Thankful Thursdays!

1. All the pieces falling into place.

2. Completing my visa app with no problems.

3. The kids catching on to the flow of the speech comp, and them gaining confidence with every recitation.

4. Only 30 instructional days left until the summer. That's actually a bit stressful because there's still SO MUCH I haven't taught my kids!!!

5. What Brandi said Daniel told his little sister after she hit him: "Do not do that again, or satan will be glad!"

6. Hearing more of my students reading more and more everyday. And hearing them help each other learn.

7. The fact that Jim bought Pam an engagement ring two weeks after they started dating! And the fact that they can both laugh over his faux proposals. I heart The Office.

8. Hearing a British accent during my phone interview Tuesday morning . . . even though it was at 6 a.m.

9. Having coworkers that will come in and hold up my arms whenever it gets to be too much. (I have friends that do that too, but at work my colleagues can literally help shoulder the load.)

10. Discovering that God was right when He assured me 2008 would be the year of Restoration.

I'm not the only one

All seems quiet in the blogosphere. At least the sites I visit are. So I don't feel so bad about the lack of posting. I guess I haven't felt much like talking.

Work's been crazy, as usual. In exactly a week we have a speech competition, which was a surprise - it wasn't supposed to happen until May. But all the kids have managed to pull it together. Mostly. Two of the kids I'm coaching are still learning their speeches. YIKES! I know they'll know them by Wednesday. I hope they'll know them well enough. For their sake. I'd hate for them to freeze and forget it all once they get in front of the judges.

I had a phone interview with King's Arms Tuesday morning. Because of the time difference I had to wake up at 5 a.m. so I could get ready for work before the 6 a.m. phone call. It went well, and it was good to voice my reasons for still wanting to go work on project after so long. Of course they still want me to go over, so the interview wasn't too daunting. But I hung up feeling a bit overwhelmed. It will put me in a hard place financially, somewhere I haven't been in a few years now. And since others are involved that makes this decision even more difficult. Makes me wonder if I'm being selfish, foolish, etc. But I keep praying for God to close the door if this isn't His will.

Speaking of King's Arms, I went back and tagged most of the posts from when I was over there in '04. So if you're interested in knowing exactly what I'll be doing for the next year of my life, just click the tag labeled "KA" and scroll down to start reading from the beginning. There's some powerful stuff there.

Ok, 5:30 a.m. has been coming way too early lately, so this is it for my semi-update post. Tomorrow is Thankful Thursday. Yay! But that means I need to decide if I'm going to Waco on Saturday or not. Oi! I don't think I even mentioned it to B&B yet. I guess they'll find out when they read this!

Guess who

just completed her volunteer visa application to work in the UK starting August 20?

Come on, take a guess . . .

Anybody?

Hello?!

It's ME, of course!

Application is complete and electronically submitted, the fee is paid, now all that remains is my appointment at the "Application Support Center" in exactly two Saturdays. Sounds a bit scary, if ya ask me. But I made it this far; I might as well close the gap.

Now let's just pray that the nice people of the British government will overlook the eensy weensy detail of the low funds in my savings account . . .

Thankful Thursdays!

1. Our last Family Night was tonight! Yay!!! The best part was we didn't have to plan ANYTHING - a free trip to the Children's Museum!

2. Crossing off something from my "Majorly Daunting and Oppressing To Do List" everyday this week. Yay for being responsible and proactive!

3. My public school students wanting to say a prayer before they ate their lunch in our classroom today.

4. The week quickly passing.

5. Trusting that God will work out the details of our upcoming speech competition - the one that was supposed to take place in MAY but turns out is APRIL 23. YIKES! (You can pray for the 6 little ones participating. I'm not sure they even understand what they're getting themselves into - they're only 5, 6 & 7! And tomorrow I'm going to have to change one of the girl's speeches and pray she learns it all in less than two weeks. Oi!)

6. A new episode of The Office tonight. FINALLY!

7. DVR to recored the aforementioned episode since I was at the museum.

8. The British government making applying for visas so much easier than before! Yay for user friendly websites and online apps!

9. Airfare to London during peak season dropping from $2,000 to $1,000. Can we get below (or at least around) $800, please?!

10. Grace to finally talk to my principal about my plans for next year and her SUPPORT and BLESSING in my endeavor! She thanked me, THANKED ME, for telling her now, since she's making plans for next year. You don't understand what a miracle this is, people! God can do some amazing stuff!!!

The silly things I say

"You can get your shoe out of the trash now."

"No sweetie, it's not pick on tree; it's pecan tree. And it's mockingbird, not monkeybird."

"That's not how you wear your shirt!"

"I don't believe you have the audacity to (insert misbehavior here; for example "step out of line")."

"That was a rhetorical question."

"Rule #1: Lift the toilet seat and don't drop pee anywhere! The girls don't want to sit on that!"

"Adam is a boy; so you say he, not she."

"I don't know what it is . . . just eat it . . ."

"Be careful around my computer. Unless you have $1200 to buy me a new one if you break it!"

"Abel, did you pooh on yourself again?!"

Thankful Thursdays!

1. Caffeine

2. Triscuit Thin Crisps

3. Pasta & Brown Rice (not necessarily the 2 eaten together)

4. 3 scoops of ice cream with a cup of hot coffee poured over it. Mmmm...

5. Girl Scout Cookies (yeah, I know, I know, they're not SB friendly. Whatev.)

(Hmm . . . I'm sensing a theme here . . . )

6. Perfecting my Carne Guisada recipe.

7. Caffeine (Yeah, I know I said that one already; I've been exhausted all week and it's the only thing that's kept me partially awake.)

8. Being able to hold Parent Conferences in Spanish.

9. Hanging out with my little cousins last weekend while their momma was having baby Benjamin.

10. 39 days left of school!!!

Thankful Thursdays!

What's that you say? It's not Thursday?
Well, it still is for me!

1. The life cycle of a plant -- it reminds you that something MUST die and be buried before new life springs forth.

2. My science fair project. Specifically, the midnight revelation I had as I typed up the experiment's results, "The plant found its way through the maze, around all obstructions, on its way toward the light."

3. The curvy Toyota emblem on my steering wheel. I like to trace the ovals as I'm sitting in traffic.

4. An AMAZING teachers aide who not only went back to work to pick up the camera I forgot since I was doing a million things for a million people (I couldn't go back because it would have taken up nearly 2 hours since I live so far out), she also dropped it off for developing. And when it wasn't ready when I went this morning she went to get it for me. AND when it wasn't ready when she went to get it, she stayed and waited 30 minutes until it finally was! Hmm . . . Mental note to self, stay away from the CVS on Beechnut . . .

5. A roll of film being developed for FREE since 1-hour photo turned into 13-hour photo!

6. Grace to find EVERYTHING I googled last night in minimal time!

7. A brief artistic outlet; even if it was just a science fair poster.

8. Book of a Thousand Days -- The latest retold Grimm fairytale I'm reading by Shannon Hale. So far so good!

9. Coming home and not having to cook. Although I love cooking, I've been exhausted lately.

10. Jumping on the trampoline prior to a naughty midnight snack. Even though I spent most of the time rolling around laughing rather than jumping since I couldn't pull it together to get upright. Until Bird, my brother NOT an actual feathered beast, fell on me. Then I just laid sprawled out on the verge of consciousness while he and Brandi continued jumping and laughing.

11. Going to bed at 10:00 on a Friday night. Lame? Probably. But I don't care. I'm excited!

12. A new season that brings new life: The wildflowers that have suddenly popped up on the banks of the ravine along the neighborhood walking trail. Dozen of butterflies fluttering amongst them. The smell of the lemon tree blossoms. Flowers coming back to life in the garden. No more fall allergies that somehow creep up in the winter from time to time!

My beloved spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.
See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."
~Song of Solomon 2:10-11

12 a.m. & still awake

But I'm doing something I love, so I don't mind.

Being creative to put together my class's science fair project. It doesn't look like much so far:



but give me another hour at least.

I work best under pressure.

These are keeping me awake:



The coffee in the mug provides constant caffeine, of course. And the water in the tumbler induces constant visits to the bathroom. Hmm . . . that's probably TMI but it's past midnight - what do you expect???

************
UPDATE: Need to get ready for work but here's a pic of the almost final product, as promised:



I'll take proper pictures w/ my digital camera when I have the whole display up. Lord only knows when I'll actually get around to uploading the pics . . .

Oh, and this is basically the experiment we did.

2 Prayer Requests

1. My "Aunt Dani" is just about ready to have her baby. She and Thinkling Blo should be going to the hospital tonight (if they're not there already). So if you can, please say a prayer for them. Sounds like he may need it more than her, though; she's rather chill. ;o) And my grandma could use a prayer or two as she takes care of the FOUR kids left at home.
***UPDATE: As of this morning (03.27) they haven't made it to the hospital; still playing the waiting game.


2. Our music teacher, Mr. Moses, lost his parents a few weekends ago. It's very sad. They owned a neighborhood store and his father was robbed and beaten to death. The next morning his wife passed as well; she had been sick for awhile. Please pray for him and his family. Even though a few weeks have passed I'm sure the pain's still raw. I saw him yesterday for the first time and as I hugged him and gave him my condolences I nearly lost it and he was rather emotional as well.
There have been a lot of deaths so far this year. It's very sobering.

Quote of the Week

"I miss my teacher.

But sometimes you've just gotta move on."

-6 year-old Kaiya after saying a quick hello to her Kindergarten teacher


How wise is THAT?!
More than I can say when thinking of everything I've grow to miss!

Dancing

While I'm working on Report Cards at one table and my mom is working on her grade book at another, my dad is sitting in the living room, working on his computer, with Dancing with the Stars on t.v. Hmm . . .

He's free to change the station, put in a movie, play some music. But he said he'll leave it on for us, even though HE was the one booing the judges when they gave Steve Guttenberg low scores.

He never ceases to amaze me!

I enjoyed the season premiere last week, esp since I had plenty of time to watch it. In the past sometimes I voted, sometimes I didn't. And I don't know how I'd vote this year. There are some dancers I really like who are with duds. Then there are some awesome "stars" with dancers I'm meh about. But how sad is it that I know the dancers by now and was even bummed when one or two weren't cast this season? Silly, I know.

Ok, enough procrastination!

Mounting Pressure

I've thoroughly enjoyed Spring Break -- I've lost myself in a couple of Shannon Hale's books, which I love Love LOVED! I may have to do a review of Princess Academy one of these days since it's fresh on my mind. I love her writing style and genre. If ever I become a writer it's the genre that I'd want to write - suspended somewhere between childhood and adulthood. Hmm, that would be Teen, wouldn't it . . . interesting . . .

Anywho, the week has passed way too quickly and as much as I would love to continue reading out by the pool, it's time to return to reality. Yet I can't help but realize that I may have left reality, but reality didn't leave me. It's an ever-present creature crouching in the back of my mind. I can lose myself in a well-told story but as soon as the book closes or the t.v. is silenced or my prayer is prayed, I feel the eyes of that creature bore into my brain. And boy does it hurt!

I don't know what I'm saying anymore.

It's not that I don't want to go back to work tomorrow. I do. I miss my friends and students. It's the stress at work that I don't want to go back to. Report Cards. Black History program revisited. Science Fair. Returned Test Scores. Graduation Prep. Awards Ceremony. Speech Competition. Next Year's Plans.

No wonder I feel more and more ill with each minute that passes.

And instead of finishing my Report Cards I'm blogging. 'Cause blogging always helps, right?

Technology soapbox

As a kid who grew up with a non-wireless VCR remote control (that had 4 buttons on it), I have to ask this question. Now that technology has more than exploded and we seemed to have fine-tuned the information superhighway of the internet, what's with all this recent mass migration? In terms of keeping in touch with friends, the metaphorical watering hole keeps moving around at a mind-boggling rate.

First, email was the thing, so I learned how to reply and mass-forward. Then IM was in, so I learned how to LOL and ROFL, BTW. :"> :D 8-) Then this thing called blogs came along, so people flocked to Blogger, but only until they discovered myspace. Either way, I've blogged and waited for Comments and gotten random messages from people -- some very nice and others not so nice.

Now the tumbleweeds seem to be blowing through myspace and I discover that it's because the herd has migrated to Facebook -- which, quite frankly, is very nice because I see even more friends there whose real faces I haven't seen in ages.

Yet I still use my myspace and Blogger blogs, sometimes log in to IM, and have 4 email addresses. But there are usually trickles of communication at these spots, I'm guessing because they aren't the latest thing anymore.

It is nice, however, to have as many options as possible to keep in touch with people. But must we only utilize just one all the time?

I have a DVD player and a few DVDs (even though I've heard that's not the latest home entertainment thing anymore), but most of my favorite movies are on VHS tapes, so I usually just watch those. And I've got lots of CDs but even more audio tapes, and yes (because there's a tape player in my car), I usually listen to music this way because, well, I enjoy setting my driving to music. But I'm not going to buy a CD changer for my car just so I can keep up with the latest thing, and I'm not gonna toss my dozens of videotapes out my apartment window. In general, as long as the tapes play movies and music without any problems, I am content with what I've got.

But sometimes life just gets so noisy, and I like to either read a book in the evening or sing out loud while I'm driving alone. Either way, I'm content and entertained (without adding to my electric bill or depleting my car battery).

My point is that I think the purpose of technology is to provide us with a range of options to get things done efficiently, whether it's talking to a friend or enjoying a movie. So, this weary web traveler has one request: can we please just settle down in one spot? :) whether on Blogger, myspace, or Facebook?

In the meantime, there are a couple of friends that I'd like to sit down and write to -- and send it via good, old-fashioned snail mail. :D LOL!

Blog apologies and consumer update

My apologies for taking so long to post another blog entry. I recently got the internet hooked up here at home after 6 months without it. (And high-speed internet is much easier to work with than dial-up, by the way.)

June will mark the 3rd year of my Wal-Mart boycott, which has now become a complete boycott (since I allowed my Sam's Club membership to expire and I doubt I'll ever download anymore music from Walmart.com). I am happy to report that I still haven't gone broke or hungry and that, at this point, I plan to coninue the boycott indefinitely.

And yes, I do realize that most of America still shops there. I sat aghast from the other side of the street around the Christmas holidays at the line of vehicles who were no doubt waiting to turn into Wal-Mart in Irving. When I went to visit my parents in South Texas at Thanksgiving, my dad said that he went to their Wal-Mart around 5:30 AM that Friday to buy a laptop, but the brand he wanted was already sold out.

I think a lot of the crappy customer service might have something to do with the actual Wal-Mart you visit. The store in South Texas that I described above, according to my mom, has excellent, speedy customer service. My friend Holly suggested that I visit a Wal-Mart store near the North Dallas Tollway and said it was a nice one. And my friend Lydia told me about an insurance nightmare she went through when her vehicle had a run-in with a Wal-Mart shopping cart. But unfortunately, she couldn't leave a Comment as usual because a couple of spammers (on my blog at another website) took over my last Wal-Mart blog post there with a browser-hijacker thing or something. Frankly, I think that just goes to show how low in the population that Wal-Mart caters to.

But really, Wal-Mart, enough with the TV ads. People are gonna keep frequenting your stores. I, however -- along with an ever-growing number of folks -- will not.

Thanks again for reading. :)

Easter

by George Herbert

Rise, heart, thy lord is risen. Sing his praise
Without delays,
Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise
With him may'st rise:
That, as his death calcinèd thee to dust,
His life may make thee gold, and, much more, just.

Awake, my lute, and struggle for thy part
With all thy art,
The cross taught all wood to resound his name
Who bore the same.
His stretchèd sinews taught all strings what key
Is best to celebrate this most high day.

Consort, both heart and lute, and twist a song
Pleasant and long;
Or, since all music is but three parts vied
And multiplied
Oh let thy blessèd Spirit bear a part,
And make up our defects with his sweet art.

Good Friday

Good Friday

by George Herbert

O my chief good,
How shall I measure out thy blood?
How shall I count what thee befell,
And each grief tell?

Shall I thy woes
Number according to thy foes?
Or, since one star show'd thy first breath,
Shall all thy death?

Or shall each leaf,
Which falls in Autumn, score a grief?
Or cannot leaves, but fruit be sign
Of the true vine?

Then let each hour
Of my whole life one grief devour:
That thy distress through all may run,
And be my sun.

Or rather let
My several sins their sorrows get;
That as each beast his cure doth know,
Each sin may so.

Since blood is fittest, Lord to write
Thy sorrows in, and bloody fight;
My heart hath store, write there, where in
One box doth lie both ink and sin:

That when sin spies so many foes,
Thy whips, thy nails, thy wounds, thy woes
All come to lodge there, sin may say,
'No room for me', and fly away.

Sin being gone, oh fill the place,
And keep possession with thy grace;
Lest sin take courage and return,
And all the writings blot or burn.


*********************************************

In this new season, I have no lofty words to share; no wisdom to impart.
My heart grieves for it's sad state: Apathy. Indecision. Restlessness. Selfishness.
Over the past 40 days I've done very little to reflect, to intercede, to cultivate.
The small sacrifice I have made seems meager and inadequate.
What can come from such an act? From sacrifice with no great follow through?
My finite mind thinks, "Very little."
But my spirit must look beyond and trust.
Trust that those prayers prayed in secret were heard.
Trust that the grace I've always experienced does not run dry.
Trust that this is the Year of Restoration.
For me, for my family, for my friends.

Thankful Thursday!

1. A beautifully restful Spring Break! Soooooo not ready for it to be over. :o(

2. Not being picked for Jury Duty! And being able to read a WHOLE BOOK while I waited!

3. Knocking off lots from my To Do List this week.

4. Getting to stay home on a rainy day and read and laze on the couch.

5. Green Smoothies

6. Paying off debt.

7. Fun at Dave & Busters and winning prizes!

8. Another trip to Waco this weekend.

9. Easter & Surveying the Wondrous Cross.

10. Repentance and Redemption

11. The beginning of a new season - a season of renewal and rebirth

I need to stop being lazy!

But I can't help it!!!

I should actually be going to bed, but after 5 days off from work I've reverted back to my night owl ways -- up half the night, sleep half the day. Which is not bueno when I have JURY DUTY at 8 a.m. AND it's DOWNTOWN. That's over 23 miles from my house, people! And TRAFFIC. And PARKING. And PAYING for parking. Oi!

I'm praying I don't get picked and get to go home early. I have way too much to do still! I've been so lazy I haven't done any school work. That's what I need to finish before we go to Waco Friday night 'cause I don't want to rush back to finish late Monday. Oi!

Great, now I'm getting a stress headache . . . it's time for bed!

I've Gone Green!

Green smoothies, that is...

Pictured in the blender, from top to bottom:

5 ice cubes (I'll add a couple more next time)

1 1/2 cups of water

1 medium-sized Gala apple, cored but not peeled

1 cup of grapes

2 Bananas

2 handfuls of . . . . SPINACH

Yup, that's right. Fresh spinach in a fruit smoothie! And I wouldn't lie to you folks when I say it was YUMMY!

That is if you could get past the green color . . .



I'd highly recommend this to anyone -- even you veggie haters! -- as a way to get more much needed veggies and nutrients in your diet.

A BIG THANKS to Leann for showing me the green!

I just invented the above recipe; clickie the linkie for Leann's authentic recipes if you don't want to experiment like I did. Yesterday I used a cup of frozen fruit, a Dannon Light & Fit yogurt smoothie, a banana and 2 handfuls of spinach. It wasn't as green as the one today, but still delish and less intimidating.

Enjoy!

Lemon Tree, Variegated

Here's not a great pic of our unidentified citrus tree:



A bee buzzed up just as I was trying to take a shot with my MacBook; you can barely see it on the flower to the far left. Therefore, I decided not to interfere with the pollination process and hurried back inside. Hence the poor picture.

Hmm...there was a lot of alliteration in that paragraph...but I digress...

I was baffled by all my internet searches in discovering the tree's identity. I knew it had to be a type of lemon or lime; I leaned more to the lime because the fruit we had last summer looked more like a lime. But the blossoms matched the lemon tree, like these you see:



But the leaves aren't dark green like all the lemon tree leaves I came across. They were light green with yellow edges. And it wasn't a diseased yellow, as far as my VERY untrained eyes can see. So I eventually decided to google "lemon tree" ('cause I'm sure it's lemon at this point) and "light green leaves." Finally a match!!!



It way more lush than the tree I have, but it's a match! The mystery is solved! Yay for me!!!

And if the pic didn't convince me, the description did:

Young leaves emerge with pink tints among the green. The pink matures to a rich cream. Flowers are numerous, extremely fragrant and are followed by striped fruits that are very flavorful.

It's the striped fruit that made me think lime because it was more green than yellow. Anywho, I can scratch one thing off my To Do List! Although, I still do need to plant my grapefruit seeds and work in the garden . . .

What Your Latte Says About You

You don't treat yourself very often. You find that indulging doesn't jibe with your very disciplined life. You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious. You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast. You're addicted to caffeine. There's no denying it. You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are deep and thoughtful, but you are never withdrawn.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

I don't know about the "very disciplined life" bit, OR that I'm "truly an adult." I just thought this looked fun!

Mental Note To Self

Give yourself a few minutes for your food to digest before running off to play Skee Ball at Dave & Busters.

There was much fun to be had, but my tummy felt a bit funny after chowing down on one of their GINORMOUS salads. And the Mario Kart II arcade game was soooo much better than the Game Cube version! Then I hit the jackpot at that claw game that no one ever wins. You know, the one where you give your money in hopes that the flimsy claw will grab that cute stuffed dog that's actually weighted down so no one can ever claim it for him/herself?

Anywho, one of the bins was full of Houston sports paraphernalia and I thought I'd try for a plush Astros baseball . . . I ended up with a Texans football instead! So I tried again . . . up came TWO more things -- an Astros ball (not the one I was aiming for the first time) and an unexpected plastic Rockets pennant that was under the baseball; it's suction cup got hooked by the claw! I played a few more times (ok, maybe way more than "a few more times;" I can see now how gambling addictions develop) and I ended up with TWO MORE prizes; which included the original Astros baseball I was going for the first time! They're all official sports merchandise, so worth a pretty penny, and well worth the multiple swipes of my game card!



After my success Becca gave it a go and won a few prizes herself. Around that time some of the employers/bouncers started congregating around an employees door just to our left. Then I REALLY felt like a gambler who was being suspected of counting cards because the winning streak was too good to be true! Shortly thereafter we decided to stop being greedy and move on while we were ahead.

If I were a good auntie I would pass some of it along to my nephews. OR I could save it for birthdays and/or stocking stuffers. We'll see . . .

Flabulous Friday!

Why is it so fabulous, you ask?

Well, first of all, I didn't wake up until 11:30. And that was ok because WE DIDN'T HAVE TO WORK TODAY!

As soon as I came downstairs the coffee was already made and waiting.

The episode of Lost my brother was watching was from last week, not this week, so I didn't have to yell at him for watching without me. And I mentally forgave him for leaving the toilet seat up in both bathrooms.

We watched Lost and it was rather emotional, not like the Desmond episode mind you, but emotional nonetheless. Although the end was bittersweet, yet I hope. (I intentionally left that vague for some of you who haven't watched yet.)

As I type I'm lounging on a lounge chair beside the pool, which is temptingly calling my name, however I'm not deceived -- despite the 80+ degree weather and sunshine the water is still frigid!

I have a book sitting next to me just waiting to be read.

I was reminded that we're all failures, that we'll never live up to the world's standards, and that it's by God's grace that we are not overwhelmed by those failures and He gives us the strength to get back up and go on. That's fabulous news for me since I was feeling like such a failure last night; now I realize that I'm not alone!

My mom and I singlehandedly fixed the blender while my dad and brother sat on their keesters watching 3:10 to Yuma. My poor dad is being forced to do much of the cleaning and some of the cooking these days, so the blender got put in the dish washer w/o being taken apart. Apparently, even a Kitchen Aid blender can rust if left in standing water. Thankfully I was just making a shake and not something big, like salsa. I just poured it all out into a bowl and we figured out the prob and banged and turned and sprayed WD-40 until we got it loosened. Now it's just soaking in hot soapy water to get the gunk out. Can't wait to try the smoothie I was just inventing . . .

There's much to be done this Spring Break, so here's my To Do List so you can keep me accountable (I'm mostly talking to you, Debs):

1. Report Cards. Blah!

2. Science Fair project. Double blah!

3. Jury Duty Wednesday. I actually need to find my original jury summons; no idea where to look . . .

4. Figure out what kind of citrus tree the previous owners left us and how to tend to it. And other gardening for that matter -- the flowerbed out back looks horrendous and a plant I salvaged from my grandma last year seems sick. I also want to plant some grapefruit seeds I picked from my friend's last batch of homegrown grapefruit.

5. Catch up on the Philippians bible study going on over at OWOA.

I know there's more but I can't think anymore and this is long enough. I would apologize for my mundane post, but it's my blog so you'll just have to get over it! :o)

Thankful Thursdays!

1. Spring Break is so close I can TASTE IT!

2. 80 degree weather and a delicious looking pool in the backyard!

3. A stack of books that MUST be read!

4. A fuel-efficient car . . . esp when I had to pay $3.25 for gas this morning!!!

5. Insurance for the above mentioned fuel-efficient car.

6. DARK chocolate

7. Re-introducing carbs in a week. I'm actually scared abt that one . . .

8. Plantain chips, although they're evil 'cause you forget how much you've eaten if you're not careful!

9. Unexpected Easter presents!

10. Having the freedom to teaching 88 kids the lyric and a dance to Shackles, and hearing them praise God with all their hearts . . . in a PUBLIC school. Oh, the beauty of charter schools . . .



What are you thankful for this fine day???

Morbid and a bit disturbing...

My thoughts, as they came to me while I read, are included in italics...

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Debbie!

1. It takes a lobster approximately 7 years to grow to be Debbie.
2. If every star in the Milky Way was a grain of salt they would fill Debbie.
3. Debbie can remain conscious for fifteen to twenty seconds after being decapitated. (Um, not something I hope will EVER be tested!)
4. Debbie can use only about ten percent of her brain. (Should I be offended?)
5. A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find Debbie. (Ok, this is the VERY disturbing part.)
6. You should always store Debbie in an airtight container in the fridge. (I assume that would come AFTER the decapitation . . .)
7. Pacman was originally called Debbieman.
8. The porpoise is second to Debbie as the most intelligent animal on the planet.
9. If you toss Debbie 10000 times, she will not land heads 5000 times, but more like 4950, because her head weighs more and thus ends up on the bottom! (Sounds painful. And again, should I be offended? They're basically saying I have a big, fat head!)
10. About 100 people choke to death on Debbie each year. (I'm left speechless . . .)

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Via Debs and Blest and The Thinklings!

Thankful Thursdays!

1. Testing went relatively well yesterday. Thanks for praying! I know someone was because I made it the whole SIX HOURS without needing to go to the bathroom!

2. Tihiti is back at work and her father is on the mends. God is good!

3. Even though I didn't get to vote on Tuesday I'll be able to vote in November!

4. CBS has full episodes of Jericho online for those days that the Primary causes it to be preempted and rescheduled for 2 a.m., but even then they're running late and you only get to see the first 20 minutes.

5. The custom header for my igoogle page -- it's white with a close up portrait pic of a beanie baby doggy off to the far right. It makes me smile every time.

6. I'm a Nancy Leigh De Moss convert now, thanks to Brandi. (Hey! You still need to send those pics, too, Brandi!)

7. We're going to Waco Saturday to celebrate Daniel's 7th birthday! How is that possible??? It'll be a fun international event! (Too bad you won't be there to represent the UK, Debs!)

8. Spring Break is only a week away!!!! And there's only 51 days of school left!

9. Texas rocks!

10. I received my stipend for two of the three new teachers I'm "mentoring." AND they didn't have to take taxes out!!! Hopefully it's enough to last a couple of months in England...

11. Speaking of England, I finally completed my King's Arms application and sent it off AND I heard back from them the very next day. Now it's on to the visa application process. Scary. I practically have to learn a whole new language to understand it. Go take a looksie if you're interested . . . they lost me at concessionary . . .

12. Watching last week's episode of Lost again before this week's premiered. I heart Desmond. However, 8 years is a heck of a long time to wait for a phone call! But what a wonderful phone call it was!

Prayers, please!

1. Tomorrow is the TAKS test and I was chosen to help administer it to a third grade class. Please pray for the kids -- that they would be at peace and not anxious, esp having a crazy teacher in the room that they've never met! And please pray the same for me! I've never done this before so pray I would have wisdom. And that I wouldn't be bitter about being discriminated against and being chosen to help give the test since I'm one of the few with clear diction and no accent.
Pray we will all be rested, alert and focused.

2. On a much more serious note, please pray for my friend Tihiti. When she arrived at work yesterday she received a phone call from her family. Her dad was being taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. The bullet didn't penetrate the skull, so they had surgery to see how much damage was done. They successfully removed all bone and bullet fragments and are now waiting to see how he recovers. From what I understand he's conscious and and even communicating, but still in critical condition.
Please pray for her and her family. She's a strong believer and when I was with her Monday morning, just minutes after she learned the news, she was declaring the goodness of the Lord through her tears.

We were all shell-shocked most of Monday. If you remember, the Monday before was when we found out one of our PK-4 students accidentally drowned over the weekend. So, my whole team needs your prayers. The whole school, actually. Even those that don't have eyes to see are growing weary of this war that's raging around us.



I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Meet Felicity?

Felicity is the one on the left; Abby is on the right.

Although I haven't completely decided "Felicity" is her name. My mom doesn't even think she should be a she, but I don't know if you can just change the sex of your car like that. It feels . . . wrong . . .

Here's Daniel showing off his hard work:



He earned $2, but I may give him $3. However, he was more successful in getting everyone wet than washing off the dirt. Abby was successful in slapping everyone with her soap-soaked rag. Nathan was a big help too but got busy drawing inside when it came time to taking pics.

So, you finally get to meet my new car. I need to take pics of the inside so you can meet my guard tiger and doggy who sit on the front console. I've bonded with them more than I've bonded with my car. I miss Earl, though. Poor guy. I gave him a wash, too.

Anywho, feel free to submit any name suggestions!

I need to go pay my little workers now. Daniel will have $8 now. I asked him how much money he wants. He said, "Enough to go to London." Both he and Nathan are determined to go to England to visit Ms. Debs! She should feel loved!

Thankful Thursdays!

1. The headache I had from Sunday thru Wednesday FINALLY went away by this morning . . . but was replaced by a sore throat. Blah!

2. Brandi and the kids are coming this weekend!

3. We were finally able to fix the pool pump, the chemical levels are leveling out, and temps will be in the mid- to upper-70's this weekend. Woohoo!

4. Having an Anchor in a time of such instability.

5. The Revive Our Hearts Conference this weekend I'm a bit nervous about attending.

6. Facebook -- it's a fun and easy way to keep up with friends who are spread out all over the world!

7. Only two more weeks until Spring Break!

8. Only three more weeks until I can eat pasta again!

9. Having a bit of a break from cooking this week.

10. Go Western Day tomorrow to kick off the Rodeo. That means wearing blue jeans to work! Yee haw!!!

11. An extra week before going on our field trip (to the Rodeo!) since I'll be administering the TAKS Test on the original trip date. That's right folks, I'm somehow qualified to administer the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test even though it feels like I was just taking it myself not that long ago! Back then it was TAAS. Oh, how the tide has turned . . .

Bonus: The laughs I get from my occasional viewing of Jimmy Kimmel. He cracks me up!

Double Bonus: The ending of Lost tonight. SO GOOD!!!! And the episode of The Office that I recorded that I somehow missed earlier in the season.



Wow, that's a lot to be thankful for! I almost didn't type this post 'cause I was sick and tired and this has been a long and stressful week that won't even end after work tomorrow. But it's true: A thankful heart prepares the way for the Lord. Anywho, bedtime! Yay!

Never Ever Again

This afternoon I had to do something I hope to never, ever do again. I was asked to type up the Spanish translation of a letter explaining that one of our school's prekindergarten-4 students died over the weekend.

His family was at their church for a baby shower Thursday. He was in the childcare area and somehow wandered away. When they couldn't find him after an extensive search someone remembered that the neighboring house had a swimming pool in the backyard. Everyone ran and jumped into the murky water. It was so turbid that they couldn't see the bottom, so they just dove and dove. Until they found him.

Please pray for Anthony's family, especially his brother, Eli. They were just a year apart and inseparable. Also pray for Anthony's teacher and classmates. A grief counselor was on campus and explained what happened to his friends. But they're only 4. His teacher, especially, is taking it hard. He was more than a handful, therefore spent most of his days at his teacher's side.

Lord, may You pour out your comfort and grace in this time of mourning . . .

Playing with Plantains!

I never tried plantains until this time last year. It's a huge Latin American delicacy but it was never used in any of the Mexican dishes I grew up with. In fact, it's not even really a Mexican thing. Anywho, I was out to dinner one night and it was ordered for me. They were good, a bit greasy though.

At the luncheon I went to Tuesday they had some thin strips of fried plantains in the bread basket. I decided to try one since I'm sure plantains are ok for SB. It was yummy! I detected some cinnamon on it, so reminded me of a dessert instead of a side.

Anywho, out shopping Wednesday (which was FABULOUS because that meant I didn't have to food shop this weekend!) I decided to buy two plantains. I searched different recipes online but then decided to do my own thing in the end 'cause everything I came along looked extremely greasy and slimy.

I wanted to make them crispy like the ones I had Tuesday, so I used a potato peeler (my Venezuelan friend who was at the luncheon told me that's how they made them). It was slimy and slippery and I didn't feel like fiddling with it so after a few strips I gave up and then thinly sliced the rest of the plantain.

I heated some oil and just minutes later, viola! Fried plantains:



Now I know fried anything is not completely SB acceptable, but I figured it's a nice treat every once and a while. And salted, they taste exactly like potatoes! So dinner tonight will be burgers and plantains! Yay!

So exciting!!!

Doesn't this look AWESOME?! It makes me want to read the books again! Yes, I did watch Anne of Green Gables last weekend and felt the same about those books.
*sigh*
I miss the days of curling up with a good book and a hot cup of coffee and not feeling guilty. Oh, for it to be summer again! Or even Christmas vacation!



Thanks to Dani for the link!

My Tulips

I meant to snap a shot in my classroom, but I forgot.

The flowers have opened up and will start to wilt. The bulb is still attached and from what I've read online you can let the flowers fall and the leaves yellow and then pull them off the bulb, which can be planted in the summer. However, I noticed a small shoot starting to pop up and now I don't know what to do! Suggestions, anyone???

Amazing!

What an amazing little girl:

. . . the soft-spoken 7-year-old is a hero after she threw herself across her mother just as a gunman was about to shoot the woman in an SUV.

. . .

The mother and daughter were getting a ride from a friend when Parker's former boyfriend emerged from the shadows outside Parker's house and jumped into the vehicle. He then forced the friend to drive at gunpoint for several minutes.

Under the pretense of needing fuel, Parker's friend stopped at a Detroit gas station to call 911.

Inside the SUV, Parker pleaded with the gunman not to shoot. As he was about to open fire, Alexis cried, "Don't hurt my mother!" and jumped into her mother's arms from the back seat.

Although 7-year-old Alexis was shot 6 times and spent two months in the hospital, she saved her mother's life and is recovering.

The AP reporter explains that Alexis is learning disabled, therefore it can't be determined if she meant to put herself between the bullets or not. Nevertheless, she's a hero! And anyone who reads this story and knows of the love between a mother and her child knows that Alexis meant to shield her mother from whatever evil she sensed in that SUV. And the most practical way to do that was to throw her arms around her mama.

What an amazing little girl!

Carne Guisada

I told you it looked vastly different from the pic in this link! It was delish, though! A bit tough, so I'll have to simmer it a bit longer next time. I used fresh garlic instead of the powder -- about 5 or 6 cloves! And I used closer to a tablespoon of cumin instead of a teaspoon. And nearly a half a cup of [whole wheat] flour and 1 1/2 cups of water to make it more gravy-e (less water because as the meat cook a lot of broth accumulated in the pan). I cooked a family pack of stew meat, so I had closer to 2 3/4 pounds as opposed to only 2 pounds.

I served it up with refried beans (canned, of course!) and my special zucchini & squash side. Hmm...I'll have to post that recipe sometime. My brother, who hates squash with a passion, would eat it . . . if he HAD to eat squash, of course!

As I was eating I couldn't help but dream about homemade flour tortillas. Mmmm . . . I still haven't perfected that recipe yet . . . but I can't try until March, anyway. *sigh*



********************************
Ok, since I'm typing this post and watching the end of Lost, simultaneously, I just have to comment that I SO CALLED IT!!! I won't say what, in case someone's reading this who hasn't seen it yet, but halfway through the show I told my mom how it was strange how they kept just saying, "him," and not his name. So I said, "Ya know, it would be too obvious for him to be ______'s ____, so he must be ______'s ____." And I was right!

Thankful Thursdays!

1. February is passing quickly! (Which is actually both frightening and exciting, actually.)

2. Turns out I don't have jury duty next Wednesday . . . because it was yesterday! But thankfully, I was able to reschedule it. I'm doing it during Spring Break so I don't have to waste one of my paid days off waking up even earlier than I do already to get downtown by 8 a.m.

3. The carne guisada recipe I just found online! I tweaked it, of course, so it looks nothing like the pic in the link. Hopefully I'll post a pic once it's completely finished simmering . . .

4. My kids might not be the smartest/best educated students in Kinder at my school, but they're loved and they love me!

5. The beautiful tulips I got from the luncheon I attended Tuesday. They've been brightening up my classroom all week!

6. Attending the district's State of the Schools luncheon Tuesday. Seriously. It was good, and not just because I got to be away from the class for half the day!

7. The Skinny Mocha Latte my wonderful teacher's aide brought me today!

8. The amazing gift of forgiveness my parents instilled in me since I was a child.

9. Rediscovering childhood books and movies with the same wonderment as the first time.

10. Leaving work on time for two days in a row!

Incoherent thoughts that must escape

First, literature:

I love Anne of Green Gables. I forgot how much. I haven't seen it in well over a decade, so I was quite delighted when I went up to Waco and Bird and Brandi recently received it from Netflix. We started it Sat night and then I played the rest of it Sun after church. Even the kids seemed to get into it. I brought one of the books w/ me to work; not that I have ANY time to read. Just sit and day dream. Everyone rants and raves about Mr. Darcy while poor Gilbert Blythe is lost in the depths of literary memory. He's such a good guy, too!

Second, random:

Driving home last night I heard the author of Get Married on KSBJ. She was explaining how women, specifically, need to become proactive in their quest for marriage when they reach the "marrying age." Not to sit and wait for it to happen as we've done for years, but pray and seek out mentors to confide your desire in. To even look to older women/couples to make potential matches. Yeah, I'm not too sure how I feel about all that yet. It sounds a bit . . . desperate? But then again, I'm less than 3 years away from 30 and according to this lady my expiration date has been stamped and will soon draw near!

Finally, God speaks:

Powerful moment in church yesterday. During the sermon over Philippians 3 a man cried out and people started asking for a doctor. He had a seizure which triggered a heart problem. Everyone immediately started praying. Then the worship leader went up and led us in worship. I wept because I know I would want the same for my father. What better place for that to happen than a church where 1,000+ prayers will immediately go up on one's behalf and where the body of Christ will worship for you?

Then, I wept because just two nights before someone I know was sick in prison. Shaking with fever, lying on a concrete floor with only a thin blanket for warmth. Even the tinniest of medication was withheld. Some may say he got what he deserved for breaking the law and deceiving the people who love him. Some may say he deserves worse. But somehow, I don't think that's what Jesus would have said, or what He would have us say.

He who is forgiven much, loves much . . .

Then, I was angry. The people that should have been praying and worshiping on this prisoner's behalf were few and far between. When his sins were confessed there weren't 1,000+ there to pray and worship on his behalf. There weren't 100.

Then, I was assured.

The prayers of a righteous man avail much . . .

One is enough. And one is all you need in the darkest hours of life.

This is deeply disturbing . . .

Which Lost Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

This is the response I get from saying I'm faithful, I do well under stress, I hold a momentary grudge, I get along great with my family, I enjoy reading, I'd fight dirty, and I would make the best of things if I was stranded on a desert island???? What's up wit dat?! Maybe it's cause I said I'm a republican . . .

Out of the 4300+ people who have taken the quiz, I'm like 2% of them . . . yipee . . .



Ok, Brandi just took the quiz:

Which Lost Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

She was happy with her results, of course. She wasn't the one voted most likely to be a manipulative psycho!

I almost forgot!

It's Thankful Thursday! So here we go!

1. Valentine's Day love.

2. The tulips I got from dad. I just basically gave him a car and he bought me tulips. ;o)

3. MY NEW CAR!!! I hope to post pics soon. And write a post about how I need to change my driving philosophy and how I now have street cred w/ my new wheels.

4. This week flew by!

5. Not having to come up with a Black History Program performance for the end of the month. That drops the stress tremendously!

6. Having students and speeches picked out for the Speech Comp I've somehow found myself co-chairing even though I know NOTHING abt Speech Competitions. The fact that the comp is NEXT MONTH stresses me out, though.

7. Hearing about spring training's got me psyched for the start of baseball season.

8. Brand new season/episodes of Jericho & Lost. What more could a girl ask for??? And I must admit that I saw the first eppy of Big Brother but it kinda freaked me out so I don't know if we'll be watching, despite the lack of new prime time shows.

9. David Letterman. I don't watch him often, but when I do I'm amused.

10. I survived the day without even licking the icing off my fingers after dishing out cupcakes. Now that's a miracle!

11. Did I mention I HAVE A NEW CAR?!?!

Ain't it SAD?

Of course I couldn't let Single Awareness Day come and go with no mention of it. I was actually just browsing old posts from February of '05 and '06 and had to laugh at Tirzah and my old V-Day posts (is that grammatically correct?). Of course my fav will always be the SAD survival guide for single girls. It's great! And not that far-fetched, actually.

So I have a confession: I'm actually not a V-Day hater anymore. I don't know if I ever was. Maybe it's easier not to hate it since I'm out of college? Or maybe since I've been teaching my students fill that void with their flowers and cards and chocolates? Or maybe, just maybe, I'm actually content in my singleness??? I dunno.

Receiving gifts is definitely my top love language. Last year I raked in the gifts with my kids! Esp the flowers! Not so much this year. And that's after weeks of me telling my kids how much I love flowers and that's what I wanted for V-Day. I was quite bitter that the mom who works at a FLOWER SHOP bought me a memo cube.

I know, I know, I sound horribly selfish and ungrateful, don't I? Well, the truth is I am horribly selfish and ungrateful at times.

Anywho, I love my kids and I know they love me. They were so excited about the day and making cards for each other. We had a good day. And the best was when my Spanish kids came over to deliver cards they each made for me. One little boy, Alex, I've known since he was 3 and in his card he wrote, "Ms. Gayle, yuo are my favorite tichr." Awww!!! All the cards are cute and I hope to scan and post some. Eventually. Maybe.

Oh, I almost forgot! I did get a bouquet of a dozen red roses . . . torn from the page of an advert! HILARIOUS! And rather witty for the quiet LEP 5-year-old Ashley!

Sunday Cookin'

So this Sunday I tried out Jana's Turkey Meatloaf. I only tasted a bit and LOVE IT! I'm saving it for lunch tomorrow. The only variations I made in the recipe was I added half a diced green onion, used the whole egg, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic, and I also substituted butter for the Smart Balance (only because the container was almost empty). I made Brussels Sprouts with Garlic to go along (trust me, they're much yummier than they sound!). Here a portion dished out in my Gladware:


Hmm . . . it does look a bit bland dished out like that, but believe me when I say it's DELISH and not as heavy as a traditional meatloaf.

I also made the usual, easy meal: chili. I have no recipe. I just throw it all together and it usually turns out great. This time I put only one type of bean and I added chopped zucchini. It's still rather meaty and spicy, though, and it tastes great!



I wanted to make chicken salad (a recipe I learned from an old college roommate) but I ran out of time. It's already 9:45 and I still have papers to grade. What the heck happened to this weekend?!

It should be a rather easy week, so hopefully I'll have time to make the chicken salad and chicken and black bean soup. Yay!

I must be getting old...

Have they lowered the minimum working age?

Obviously they must have.

Because I swear the kids bagging groceries and handing out baskets at HEB were well below the age of 16.

They must have been 13.

At the most.

Either that or I'm older than I thought.

Naw, it couldn't be that.

Maybe HEB just has some special privilege that allows them to hire child laborers.

Yeah, that must be it . . .

How Strange!

When I finally made my way downstairs to cook breakfast this morning I decided to whip up a batch of salsa. I pulled an onion from the pantry and coarsely cut it up with no problems. I added all the other ingredients and blended the baby up. It tasted soooo yummy over my eggs. However, as I sat holding the plate and eating in the living room I noticed my eyes starting to water. Then sting. Like when you chop up a particularly potent onion. Somehow, the onion didn't affect me when I peeled and chopped it. It didn't affect me when I added it to the blender and made the salsa. It didn't affect me until 30 minutes after it had been turned into salsa and then poured on my plate. How strange!

Thankful Thursdays!

1. God's Grace (I know that was #1 last week, but it's more true this week than it was last!)

2. ABC's Full Episode Player -- in the stress and chaos of this week I forgot - FORGOT - to record Lost!!!!

3. Amazing coworkers who are also dear friends.

4. The most low-stress Family Night EVER. And it was a complete success!

5. Mrs. Robinson's home-grown grapefruits. I just ate the last one. :o( However, I salvaged some seeds and am gonna try to plant them! Suggestions, anyone???

6. Getting to wear my pink Juicy sunglasses again since I have new contacts.

7. Time to finally car shop this weekend. I hope, I hope, I hope . . .

8. My niece, Abigail, turning FOUR. I don't even want to think about how old my nephews are!

9. The fact that February is passing far more quickly than January did.

10. The peeps over at King's Arms said they'll love for me to come over in August! But I still have a visa and other details to work out before I can say I'm going FOR SURE.

11. Romney pulled out of the presidential race! Not that that's something I'm necessarily thankful for. I just found out about it. And I'm completely shocked! So I just had to share . . .

"I am a dog."

Ok, I need to clarify something. Despite my whining and complaining, and despite my constant state of stress and exhaustion, I don't really hate my job. Sure, we have unrealistic expectations laid on our backs week after week. Yeah, we have to work our rears off to earn every single cent we're paid. And I might as well just stick a bed in the corner of my classroom 'cause it will save time (no commuting) and money (darn high-priced gas). So call me crazy when I say I actually like it. Maybe that's 'cause I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

It's the actual teaching I love. Seeing a child go from not recognizing one letter from another to writing their own sentences within five months. And that's no exaggeration!

Aris, one of my LEP students (Limited English Proficiency), barely knew any letters and sounds back in August. She's quiet and one of those that's easy to overlook in a class full of . . . challenges. But I worked with her as I could and had my aide work with her and, most importantly, her parents at home. She came every Saturday to tutorials and rarely missed school. I worried that still wasn't enough. I knew she got the letters and their sounds down a couple of months ago. And earlier in January she read a beginning reader book to me. That was amazing!

AND THEN, on Friday she brought her journal over to me. She didn't say anything, which is her style, and just pointed at what she had written. I asked her to read it to me. She said, "I. am. a. dog."

"Wow," I replied. "Did you write that?"

She emphatically nodded her head and I just smiled while thinking, Yeah right.

You see, LEP students don't usually write grammatically correct sentences. LEP students don't usually say grammatically correct sentences. Especially SIX YEAR OLD LEP students. Plus, Aris' sentence began with a capital letter, ended with a period, and contained spaces between real words. An unusual occurance for an English-language Kindergartener.

I was excited about Aris' progress but thought maybe it was a fluke. Then, while walking around this morning I saw what she was writing. Again she had the sentence, "I am a dog." Underneath it she wrote, "Ther is a str(star)." And under that she wrote, "I hav a dog." AMAZING!!!!! What's even more amazing is she even had some sentences written in Spanish!

Ok, I'm not sharing this because I think I'm an amazing teacher. Puh-leez! There is sooooooo much I don't know, and I feel like I'm winging it on a near daily basis! But I share this because I don't want to forget it. I want to remember that this is why I'm doing it; this is why I don't just chuck it and quit when the stress gets incredibly unbearable and lonely.

Unsatisfied

Last night I pulled out John Piper's Hunger for God from my bookshelf. It's been awhile since I've read it so I just thumbed through and scanned the passages I had underlined. One line is still burned in my mind:

GOD IS MOST GLORIFIED IN YOU WHEN YOU ARE MOST SATISFIED IN HIM.

Mercy, Lord! Forgive me for seeking satisfaction from other people, from the world and from STUFF. Thank You that Your mercies are new every morning! Thank You that I can seek satisfaction in You today, despite not turning to You yesterday.

That's a perfect label for how I've felt lately: unsatisfied. The contentedness that I so prided myself in having just a few months ago has seemed to have slipped away. I'm unsatisfied at work. I'm unsatisfied in my relationships. I'm unsatisfied with my inner self. I'm unsatisfied with what I have. Even that with which I have been blessed, I've taken for granted and become apathetic. Mercy, Lord!



Lamentations 3:21-26

21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;

26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.

So much to say

but the post I had been working on for the past hour was just deleted.

SO, I'll just post the verse I need to meditate on this week:

Psalm 27

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

I'm with Rose!

I just finished watching the season premiere of Lost. So good!!! As usual, we only have bits and pieces of the answers we all crave. But after three seasons, we're all used to it.

I'm not too concerned about who the Oceanic Six are or what their big secret is (sure I want to know! but it can wait for now). The most significant thing for me was Rose's statement to her husband when the line was drawn: "I'm not going anywhere with that man!" Before that I was torn between Jack and John. It would be easy to go with John in honor of Charlie's sacrifice, but John's too much of a weirdo. Rose has been the one with the most keen discernment throughout the whole series, so if she sees it too, I'm with her! In fact, she felt such a strong conviction that she chose to remain in the group wanting to leave the island despite the fact that her cancer would return and she would soon die. Now that ought to mean something!

Thankful Thursdays!

1. God's grace.

2. This one's for you, J: Carl has a girlfriend and it's NOT ME!!!

3. God's provision! Yesterday I signed the paper stating how much money I will receive as an incentive pay from the school district for working with low-income, at-risk students . . . it's over two times of what I was hoping for!!! Praise the Lord!

4. LOST 2 hour season premiere TONIGHT!

5. The World Mandate main session teachings are available for download here.

6. Last night I heard my dad sign a contract for the sale of my childhood home. I'm thankful that the money made will help my parents pay off debt, but it's bittersweet. Granted, I probably haven't stepped foot in the house this decade, but still!

7. I ate the most delicious german chocolate cake left from my dad's birthday . . . made with an all natural sweetener and whole wheat flour. It's AMAZING!

8. Pistachios. I'm addicted to them now. It's a nice break from plain peanuts and mixed nuts. Thanks, Debs!

9. My new glasses and contacts. And my new optometrist -- he's the BEST optometrist I have EVER had! Seriously!

10. No more working weekends after this Saturday. YAY for having all my weekends back and sleeping on on Saturdays!!!!

11. After today, January will finally be over! I feared it would never end . . .

12. The sound of 5 year-olds learning to READ and knowing that I'M the one who taught them!

What's On My Mind Wednesdays

1.  Ok, I know it's technically still Tuesday, but in my mind it's already Wednesday!

2.  Somehow, in the craziness of my life I forgot - FORGOT - that Lost premieres Thursday!  The same day the school district's superintendent visits our school (yeah, my room is still a mess).  That's also the night I'm required to go to some board member celebration, which will probably be as exciting as it sounds (that's sarcasm, btw).  Praise the Lord for DVR.

3.  Speaking of forgetting, I left my computer charger at school. 

4.  I've been eating an obscenely large amounts of carbs lately.  But after next Wednesday I won't be eating anymore for forty long days.  Nevertheless, I still need to watch it!

5.  I've realized it's a gift I have, to be able to suck it up and work in stressful situations with people I don't really like.  Yes, I know I'm a Christian and should love everybody.  Blah blah blah!  You try working with people who suck the life out of you on an HOURLY basis!

6.  Hmm . . . it appears I may be in a crabby mood . . .

7.  Sadly, I have grown dependent on my MacBook automatic spell check feature.  So please excuse any typos and misspellings.

8.  I fear I may be in a time loop and am being forced to relive January 2008 for all eternity . . . This month JUST WON'T END!

9.  I'm tired.

10.  I may actually go to bed early tonight . . .

Yes

This is about the song, not the video. So just close your eyes and listen . . .

I'm stuffed!

I bought the ingredients to make this last week. Thankfully the italian sausage lasted uncooked until this evening!



It's my version of a restaurant quality pasta dish recipe Brandi has. Don't get me wrong, she'd happily give me the recipe; I just couldn't be bothered to call and transcribe it!

The main ingredients consist of italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, garlic, spinach and angel hair pasta. I basically threw it all together with some spices and I think it turned out rather close to the original. I'll have to get the real recipe one of these days and see how it compares.

Our family could DEFINITELY open a restaurant. Between Brandi and I we could cook or bake anything! And Bird will be the grill master. My dad and brother, Sha, will be the taste testers. Mom will keep the kitchen tidy, and the kids will bus the tables. Sounds like a plan to me!

New Glasses

I got new contacts too, but no use taking a pic w/ those on -- it's just me w/o glasses!

Sunday Cookin'

Every Sunday afternoon/evening I cook food for the upcoming week. Today I tried out two new recipes: Jana's Chicken Chili and my own invented Baked Ziti. Both turned out fabulous!

Here's the ziti:

I know it's not a pretty presentation, but it was a yummy dish! All I did was cook a box of ziti (I actually think it was penne; and I used whole wheat pasta), and mixed it with a container of ricotta, about 4 cups of mozzarella, an egg, and 2/3 of a can of spaghetti sauce. Then I dumped it in a 9x13 inch pan, poured the rest of the spaghetti sauce over top and sprinkled it with grated parmesan cheese. I baked it for about 30 min at 375.

I followed Jana's chili recipe rather closely. I don't use taco seasoning packets, so I just added my own usual spices -- salt, pepper, garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and whatever else catches my fancy. I also added a diced fresh jalapeno. It probably could have used two. It was very tomato-y but still tasted great. Here's the final product:


I had hoped to make another invented past dish, but ran out of time. Maybe later in the week.

Anywho, just thought I'd share what's cookin.'

Why is it called "Cloverfield?"

Yesterday was Dad's birthday, so we celebrated with dinner out and a movie. I took him to see Cloverfield. All I knew about the movie was that some people loved it, some people hated it and it was a film about NY being destroyed. I had completely forgotten about the camera action/movement until we were watching the opening scene. Oops!

It was at that point I remember briefly reading that people suffered motion sickness because of the constant movement. I'm not one to get easily ill, but because we had just had a HUGE dinner and it was in my head that even some of my guy friends got sick, I was a bit worried. I did ok, actually. A bit queasy but not bad. However, the girl down the row from us had to be helped out of the theater by her boyfriend. She was practically in tears. And some other people left the theater halfway through the movie. We all did have headaches by the end, though.

I'd like to see it again so I can catch some of the things I missed while being distracted by the audience, the constant camera movement, the slightly sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and the dull ache in my head.

***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***
DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!!!

I'm a sucker for a good story. The way J.J. Abrams and crew framed the story with Rob and Beth's day at Coney Island was brilliant. And Rob and his friends literally risking their lives to go back for Beth was heroic, and maybe would have had a greater emotional impact (on me) if it weren't for the distractions. Even though I was captivated by the story I didn't get very emotionally involved. The camcorder feel made it more real but at the same time caused me to distance myself from the character's struggles.

And the camcorder was like the little engine that could! It not only survived the initial attach, it survived being dropped numerous times (like when the parasite things attacked), it survived a helicopter crash, it survived Hud being half-eaten by the creature, it survived numerous bombings, AND it survived being buried under a bridge at the end. I need to find out what brand that sucker is and invest in one!

The thing I found least believable was not the probability of a giant monster attaching NY and playing ball with the Statue of Liberty's head. Nor was it that venom from the creature's parasites' bites causing one's torso to explode. It wasn't even that someone would adamantly run into uncertain danger to find the girl he loves (that was sweet, actually). What bothered me the most was that when they did find Beth, skewered by an iron rod, they pulled her free and she didn't bleed to death! Then, she proceeded to run with them through the streets of Manhattan like she wasn't half-dead just minutes before! I know adrenaline can make you do some crazy things, but still!

I read up on the movie online and there's speculation that the creature might have survived. That's possible, 'cause like the camcorder, it just wouldn't die! But since the camcorder was recovered from "the site formerly known as Central Park," then it must've moved on. Otherwise, how else would the camcorder have been found? That creature (and its parasites) seemed to be everywhere! There's no way someone could sneak into the attack zone and sift through rubble to recover a camcorder they didn't even know was there!

I also read that there might me a sequel. Not going the route that the creature is still alive, but the unfolding of events through another's eyes. That will be cool, actually. And next time I'll be more prepared -- no big dinners beforehand and anti-nausea medicine!

Thankful Thursdays!

1. It was only a 4 day week! Granted, it felt like the longest 4 days of my life, but still . . .

2. All testing and make-up testing is OVER. Praise the Lord!!!!

3. I love the Saviour King, Hillsong Live album I just bought over itunes. We did a few of the songs at Mandate and they're AMAZING!

4. The new episode of Chuck I'm watching!

5. My dad just signed a new customer and made managing director in less than 2 months of being in business! (you can email for details, if ya want)

6. Speaking of Dad, tomorrow is his 64th birthday. How did we all get so old???

7. Last weekend I received my package from England with my belated Christmas pressies -- an awesome bracelet and a new money purse, both from Accessorize. My favorite sweets too, Percy Pigs, but I can't eat too many of those.

8. I keep receiving unexpected money from work! There's more coming my way next week, but I have a HUGE hurdle to jump first.

9. I'm off work Saturday!

10. January is almost over. This has been the longest month, EVER! Does anyone else feel that way???

11. Debs and I had a blast together over the weekend! I hope we can do it again soon . . . either here in TX or over in England!

I just have to say

I'M SO BUMMED I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WERE TWO NEW EPISODES OF CHUCK TONIGHT!!!

Thankfully, I got home in time to watch the second episode, but I missed the first. So sad!