Eight Things (tag)

I wasn't actually tagged by Shannon or Aly, but this looked fun, so here I am doing it.

8 Things I'm Passionate About:
1. My family
2. The church
3. My service and activity in the church
4. Teaching/education
5. My children's education and learning
6. Reading
7. Scrapbooking/recording family memories
8. Learning

8 BOOKS I've read and enjoyed (this is way too hard for me as I read so much, here are just a few I've liked):
1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
2. 3 Cups of Tea
3. Expecting Adam
4. Not My Sister's Keeper
5. The Covenant by Beverly Lewis (and the rest of the series)
6. Twilight series
7. The Covenant by Naomi Ragen
8. A Wrinkle In Time

8 Words/Phrases I say often:
1. I love you.
2. Please stop that.
3. That's enough.
4. You're my angel.
5. I love you more than life.
6. You're silly. That's silly.
7. Calm down.
8. Just a moment. I'm feeding the baby.

8 Things I want to do before I die:
1. Travel with Alfredo
2. Get something published: a book or article(s) for kids.
3. See my children married in the temple, having kids of their own.
4. Get my master's degree (and maybe a doctorate?)
5. Retire with a nice retirement after 25-30 years teaching. (I'll only be 52 after 30 years of teaching! Not bad.)
6. Go on a safari in Africa
7. Learn to speak Spanish fluently
8. Spend time in Costa Rica with my in-laws (I've still never met them)

8 Things I've Learned over the past year:
1. Lots of ways to be a better math teacher.
2. More about World War II and the holocaust (I read a lot about this)
3. I'm not as patient as my mom or as I would like to be.
4. Several new recipes that my family likes... so I can make them ahead and freeze them.
5. I'm learning how to style my daughters' hair better. I'm still not great, but I'm improving.
6. I love blogging!
7. The Lord takes care of us. Things don't always go as planned or hoped for, but if we follow the teachings of Jesus and listen to the Holy Ghost, we will be okay.
8. I'm good at being pregnant and having babies. :) When my body decides it's ready to have a baby, there's no stopping it. LOL!

8 Places I want to see:
1. Costa Rica/El Salvador
2. Hawaii
3. Alaska... on a cruise
4. Africa
5. Tonga
6. Spain (I've been to 8 other countries in Europe, but not to Spain)
7. Italy (again)
8. The rest of the US that I haven't seen

8 things I currently want/need:
1. Alfredo to find a new job
2. a longer maternity leave
3. more sleep
4. for Michelle to love kindergarten
5. to see my family (hooray... my mom, stepdad and sister are coming Wednesday.)
6. a new camcorder
7. to know how to use my camera better
8. to say thanks to all my friends and family for all the kind things/help people have given me and my family at the end of my pregnancy and birth of Gabrielle

8 People to tag:
Anyone who wants to....