim and Faith's homes in Nashville. Life is great right now and I am enjoying my time off. I still haven't decided my next move but will keep you posted. Below are pictures from Eli's baptism and the 4th of July celebration.

Report on my CRUISE!!

So the Bahamas were pretty incredible!!! There was a group of 32 of us. I think about 20 of us from Nashville and 12 from Utah came out. I, along with the girls in most of my pictures - Lori, Stephanie and Sarah - flew to Ft. Lauderdale and took a taxi to the Port of Miami. We were supposed to leave at 5 and didn't leave until a little after 6 because there was a ginormous rain and lightning storm. The storm sort of put a damper on our bon voyage party but we didn't let it get us down. Friday was spent eating, karaoking, dancing, and basically living it up! We went to bed around 3:30 and woke up at 7 to find ourselves at the Bahamas. We ate breakfast on the ship and then headed off into the sun. Well, it wasn't overly sunny, in fact pretty overcast but still warm. We played in the water and laid out on the beach most of the day. We also went shopping at the marketplace there. We had to be back in the ship by 5:30. That night we ate dinner, went to a comedy show, went to another dance party, got some professional photos taken, played games with our group and stayed up late again. We went to bed around 3 again and woke up at the Norwegian Island. This island is owned by our cruiseline. When we woke up we went down for breakfast and then went to Sacrament Meeting in the library of the cruise. We got permission from our Bishop! It was great to be able to feel the Spirit so strongly while on the same ship as drunk partiers. We spent another awesome day spent on the beach. I played volleyball, swam in the beautiful and warm ocean, laid out, ate great bbq, etc. We had to be back on the ship by 4:30. Once we got back on we went straight to the pool and laid out some more and watched the bands play. That night we got dressed up nice and went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. The food was sure tasty. Then we went to another show. Did more karaoke-ing. Went to another dance party, etc etc. The next morning we got up and ate breakfast and then took a taxi back to the airport where we sat around all day. We all think we gained 12 pounds over the weekend. It was so fun to have so much food anytime of the day. The cruise was AWESOME and I'm definitely gonna go again sometime. Below are just a few pictures captured. I'll try to get some pictures from Lori's camera to post, she has some really good ones.
Here we are in the taxi on our way to Port of Miami.

Finding our way around the ship - perfect time for a picture. Lori, Stephanie, Sarah & I.

One of the new friends we met. Kappi.

Eating at our Italian restaurant. Stephanie, Lori & Sarah.

A group of us ready for the dance party.

BaHaMaS!!!

There are 32 singles (about 16 from Nashville and the rest Utah, Arizona and Texas) going on a cruise to the BAHAMAS!!! A kid in Nashville found really cheap tickets and organized it all. We will be gone from June 5 - 8, short but sweet! I've never been on a cruise or even needed a passport so I'm pretty excited for it! Just wanted to give y'all a heads up and maybe make you a little jealous. I will be posting post-paradise pictures though, don't you worry!