Preacher's Date

This past weekend I got to experience something I've never done. This weekend I was a PD, a preacher's date. I've grown up being a preacher's kid. I've heard every stereotype there is... and only 47% apply to me. I'm used to, "Oh, you're a PK?" Yes, I am... now judge away, but never have I ever been a preacher's date!! That sounds so adult-y.
Duck dude is an ordained minister. No he didn't study seminary, he just grew up in the church. He just does weddings for close friends/family and I think it's fantastic. He is an excellent public speaker, tells the best stories, and did a phenomenal job with the ceremony. He cannot help if the groom is a very extremely interesting character!

While Duck Dude was doing his thing in front of everybody, I made a friend named Keely. She was awesome, and she and I soon decided to create a list we liked to call our "Inappropriate Things to Do at a Wedding" List. That's right, there were many firsts this night. Just in case you are not aware of what is appropriate I will pair each item with what we expected to happen.

Appropriate: Accidently putting the ring on the wrong finger in the ceremony
Inappropriate: Licking your new bride's finger so you can get the ring on because her finger is swollen because you picked an outdoor venue in June.. in Texas!!

Appropriate: Giving a fist pump or thumbs up after you kiss your wife for the first time
Inappropriate: Making out with her entire face

Appropriate: Having a super cool groom's cake regarding your favorite pastime or hobby
Inappropriate: Literally punching the cake instead of cutting it to grab a piece to feed to your new wife

Appropriate: Having the cupid shuffle, wobble, and shout on your reception playlist
Inappropriate: Making everyone stand up, place their hands over their hearts, and sing the national anthem in order to begin the reception

Appropriate: Absolutely killing it on the dance floor with your bride
Inappropriate: Ending up shirtless on the dance floor which then entices your 2 brothers to also end up shirtless and have a one big half-naked party

Overall it was a great night and I can definitely say I was entertained the entire time.... and I had a pretty cute date!



The matching was not intended, but it made for a good picture!



Our attempt to recreate a picture.... close-ish?

Why that doesn't look like us at all.. Boo.

My Fake Relationship

It all started in the hallway of my middle school.

The new teacher next door is relatively good looking and I like to think I'm not hideous all the time. Between our rooms lies one of the worst places on campus: the bathrooms. Why middle-schoolers like to hang out in there is way beyond my means of comprehension. So my passing period duties (ha I said duty) include making sure there are no raging parties going on in there or making sure the water fountain spout isn't turned the wrong way so it sprays the next person in line. (Have I mentioned how exciting my life is?)

So there's where it began. We stood by each other in the hallway, which obviously meant that we were in a relationship. Our relationship blossomed when they gave us a "couple" name and especially when we both had a whataburger cup on our desk. Nothing says relationship like whataburger, lesson learned. All the signs pointed to love. Ok fine, the main sign was when I egged it on by putting hearts by his name in my phone and "accidentally" letting the girls see it. This led to one of my favorite quotes all year, "we know soooo much about your personal life!" Before we knew it we were "engaged" and somehow I had July 2nd written all over my whiteboard. That's our wedding date. Every time they ask if I'm getting married my response is always the same:
 "Do I have a ring on my finger?"
"You're hiding it!!! You don't want us to see it!" 
"Trust me, if I had a diamond, I would be wearing it!"
Nope, doesn't sway them at all! I'm getting married and I'm pretty sure most of them expect me to come back next school year with a new last name. They even made a scrapbook of our relationship... like spent good money making a book about our "life" together. If you're ever at my apartment you're more than welcome to see it. It's sweet... and creepy all at the same time.

I even had a parent email me with "congratulations and blessings on your marriage." That was an awkward email back! Ha

It's led to interesting conversations with coworkers.
"Hey, your boyfriend is really cute!"
"Uhhh, which one?"
And to answer any questions about Duck Dude, yes he knows about my school fiancé. They are friends and we even took a picture all together. They are both the greatest and they are both crazy for putting up with me.

And that, my dear friends, is my fake relationship. And you're all invited to the non-existent wedding!!

Tofu

My workout schedule of life goes like this..... summer hits and I have all this free time so it's work out, work out, work out!!!!! Then school starts, aka volleyball season, and I drop off a little bit, but I work out with my girls so I'm doing ok. Volleyball season is over and I feel like I have a life again so I start to work out about up til Christmas. Then January hits and it's a slow decline all the way until June, when summer hits again.

So, true to myself, I hit the gym hard within the past week. Plus football practice, plus tennis competitions, and sweating from laying out! I also eat better in the summer. I have time to fix real meals, and time to eat healthier snacks. Now we are finally to the point of this post. Tofu. The point of the this post is tofu. The wonderfully protein rich, taste like absolutely nothing, tofu! (I figured if I said it enough times you might believe me)

I never knew I liked tofu until I had it in Pei Wei's Pad Thai. I also never knew how good it was for you until I took the time to look up it's nutritional value. It has so much protein in just a little block of it! I figured I needed to start cooking with it. The cool thing is it tastes like nothing, but it adapts to whatever you cook with it. It will absorb spices and flavors and become like them. That means that you can really add it to anything! I will definitely be experimenting (literally) with it. The one thing I can already tell you I will not add it to is salad. Salad is already bland and I don't imagine adding a spongey texture will increase my love of them anymore.




The one recipe I have tried so far is pasta with spinach, crab, and alfredo sauce. You honestly couldn't even tell a difference! If you have any great tofu recipes, feel free to send them my way! :)

BvB 2013

In case you need more proof that I'm really a guy at heart... I play football all summer. Really, Mollie? Yes, really and I love it and it is definitely part of my favorite time of the year.... Summer!!! 

It is time to participate in  Blondes vsBrunettes!! It is the coolest charity ever. It allows me to play football all summer, talk about how awesome it is to be a brunette, oh and raise over a million dollars in 5 years for the Alzheimer's Association of Dallas!

 The best part is we, as an organization, get 100% say in how we want to use the money we raise. One of the most meaningful ways I think we utilize it is by giving support to caregivers. In 2012, it was estimated that family members put in over 17.5 billion hours of unpaid care. As someone who has lived with a family member who had Alzheimer's, I know exactly the hours that the statistic is referencing. My afternoons were full of helping my grandfather, remember how to change the channel on the tv or reminding him that mom and D-mommy wouldn't be home for another 30 minutes when he would ask where they were. I am proud to be able to help support family members of those who are currently being affected by Alzheimer's. 

I play for my D-daddy, my grandfather, but I also play for the future. I'm raising money because I believe one day we will find a cure. Research is one of the key components of curing Alzheimer's and that’s why a large portion of what we raise goes towards the Alzheimer’s Association National Research Program.

Last summer we exceeded our goal by 50,000 dollars. This summer we have set our goal higher. We want to raise $350,000 dollars in 2 months. I have committed to raise $1200 this summer! I am excited to get started and want to invite you to join me! A $25 donation to BvB gets you a “ticket” to the game and I promise it will be well worth it!

I am so thankful for the constant care I receive from all of you, and I thank you in advance for your continued prayer or monetary support in this wonderful adventure! I am honored to be a part of this organization. If you know someone who has been affected by Alzheimer’s or you just want to pass this info along, please feel free to do so!

And, of course… Go Bru Crew!!! J

To donate, go here:

http://www.active.com/donate/bvbdallas/mlindstrom2013

The results are in...

Every year I give a survey at the end of the year. It's a time where my students can give me feedback. Some of the feedback is hilarious and some of it is a reminder of why I teach. Enjoy.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to a student who is going to be in my class?

-            Actually yell during the songs (She likes it!)

-           Mind your ps and qs and keep a low profile

-           Do what she says the first time… or she will repeat herself… a lot

-         Behave. Work hard. Be nice. Trust me, if you do all of these, Ms. Lindstrom will make math the most fun class ever.

-         Keep an open mind about math. I’ve always hated the subject, but this year it was fun and I grew to like it more.

-         Take good notes. They will help in the future.

-        Don’t worry about a thing, you’re fine. Ms. Lindstrom is the bomb.

-        Get ready to sing in front of everyone!

-        Do not talk. She will go kung-fooey on your hiney!

-        Don’t get on your non-existent bad side.

-        Don’t take advantage of your privileges.

What is one thing your learned the most?

-        I’m pretty good at the PT now! J

-        You don’t really like the word shut up and you have REALLY good hearing!

On a scale of 1-10, how helpful was I as a teacher (10 very helpful, 1 not helpful at all)

-          27

On a scale of 1-10, how much fun was my class?

-          13,759

-          10!  (Sidenote: I just taught them about factorials!)

One helpful suggestion to make me a better teacher:

-          Don’t play piano music

-         Try not to do odd stuff. Ex: Friday Tradition

-         We had a laid back environment and everyone knew limits and didn’t push them, not a d-hall was given out.

-          You are like a pro. No need to change. Seriously.

-          Class punishment for s word should be sit in the hallway with a dunce cap.

-          None. You are the perfect image of a teacher. (these are anonymous, but I couldn’t agree more!)

-          You are amazing, just the way you are (apparently Bruno Mars is in my class)

One thing you will remember about my class:

-           Group work. Like actually getting to work together.

-         You get to watch her make a fool of herself when she shows you music videos

-         That the teacher tried her best to make it less boring.

That's all kiddos. See ya next year.