Waiting IMPATIENTLY

My coworker Sara is currently in labor!!! Her husband, Brian and Marcus have hung out quite a bit and we have ended up doing a few things with them over the past 6 months. Sara was 3 months pregnant when I met her and her due date was February 9th. We just went out for supper/ice cream last night in downtown Omaha and were just cracking jokes about when she was going to go into labor. Well, I received a text message today around 2:00 and she said she was in labor and would have the baby probably within a couple hours.. we are still impatiently waiting for a text message to say the baby is here! They never found out what they were having so everyone has their theories. Sara and I agreed that we think it's a boy, considering it looks as if she has a basketball in there :) Marcus is certain it is a girl, so this will be interesting to see what it is! Either way, that baby is going to be absolutely beautiful and we can't wait to see him/her!
At work, we are supposed to have a baby shower with all of the students on Wednesday. They are going to be so excited when I tell them tomorrow that she had her baby :)
So, CONGRATULATIONS and GOOD LUCK to Brian and Sara :) Can't wait to hear good news!

Decisions, decisions...

Alright, I need everyone's help. I am contemplating coloring my hair all one color. I have had it highlighted/lowlighted for a while now and I need a change. (go figure :) Marcus, however, may not be the happiest with this decision, BUT I have not colored my hair since beginning of December, so I think I have gone long enough ;) NOW, I have not been tanning recently, so I need a hair color that will not make me look more pale than I already feel... I have a few pictures of hair color - I'd like you to take a look and get back to me :)

So, my question is... lighter or darker?
THANK YOU!

Thoughts?

I have two things... 1: Marcus thinks I should change the name of our blog to "Danielle Anderson's blog" instead of "Marcus and Dani." NOW, in my defense, my life has just been more interesting than Marcus' since the beginning of 2011 ;)(I'm just kidding) therefore, I have more stories to write about. Second off, Marcus doesn't care to write anything on this blog, which I find very unsatisfying, because I have a blast with this piece of technology and I really feel it could be a bonding experience for us... uffda. You are free to give me your thoughts and opinions at any time.
2: I have recently been amazed with another piece of technology... skype. We live so far away from our families and skype is a great way to keep in touch. Now, talking on the phone is great and all, but I have to say, it is nice to actually see people on the computer. I can see my sister's gorgeous face, my mom's beautiful smile, and be in on my dad's jokes when I'm not even in the same room. I have recently been told that my two favorite girls, Tyanne and Victoria, are going to be getting a skype account and I cannot wait to see their cute, smiling faces on my computer screen. I feel like time is going so fast and I don't want to miss out on everyone changing and growing up. I think our families feel the same way :) Sooooo, to whomever invented skype, THANK YOU! You have made my life so much easier and enjoyable!

Rascal Flatts!

Last night, I went to the Rascal Flatts concert. It was a blast! They were celebrating 10 years together, and they put on a great show! It was blizzarding here last night, so walking in that was awesome, as parking was almost impossible to find. We had quite the experience getting back to the car as well due to parking lots closed off and gates we had to barrel through, but we made it :)
Here are some pictures of the concert... enjoy!

Luke Bryan and Chris Young opened up the show.

Lacy and I

Here they are!!

ENCORE

The end of the show... Luke Bryan and Chris Young came out as well.

True Love

I grabbed the mail when I got home today and was excited to find that one of my best friends Tanya had sent me her Save The Date. I have to mention that it was one of THE CUTEST Save The Dates I have ever seen :) Her and her fiance John are an amazing couple and I am so excited for them :) I am also honored to be a part of their wedding in June. Marcus and I will be celebrating our first year anniversary the same day they get married, which will be very cool. John and Marcus have both joked that they will never forget our anniversaries because they will have each other to remind... (little do they know, so will Tanya and I ;)
Anyway, I just wanted to say that John and Tanya are so fortunate to have found each other and they are genuinely in love and couldn't be more perfect for each other! I can say with my whole heart that John is one VERY lucky guy to have snagged Tanya :) and also that anyone who knows these two or even seen them together, can say that they have experienced the sight of TRUE LOVE.
Congratulations you two and many blessings and happiness!

Complete Innocence

So today is a Wednesday... for those that do not know my hectic schedule at work on Wednesdays, here is a run-down. Think: cuss words, yelling, throwing objects, lots and lots of pacing, death glares, and odd smells all day long (this is just on a good day, folks). Now, a very nontraditional Wednesday was what I walked into. All of the students were calm and collected. There were no cuss words thrown out, chairs thrown across the room and through a wall, or death glares (at least made particularly at me), so all in all, it was a good day. I have to laugh at the innocence of some of my students. One of my favorites (yes, I know you are not supposed to have favorites, but give me a break... you all know you do) is a young adult with asperger's syndrome. For those of you who do not know what aspergers is, I'll tell you... it is a mild form of autism. Now, autism fascinates me, as do my students. I think of their lives and how they form their opinions and thoughts every day and am amazed at how talented and genius this particular student is. He loves politics and every chance he gets will try and squeeze any innuendo to do with the topic in his daily conversations. He is so sly about it too, that sometimes, people forget they have lost themselves in the conversation (about politics). Did I mention this young adult is smart? Anyways, to my story... today, we had a speaker come in and talk about situations that arise on the job and how our young adults should handle them. He proceeded to talk about how he lost a customer due to one of his employees sporting a hickey on their neck. Needless to say, this manager was not impressed and ended up firing the employee for coming to work with a hickey on his neck. Now, to my amazement, my student is fascinated... for a completely different reason than I expect. I for one, thought he would have been intrigued by the fact that someone got fired for having a hickey on their neck at work... Nope, not at all the case. My student was fascinated with the thought of a hickey. Little did I know, he had NO IDEA what a hickey was!! Now, in my case, I should be excited right? That one of my 21 year old students does NOT know what a hickey is or what they look like. Instead, I am amazed at his pure innocence at the thought of it. At the end of the day, he comes into the office and asks my coworker and I what a "dickey" is.. (insert laugh). We proceeded to tell him that it was called a "hickey" and then spelt it out for him on a piece of paper. My coworker was graceful enough to tell him how people get hickey's and I jumped in and asked if he thought that was attractive? He responded with, "having a bruise-looking circle on your neck caused by someone you are in a relationship with? I do not THINK that is attractive AT ALL... in the workplace or not!" Now, in order to understand the comedy of this statement, you have to hear it yourself as well as see his hand gestures. My coworker and I were in stitches after he left just at his expression alone. He thanked us for explaining what a h-i-c-k-e-y is (yes, he spelt it out) and was on his way. 

Now, I find myself smiling and laughing all over again after writing this post. I cannot believe how fascinating this student is to me and it makes me wonder... why does someone like me, who is not diagnosed with a disability, think the way I do? I understand that people who are diagnosed with autism or aspergers think differently and have trouble with social cues, but why do some people have such a hard time accepting who they are... who cares that they think differently than most, or that they do not understand some phrases are not okay to say in public, or to people they do not know. That is who they are... My job as a special education teacher at the Young Adult Program is to help my students understand what is acceptable and appropriate in their workplace, at home, or just in everyday life. Some things can be changed, some cannot. For one, I am not about to judge other's thoughts or beliefs, or what they know at 21, or do not know at 21. They are who they are, and we either accept them as them, or lose out on the opportunity to meet a potentially great person. 

2011

Hey everyone,

Sorry it has been over a month since our last post :) There is lots to talk about and share. Marcus and I had a great holiday spent with our amazing families. We started out our vacation in Moorhead with the Anderson's, celebrating Christmas Eve at Grandma Rosie's house (just like they used to)! Marcus and I also got to meet our new nephew for the first time, little Olen Henry Anderson :) I may be biased, but he is THE CUTEST little boy ever!! Marcus and I are excited to be "aunt and uncle"!! We then headed to Hallock late Christmas Eve night and luckily didn't run into any bad weather. We opened gifts that night and went to my grandma and grandpa Johnson's for Christmas Day.

Unfortunately, my dad had some health issues the day after Christmas and we took him down to Altru in Grand Forks where they found out he had a dissected artery in his neck and suffered a stroke. Good thing mom was so persistent to take him down and get everything checked out :) He ended up staying in the hospital until after New Years and then went home. My parents just got back from Mayo in Rochester yesterday after having more tests done. Our prayers were answered with good news and no surgery :)

Mom and dad are at home and relaxing this weekend (they deserve it).

Now it's back to work and our life in Omaha. Hard to leave family, but ready to get back in a routine.

January 5th, the day my school district (Millard) went back to school after break, all schools in the district went on lockdown. A student from Millard South High School was suspended the morning of the 5th. After lunch, he went home, got his father's gun, and went back to Millard South and shot the assistant principal and the head principal, ran out, and then killed himself in his car after being chased by police. Unfortunately the assistant principal died that night at the hospital. Millard School District will be changed forever as well as Dr. Vicki Kaspar's family and friends. The circumstance was very awful and unfortunate, but in the same light, it shows that these things can happen ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. I think it is okay to look at this day in a positive light and see how Dr. Kaspar changed people's lives and remember that not only 1 person died... 2 people died that day, and my thoughts and prayers go out to both families.

On that note, remember to hug your loved ones whenever possible, and tell them you love them. Be there for them, encourage their dreams, and try to take moments out of your day and remember that life is short.

*“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”

We hope everyone has a great start of 2011.

 Dani and Marcus