It's been a year

And it didn't hit me until I hugged my friend Elaine's grandpa tonight.

We had taken a group picture just moments before and I heard him telling David, Elaine's army boyfriend, that the two service men needed to stand together. I was immediately reminded of my grandpa. So, when I hugged him I couldn't help but think, I can't remember the last time I hugged my grandpa. It's been exactly one year since his burial.

And just a few weeks later, my other grandpa died.

I barely held the tears in while saying goodbye to Elaine's grandmother. I'm sure she noticed. But when I sat back down on the couch Elaine immediately noticed something was wrong. All I could manage to say was hugging her grandpa made me very emotional, and she immediately knew why. What a dear friend.

Even though he wasn't very vocal the last few years, it was still a comfort to know he was there; that he had always been there. As a young adult I remember imagining that I could take my future husband to meet him; he would share his war stories, perhaps we'd even drive him to Snider for the WWII 36th Infantry reunion. Those reunions don't happen anymore. We have only our memories of his memories to help us remember.

And may we never stop remembering . . .



Below is what I read beside his casket a year ago tonight. It was the hardest thing I had to do in my life. I haven't looked at it since.

Growing up, if my brothers and I weren't with my parents, we were with our grandparents; their home has always been our home. Memories of those times flash through my head: cold, sweet watermelon on a hot summer day; lazy Sunday afternoon naps on that fuzzy brown couch; grandpa fixing my covers after I kicked them off in my sleep; bologna sandwiches with fritos after school; Little Debbie snacks and Wrigley's Chewing Gum always in abundance; listening to him whisper the names of his children and grandchildren as he laid in bed praying for them at night.

Throughout his whole life my grandpa loved and served God, his family, his friends, his neighbor, and his country. He was a humble man who loved wholeheartedly. He may not have always expressed his love with eloquent words, but he displayed his love through the work of his hands. And he allowed God to use him to touch people's lives. He carried out the commandment that Jesus gave Simon Peter in John 21:15-17:
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”
“Yes Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”

My grandpa fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, clothed the unclothed; he took people groceries, gave children candy, mowed neighbors' lawns. He constantly gave out of his own need. He lived with a purpose, fulfilling his calling. He spent his life “storing up treasures in heaven” because his life was not his own; his life was hidden in Christ.

There is a poem by George Herbert, a 17th century poet and parson, that reminds me of my grandpa. It's entitled Colossians 3:3, a verse which states Our life is hid with Christ in God.

My words and thoughts do both express this notion,
That Life hath with the sun a double motion.
The first Is straight, and our [daily] friend,
The other Hid, and doth obliquely bend.
One life is wrapt In flesh, and tends to earth.
The other winds towards Him, whose happy birth
Taught me to live here so, That still one eye
Should aim and shoot at that which Is on high:
Quitting with daily labor all My pleasure,
To gain at harvest an eternal Treasure.
[My Life Is Hid In Him, That Is My Treasure]

As Herbert describes in this poem, my grandpa had two lives: a physical one here on earth that we all experienced and enjoyed; and a spiritual one, that was cultivated as he loved and served others.

So as we grieve and bid farewell, let us also rejoice and take comfort, because at this very moment Mariano Miranda is experiencing that which he never fully experienced here in this world: He is basking in the glory of God. He is savoring his Father's delight. He is overwhelmed, and probably a bit embarrassed, with the abundance of his treasures. And we, as part of his living inheritance, must carry on his legacy. We must love our neighbors as ourselves and give them that which they lack, knowing that when we meet Grandpa in heaven again he will be bursting with pride on our behalves.

What's that, you ask?

Why, that's what happens when lightning strikes your house!

Or it could've happened when the whole flippin' transformer box blew.

How it happened doesn't matter to me anymore. All that matters is for the time being there's no oven, no washer, no dryer, no downstairs air conditioner, no front right sprinklers, and no water heater (although that last one really had nothing to do with the fried breakers). I'm sure tomorrow we'll discover something new that's not working.

Goodbye 1/3 of my England savings . . .

Unthankful

I was unable to be thankful yesterday, on Thankful Thursday, because the cable and internet were down when I got home from work. That's right, folks -- another outage! A storm blew through, and although I'm thankful it watered the half of the lawn that's dying from the malfunctioning water sprinklers, I was NOT thankful I could not log onto Blogger and be thankful. Of course, after the week we've had it might've been hard to be thankful anyway. So my thankfulness shall have to wait for another day since school starts in 8 minutes.

What a week!

Here's a week-in-review:

Sunday: Power outage that only affected seven houses. They thought it was just a fuse, but realized around 10 p.m. they'd have to replace the whole transformer box. Five hours later they successfully replaced the box and packed up their floodlights and crane. If it wasn't 3 a.m. and I had more than two more hours for sleep available I would have ran out there and given those Center Point service men a hug!

Monday: Something happened; I can't remember what . . . Oh yeah! We found out our sprinklers on the right side of the house aren't working properly. So half of our lawn and flower beds are relatively green and the other half is brown and dying in this 95+ degree heat. We didn't notice before because they don't come on until 3 a.m.

Tuesday: Late at night the water went out. Apparently even the water company can have power outages.
On the work front, we heard a rumor that we might not get paid the first four working days of summer school since our regular year contract dates overlapped with the start of summer school. We had already turned in and completed time sheets. No, we weren't informed beforehand.

Wednesday: Water came back but the water heater was out. Our nice neighbor, Victor, came over to help us out. Apparently his water heater also went out. He actually came to help us before he worked on his own. He couldn't fix it at first, though, but came back later and he and Dad were able to work it out. Our other neighbor, Jim, also came over to try to help us with the sprinklers, but they weren't able to fix that one.
Oh, and I also noticed it was unusually warm in the house by the time we got home around 6:30 p.m. Dad was focused on fixing the water heater and didn't have time to look at the air conditioner. It's still around 83 degrees downstairs. Thankfully the upstairs air conditioner is still working! Hopefully there's nothing majorly wrong with the air con -- it's less than a year old anyway, so still under warranty.
Also, the rumor at work turned out to be fact. We were given new time sheets to fill out sans the first four working days. None of us turned it in yet. We've all banded together and plan to plead our case tomorrow afternoon. That is if our principal doesn't skip out like she did today! She probably sensed we were coming. Surely HISD funded her to pay teachers the full 20 days. So what's going to happen to the $750 each teacher loses out on? Hmm???

What does Thursday bring? Only time will tell. But prayers will be much appreciated!

Thankful Thursday!

1. Teaching summer school is so chill.

2. The beach is so relaxing.

3. The HEB brand sun block is so worth it.

4. Ted Dekker's Black can be so confusing at first.

5. Ted Dekker's Black can also be so addictive.

6. Leaving work by 4:00 is so nice!

7. The HOV lane is so worth waking up and leaving 15 minutes early.

8. I'm so ready for the weekend!

9. God is so good!

10. I'm so ready for bed!

Thankful Thursdays!

1. I survived the school year!!!!!!!! Now I just need to survive summer school . . .

2. The aforementioned summer school will pay up to $25/hr. Which translates to a couple of months of living in Bedford. So I suppose it's worth the sacrifice.

3. I'm packing my bag for the family weekend at the beach. Yay!!!

4. I have a stack of books ready to read while on the beach; including, but not limited to Ted Dekker's Black, Khaled Hossein's The Kite Runner, and Kim Edwards' The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Hmm . . . none of them are light reading, are they? Oh, and if you click the link I wouldn't read everything or else it might ruin story lines for ya.

5. I heart the HOV lane. A coworker who lives only 5 minutes away has started carpooling with us for summer school, and that means we can zip past the thousands of cars sitting on the I-10 main lanes. My life will never be the same!

6. I also heart the new Chronicles of Narnia movie. I've read of people being annoyed by the Prince Caspian/Susan kiss at the end. Um, HELLO?! Did you see the movie?! I SO would have done the same as Susan! Ok, maybe not really. But I'd like to think I would . . .

7. At the end of the Spring Program our principal announced to the whole staff that I'm leaving to do mission work overseas. She actually had a few nice things to say. Almost made me cry. And ever since I've had people coming up to me on a daily basis asking what I'll be doing, offering to keep me in their prayers and wishing me well. It's actually quite touching. And I never realized that so many people know who I am.

8. Two plants I received from students (nearly a month ago!) are still alive and well and show no signs of dying. One is a Begonia that's thriving; the other had no identification. Is anyone able to help?

I've been too busy (and lazy when I'm not busy) to look it up.

9. My wonderful coworkers who have been helping me finish packing my classroom since summer school started. I don't know what I would do without them!

10. It's SUMMERTIME!!!!!!

Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars

Apparently, that's my price.

That's the amount I'll get paid for working summer school for 20 days.

*sigh*

You see, what had happened was, I went to offer my services as a sub.

Twenty minutes later I left scratching my head, wondering how in the world they got me to agree to teach the full term.

Those wily co-lead teachers of mine who call themselves my friends!

But I figured since I'm not going back to work at the beginning of August I'll have a bit more time to recover.

I'm actually not all that tired.

Perhaps it's the 12+ hrs of sleep I got every night last weekend.

So, yeah, I'm teaching summer school.

All those brilliant and insightful blog posts I have rolling around in my head will just have to wait a wee bit longer before finding their release.

And I'm thankful I'll have a couple thousand more to add to my England Fund.

I just wish the dollar wasn't so weak up against the GB pound!

I emerge . . .

as Jan Brady!

You Are Jan Brady

Brainy and a little introverted, you tend to think life is a lot worse than it actually is. And while you may think you're a little goofy looking, most people consider you to be a major babe.

What Brady Are You?

I'm MIA

Knee deep in costumes, sequence and hot glue.
With slightly burned fingertips.
Papers scattered all over the classroom.
A stack of Kinder diplomas threatening to topple over.
But I'm still alive!
Just thought I'd let you faithful visitors know!

Reflections of the third decade, part V

I still think it's staggering to see how much has changed in 10 years:

Me at 22:
Look, Ma, no brains!
Me at 32:
Look, Ma, financial independence!

Me at 22:
Ah, the joys of Ramen noodles!
Me at 32:
Ah, the joys of leftover chicken casserole and veggies!

Me at 22:
Exhausted from walking to work (which was especially tiring when I had 2 part-time jobs).
Me at 32:
Thankful to still be driving my first car!

Me at 22:
Mistaken for a homeless person (probably from all that walking in a not-so-pretty part of town).
Me at 32:
Writing a novel about homeless people.

Me at 22:
Always ready to translate for anyone who needed a Spanish/English interpretor.
Me at 32:
¿Sabes qué? No me gusta hablar tanto español. (It strains my brain.) But I'll gladly sing in Spanish anytime. :)

Me at 22:
I MUST GET MARRIED BEFORE I SELF-COMBUST!
Me at 32:
Apparently it's possible to go 14 straight years without a date and still hold your head up high. :)

Me at 22:
Skating dangerously on the thin ice of my mental health.
Me at 32:
Extremely thankful to be free from the slimy chains of depression. (Really, it was horrible.)

Me at 22:
A book? What's that??
Me at 32:
You know, a book -- that beautiful bundle of pages that you can curl up with on a rainly night next to your favorite lamp with a cat napping next to you (and another cat trying to nap on top of your book).

Thankful Thursday, Abridged

1. I'm alive.
2. I got 3 hours of sleep last night! (more than I thought I would)
3. I may get 3 hours of sleep tonight! (again, more than I thought I would)
4. AMAZING friends who do whatever they can to help alleviate the stress -- from gluing sequence, to making up dance steps, to buying food, and that's not even all of it!
5. This funny antic:
I walking into the classroom and the aide who's so graciously watching my class and another is singing, "Where is Tumbkin." They're on the pinkie and Little Luis quickly turns to me and scandalously says, "Ms. Gayle! We showed the middle finger! We showed the middle finger, Ms. Gayle! She made us show the middle finger!!!"
6. Melissa went through surgery ok. She's back home recovering, and in a lot a pain. I'll share more details later. Thanks for praying!

Ok, that's all for now. Still have some work to finish up before awards ceremony tomorrow . . .

Keep Praying, Please!

Melissa hasn't had the surgery yet. They're waiting for her blood pressure to go down. Most of last week it had been 220ish over 180ish, which is EXTREMELY high, and I can only imagine that it's just as high since she's in lying in the hospital thinking of everything that needs to get done.

I talked to her for about 2 minutes yesterday and my friend Tihiti talked to her a bit longer this morning. Basically she has a hernia that's pressing into her intestines, causing toxins to leak into her body. So it's very dangerous and surgery definitely needs to be done.

Please pray:
1. That her blood pressure would go down so they can do the surgery.
2. That the surgery goes well with no complications; wisdom for the doctors.
3. The Melissa would have peace of mind and not worry about all the details that we're working on here at school (this is probably the most difficult one for her).
4. That her family, especially her three kids, would have peace.
5. That all of us at school will get everything accomplished without her so she could rest easy.
6. That I won't lose my mind managing two classes for the spring program.

Thanks for your prayers! I'll keep ya posted.



*****UPDATE @ 3:50 P.M.*****
Melissa is having her surgery at 5:00. I'll let y'all know how it goes. Thanks for praying!

Please Pray!

About an hour ago my friend Melissa was wheeled out of here in a wheelchair! She has a pain in her side that the nurse thinks might be either her ovaries or appendix. We've all been under a lot of stress, especially Melissa who had extremely high blood pressure readings all last week.

Please pray for her.

And at the risk of sounding selfish, please pray for me! She's my partner teacher for our end of year program and since our song was changed up at the last minute (like, it was only approved last week) we still are working out the details of our dance and even costumes. To make it worse, only half of our budget was approved. She and I were working overtime to get it all panned out, but now that she's out I have to figure it all out by myself.

I almost feel like crying. But somehow, I'm not.


*****UPDATE******


Around lunch time they did a catscan to determine what was going on. They discovered it was a hernia, so bad that they had to rush her into emergency surgery! She actually hasn't had the surgery yet. They're monitoring her to determine when will be the best time (I imagine it'll be sometime w/in the next 24 hrs).
I don't know details, but what I understand from hernia surgeries they are VERY painful to recover from. So I expect her to be out for the rest of the year (which ends next week, anyway!).
Please pray for her and her family -- that she would have peace as she's prepped for surgery, for provision since her husband will be the only one working; for grace; for a speedy recovery.
I want to go visit tomorrow and take her some books. Does anyone have any suggestions? It can be fiction or nonfiction. I'm thinking of giving her my copy of Lies Women Believe... from Nancy Leigh DeMoss, even though I haven't read it all yet. And maybe a fiction book or two. Any other suggestions???

As for me, I have some wonderful friends who helped me fine tune the dance and my class is picking up on it rather quickly. I just need to get it down perfectly so I won't mess them up when they look at me. Now I just need to work out costumes. Plus all the regular end of year stuff -- grades, report cards, portfolios. Not to mention the kiddos. Mercy!

It's past midnight

And I'm still awake.
Therefore, the Thankful Thursday post shall be posted tomorrow.
Thank you for your understanding and patience!

Excitement!

Ms. D was walking down the hallway and her water broke! So we're about to have a new baby on our Kinder team! How fun!!

But boy is that a good excuse to get out of all the end of school activities! Why didn't I think of that???

In a few hours I'll start getting my 3 kiddos ready for the Speech Competition. I'm not that nervous yet. Only about the weather -- the sky is looking ominously cloudy. And I'm wearing a skirt and open toe shoes. I hate getting my feet wet in my shoes.

The kids know their stuff, though, so that's good! Even Marlon manages to make "The Gettysburg Address" a bit more lively. Quite a feat for a 2nd grade LEP student, huh?

I had a restful day of test administration yesterday. Yeah, you read that right! There were only TWO kids retesting, so I just sat in a desk between them and read a book. I finished it around 2:30 but still had 2 more hours to kill. It was torturous! But the other teacher came to my aid and gave me a Sudoku puzzle. Anything with numbers makes my brain go wacky, but I actually managed to finish 3 of them.

Ok, time to go off and educate America's future generation. We only have 10 days left together!

The Science Fair Project

Yeah, I know it was over a month ago when I stayed up all night and promised to post good pics. That's how long it took me to upload the photos. Oops.

I found out Thursday afternoon I won 3rd place in my grade level, which means I know move on to the district science fair. Woohoo!

I'm actually a bit annoyed because they told us so last minute. Someone came round my room Friday, 30 min before dismissal mind you, to look at my board and suggest what I might need to add. Did I work diligently all weekend to spruce up my project? Nope. I went out for sushi and coffee Friday night. I played in the pool and cooked carne guisada for my bro & his fam on Saturday. And I had my extended family over to the house for Mother's Day today. So, no. Sorry Mrs. B, but I put my family before my job this time around. And don't regret one second of it!

Anywho, here are pics for your viewing pleasure.

The board:


The plant:


What it looks like now:


I really do love my project! And I would obviously do things different next time. Oh well. Ya live and learn.

Here's a link for those of you interested in trying this at home!

Beautiful

This is one of my all time favorite worship songs from Vineyard UK.



My friend Sarah talked about walking down the aisle to this song -- the bridesmaids will come down as the song is starting and then when it picks up at 2:43 the doors will open and there she'll be! But since she didn't do it, I might still her idea! I would have to fly my friend Marcus in to play guitar and sing it, of course (listen to "Hit Me" if you link to his space). And Tirzah can play the djembe.

Ok, true, I'm not planning my wedding yet (or even a date, for that matter), but I just wanted to call dibs on the song and the musicians! HA!

Thankful Thursday!

1. Turns out I'm not one of Greta's bridesmaids in June -- I'm her MAID OF HONOR! Whoa!

2. Cinco de Mayo was such a chill day for me and I felt no stress leading up to the kids performing. Plus it helped that after the performance half the class left and we just got to chill and do crafts for the rest of the day.

3. Temps are breaking into the 90's -- which is only good because that means the pool won't be freezing!

4. My dad is a SUPERstar -- he always runs any errands I ask him to. Just the other day I asked him to exchange some shoes for me and he actually did it with no problems!

5. This time next week I should know whether my visa app was approved. Scary. The main thing I'm nervous about is they didn't ask for a letter from the organization I will be working with and I'm worried I may have overlooked that detail. I mean, how else will they know what I will be doing??? So, prayers are much appreciated!

6. My dear friend Elaine will be coming to Houston at the end of June and will soon start planning her wedding. As soon as her army boyfriend comes back from Africa and proposes, that is! Oh, and I'm definitely making it a priority to return to the States in November for the big day!

7. This week FLEW BY -- which is both terrifying and exciting. Only 14 days left with the kiddos! Unbelievable!

8. The students graduating this year were my PK-3 babies two years ago, so I'll actually be quite sad when this year is over and I'm gone. It's so much fun coming back to school and seeing all your former students after the long summer, seeing which classes they're placed in and how they're progressing. *sigh*

9. My time in Waco last weekend was restful and fun. Now it's time for Bird & co to come down to Houston this weekend.

10. Sushi night tomorrow!!! It's actually us 4 lead teachers going out to finalize graduation details and we'll be joined by two former coworkers (and fellow lead teachers) who moved on to greener pastures. Sadly, we haven't all gotten together since last fall. But half priced sushi rolls, esp the S & M Maki at Miyako, is the cure! Yay!!!

What am I doing???

It's 11:09 and I should be going to bed. Instead, I blog.

I had a lovely weekend. Bird and Brandi renewed their wedding vows in a very touching ceremony on Friday night. Bird was even baptized right before the ceremony. At that point I knew it was a bad idea that I wore mascara, but thankfully Sheer Cover mascara holds up remarkably well! But seriously, I'm very happy for them. Bird looked like a completely different man when he came up out of that water. With a peace and gentleness I have never seen in him before. God was definitely with all of us crammed inside that bathroom. And I was reminded, once again, of hearing God assure me that 2008 will be "The Year of Restoration."

The best part was I proved Bird wrong by showing up to the house (in Waco, mind you) on time, despite not being able to leave work until 2:00. Boy, was he ever stressed about that!

Speaking of stress, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo -- Mexican Independence Day (but not really because it really should be 16 de septiembre, but whatev). We'll have an all day party outside w/ games and rides and food and hot sun. Thankfully, we can retreat to our classrooms. AND parents are welcome to come and take their children away. YIPPEE!!! We'll perform, of course, but I'm not stressed about it.

I am stressed about our kids having to say their speeches in front of our principal sometime this week. That woman could be wretched in her quest for excellence and I don't want my poor babies caught in the crossfire!

I also caught a taste of summer this weekend. I did nothing school-related! I just hung out w/ my nephews, niece, brother, parents, and Uncle Mark and his fam, who also went to Waco for the ceremony. I took the kids to see Horton Hears a Who Saturday and then to Barnes & Noble to buy them the book.

Catching up on reading was the only thing I didn't do, even though I had books galore with me AND bought two classics (A Tale of Two Cities and The Illiad) at Mardel's, of all places, for only $2.50 each! I guess reading is something I'll have to save until the summer. I can't wait to lay on the beach and read -- we already have the beach house reserved for June 6-10. Hopefully we won't have to work that last Monday & Tuesday and can stay in Galveston.

Hmm . . . I'll have to be careful about tanning, though, because the dress I'm wearing for my friend Greta's wedding in June is strapless. So those tan lines will definitely be seen! She informed me tonight I'm her maid of honor! So exciting! We have yet to tell Abigail, my niece, that she's the flower girl. She's gonna FLIP OUT! Not only does she get a new dress and shoes to match, she's getting her hair done, her nails done, a tiara AND a limo ride! She'll definitely be calling herself Cinderella!

Ok, it's coming on midnight, so this Cinderella must find her bed before she turns into a pumpkin. We must leave for work no later than 6:15 since the Harris County Transit Authority decided to shut down the south-bound ramp from I-10 to Sam Houston Tollway just 4 weeks shy of summer vacation! GRRR!!!! We almost made it through the whole year! Darn Houston road construction! I better make it to work on time tomorrow, or else!

Ok, it's time to depart! I'm glad I was listening in advanced writing class and am now able to use the tools for transitioning paragraphs so many years later . . . in blog posts. Dr. What's-Her-Name would be so proud!

(More) You know you're getting old (or just sleep-deprived) when...

1. After a long day at work, while driving home with the cruise control, you try to hit Ctrl+S on your steering wheel.

2. You get mad at total strangers who call you "sweetie."

3. You start talking at the fast-food commercials: "It's a taco! They put non-Mexican food in a tortilla and call it a wrap."

4. You think Sheperd Smith from Fox News is kinda hot.

5. You think guy actors on old 70s cop dramas are hot, and then you realize that they're probably older than your dad. But you still think they're hot.

Thankful Thursday!

1. I haven't had a migraine since SUNDAY. Yay!

2. Trip to Waco tomorrow for . . .

3. . . . Bird and Brandi's renewing of their wedding vows!

4. My formal observation went rather well. It's nice to have one less thing to worry about.

5. The kids training for the speech competition are nailing their speeches! I'm SO proud of them! I surely couldn't memorize "The Gettysburg Address" in a WEEK!

6. I got a cute letter in the mail from my nephew, Daniel, and he even drew me a map of England!

7. My bridesmaid dress for my friend Greta's wedding came in and I was quite happy that it fit and is even too big! So I don't even mind having to pay for alterations.

8. My tax return came a week early! Granted every penny went into savings for next year.

9. Speaking of which, I got all my paperwork together for my visa. I just need to put it in a pretty envelope and mail it to the British Consulate in LA. Yay!

10. TAKS testing went well and I only had to test Tuesday. It was exhausting, though, being there and having to walk around and monitor for SEVEN HOURS. I heard from everyone but my substitute that my students were HORRID while I was gone. I think one too many people told him to tell me how bad they behaved and he thought I would be too harsh on them. *sigh*

I'm glad I'm not a politician

Because I get too emotionally involved, and I'll make decisions based on my emotions. Besides, I have a mental block against political talk.

But I'm constantly faced with one issue. Everyday. An issue that affects my students, my coworkers, and to an extent, my family.

Immigration.

And it slapped me in the face again last night when I went to the movies. I knew it would. We watched Under the Same Moon. So good and highly recommended! It gives you a different perspective on the whole immigration issue; makes it more real.

Many, if not most, of the people at my school are immigrants. Some legal, some not. Of course all the teachers are legal, but for years I've heard the stories of their struggles -- wives separated from husbands, lawyers taking advantage, employers reneging on promises, dreams deferred. Just two weeks ago my friend, Adriana, was telling me her husband wants to go back to Mexico since he hasn't been able to find work or been successful in obtaining the appropriate visa. But she has a job and she makes good money. The first year they were here she was miserable, missing her family, friends, and life in Mexico. Now she's managed to make a life in Texas, but her husband is the one that's miserable. They are such a sweet couple; it's obvious that they are very much in love. And they love the Lord and radiate His love. Which is probably why I was so shocked when she said she told him he could go but she wasn't leaving!

Then there are the students. I'm fairly certain that all of mine were born here in the States. But some of their older siblings weren't and their parents were most certainly not. They come from all over -- Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, Salvador, Ethiopia, Nigeria. And many of them are not here legally. So when the father of one of my mother's students was arrested outside the school Thursday morning, we were almost certain little Erik wouldn't see his father again for a very long time. It would have been the second time he was caught, so that meant imprisonment. But by some miracle he was released because the charges they arrested him on were not valid.

How can I be relieved that another illegal resident was set free?

Simple. I look into his child's eyes everyday. And I know what those eyes will look like once his father is taken from him.

I've seen how Randy's ready smile has faded a bit since his father was deported back to Honduras several months ago. His teacher has commented on how his performance in school has waned. He's not concentrating or working as hard as before. And he's only just turned six. How do you explain politics to a kindergartener?

I'm not disillusioned. I know that not all the immigrants here illegally are honest, hard-working people. I know there are murderers, drug dealers and rapist here as well. Some of them may also have students at my school. That's a scary thought. But I just wanted to enlighten you a bit, show you the side of immigration that's not scandalous enough to make headlines.

And to further your enlightenment, go see Under the Same Moon:


Finally, I'll leave you with some of my dad's thoughts on the issue:

For the vast majority, undocumented immigrants seek entry into this country in order to work. Most cannot provide for their families in their own poverty-stricken homelands, so they come to America. They are willing to risk their lives and suffer all manner of hardships for an opportunity to provide for their families. Wouldn’t you?

In his Inaugural Address, President John F. Kennedy declared, “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

Millions that have been shackled with the chains of poverty in their own homelands have escaped to America. They seek to free themselves from the shackles of an oppressive condition that would deny them the right to provide for their children. They do not wish us ill, but they will “bear any burden,” and “meet any hardship” simply to acquire relief from the humiliations that come with poverty.

The world is watching and waiting to see how America will solve her immigration issue. It is imperative that we navigate through this human crisis cautiously, and not allow our emotions to convert us into “ugly Americans.”

Thankful Thursdays!

We're stretching today, people, so bare with me!

1. I received my proof of employment yesterday! I was worried they wouldn't get it to me in time because apparently no one in HR opened the email I sent TWO WEEKS AGO. I should have never doubted God's provision. DUH!

2. My grandma gave me a big chunk of change to hold in my savings account so that the British Consulate won't think I'm completely broke. I definitely don't have enough to last a year, but it will hopefully be enough for them for the time being.

3. I got to chat with Debs over the phone on Sunday and got the skinny on her man! Now she's trying to play matchmaker and has sent me pics of potential bachelors she knows. HA!

4. The parent that was arrested in our school parking lot yesterday (yeah, you read that right) was released the same afternoon, thankfully. It was a bogus charge of playing music too loud. We were worried he may get deported, so we're quite thankful this family will not be separated.

5. Little Luis, one of my "blessings," is finally learning to read! 'Tis very exciting!

6. The Speech Competition we worked our butts off for the past two weeks was POSTPONED! Now it's not 'til May 13th, which is ok because we'll have time to perfect the kids' speeches now that they have it all perfectly memorized.

7. I love my fuel efficient car, especially these days now that gasoline prices are inching closer to $3.50!

8. Only 24 days until I can take a deep breath and rest easy!

9. I've successfully cut my caffeine consumption in half since MONDAY. I get headaches, but it's nothing I can't live with . . . well, except that first day . . . I kinda passed out as soon as I got home and then couldn't keep any food down the whole night. But I was good as new the next morning!

10. All NEW episodes of all my shows tonight!!! And let me take this moment to say that I'm SO over Henry and I think Betty will be better off with Gio!



Ok, turns out I do have loads to be thankful for. I'm just so darn tired and stressed! I'll try not to let that rob me of my joy . . .

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!