Well, with the new year approaching I am excited to see what this year is going to bring. A few fun things I would like to do this year is open some discussions about BOOKS and COOKS, as I would like to call it. This year I am challenging myself to read more than 20 books for the entire year. I know this doesn't sound like much, but life gets busy and reading is the first thing that goes away when I get busy. I am sure many of you are the same way. But I would like to take recommendations and get some discussions started about different books. Please be watching for the posts.
The second one is COOKS. I am challenging myself to at least one new recipe a month. This is going to either be a recipe that is recommended to me by a friend or in my cookbook that I have never tried. The key is making something new. I will be cooking and sharing the recipes with you, as I work my way through this. If I manage the one a week like I am hoping I will have a number of new recipes to share with you friends. However if I manage one a month, that will still be 12. I look forward to discussing these with you as well.
How many of you want to participate??
All you have to do is...
1. Make a reading goal!
2. Make a cooking goal!
We will discuss and share these books and cooks and we go through the year. I've been excitedly looking for my first recipe. With some time off I might get my first one in before the new year even starts.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Christmas Letter
Every year I want to sit down and send Christmas cards or letters to all the people I love. Every year it seems like I never find the time to actually sit down and compose. So this year I decided that I would blog it instead. For those computer savvy people, they will see my Christmas letter, for those who aren't well... Sorry :( Or if you are you can share it with another of my loved ones.
Over the past year I have so many things to be thankful for. Yet when I sit to write I am unsure where I should start. So lets break it into three categories: Family, Work, Me
Family:
My family has been wonderful this past year! When we think about the past year there are no major crisis or health concerns that we have had to deal with. He have had a number of little get togethers. Celebrated birthdays and anniversaries. The little angels in our life are getting bigger and your youngest ones just turned TWO!! Can you believe it, the babies are two! Both of them are precious as ever. Miss Aubrey is as rotten and ever, but brings a smile and a laugh to anyone around.
This year for thanksgiving the family did some things a little different and it was a nice blessing to get to spend time with other family members we normally don't get to see.
Work:
This year has actually been a blast. As Student Council Sponsor I have been very busy with keeping my head above water. The plus side is I am learning a lot, and I am so busy I don't have time to feel like the school year is going slow. About the time I finish one Stu. Co. event I am starting the planning for another one.
I have joined a Technology Committee at work, which will be implementing a 1:1 plan this year. (That means some kind of digital device for every student.) This is a big thing! I am very excited to be apart of this process.
I'm participating in our BMS has Talent - Talent Show this year. Which is something kind of out of character for myself. But I decided why not! Let's have fun right! I will be playing the part of a student in one skit, and I will be singing a Teacher version of the 12 days of Christmas for another part. (What was I thinking... I don't sing!) This will all take place tomorrow (December 21) in front of about 450 people (again, what am I thinking!! I don't do crowds, and now I am getting in front of them.) I'm going to chalk all of this braveness up to the Christmas Spirit that I caught early in November of this year.
Finally Me:
Or should I say Andy and Me. We are great! This past year has been a great time for us. We compliment each other, and greatly enjoy spending time together. He's a wonderful person, and most of everything I do is with him. Andy and I will be celebrating Christmas by going to a Colt's game in Indianapolis. Sure they haven't had a winning season, but it's still worth going for the experience. Besides you support a team even if they aren't winning right?!
Over the past year we took up bike riding, and I took up Zumba. I never thought of myself as a dancer, but I love the work out you get with Zumba. I've been working on a weight loss plan, and hope to continue into the new year.
I will be taking a college class this summer to get an addition to my teaching license which should keep me busy with summer break. It will be a two graduate courses and a lab class.
For this Christmas I hope everyone takes a moment to think of all the things they have been thankful for over the past year, and what they dream of for the future. What is a life without dreams! Even though many of my dreams have not yet come true, I still have them, and am still dreaming.
Have a wonderful and blessed holiday.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
PS Next year I will be starting a new recipe a month (I am hoping for a week, but want to be practical) I will be blogging about the new recipes that I try so keep a look out for those.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Christmas Spirit
As the month of December is just beginning I am noticing a number of different things. The first being that I have been feeling extremely uplifted and relaxed. I have felt an overwhelming sense of peace about things that normally REALLY STRESS me out! Because of these such relaxed feelings the following things have happened.
I managed to get Andy's present (his birthday is Dec 2) read to go and wrapped with more than a week before his birthday. When plan A didn't quite work out, I quickly moved to plan B and realized it was a much better idea anyways.
Thanksgiving came and went with FOUR dinners. Not one of them was that stressful even though I did take slightly dark (okay maybe a little crispy) crescent rolls to my boyfriends PARENTS house! This may have caused a little bit of anxiety but not enough to make me run to the store and get a new batch of rolls and scramble to start over. Nope we just went and laughed about it. My sweet boyfriend commented that they were a little dark because he told me to put them back in the oven and darken them up (which he really did). I was actually in the mood to do cooking so each place I went I took something different and did enjoy all the kitchen time I had over the holiday. (This is not normal for me).
I have taken 18 middle schoolers grades 5 - 8 and spent almost an hour and half decorated the school for Christmas. This includes hanging decorations and putting up a new Christmas tree, that I had to drive all the way to Decatur to pick up the night before. This was also the same day the snow started so everyone was nervous about the conditions. If you have ever managed middle schoolers, you understand the significance of managing 18 of them while they are climbing on chairs, ladders, and messing with breakables. We had a blast!
I've also managed to finish my Christmas shopping (almost 2 presents left), and not only finish the shopping but almost completed all of the wrapping as well. The only thing I haven't done at my house is manage do any Christmas decorating. It's okay though, I'm not there that much during the holidays.
Almost all family Christmas get togethers are planned, and even some evenings that aren't Christmas oriented are planned.
Last night at sat in front of my computer and worked on my calendar (my trusty friend) for almost a half hour to figure out how i was going to be in three different places during the same hour. This would also really stress me out, but guess what. It doesn't. I have just learned that it will all work out.
Finally after the Christmas season, I will be applying to Grad school, okay so that might cause a little bit of a stressor, but it will be fine. $50 and some time online, things will be set. Then two college classes this summer, and I will have an addition to my teaching license, so why stress right?
I hope as we are all nearing the Christmas season that we manage to take time relax and smile. Thank our LORD for his blessings, and remember the real reason for the season!
And if you need help getting in the Christmas spirit, you can come sit on my couch in the piece and quiet and listen to the Christmas Music that is played very loudly outside my window all evening long from the center of town.
I look forward to chatting with you more in the future ;)
I managed to get Andy's present (his birthday is Dec 2) read to go and wrapped with more than a week before his birthday. When plan A didn't quite work out, I quickly moved to plan B and realized it was a much better idea anyways.
Thanksgiving came and went with FOUR dinners. Not one of them was that stressful even though I did take slightly dark (okay maybe a little crispy) crescent rolls to my boyfriends PARENTS house! This may have caused a little bit of anxiety but not enough to make me run to the store and get a new batch of rolls and scramble to start over. Nope we just went and laughed about it. My sweet boyfriend commented that they were a little dark because he told me to put them back in the oven and darken them up (which he really did). I was actually in the mood to do cooking so each place I went I took something different and did enjoy all the kitchen time I had over the holiday. (This is not normal for me).
I have taken 18 middle schoolers grades 5 - 8 and spent almost an hour and half decorated the school for Christmas. This includes hanging decorations and putting up a new Christmas tree, that I had to drive all the way to Decatur to pick up the night before. This was also the same day the snow started so everyone was nervous about the conditions. If you have ever managed middle schoolers, you understand the significance of managing 18 of them while they are climbing on chairs, ladders, and messing with breakables. We had a blast!
I've also managed to finish my Christmas shopping (almost 2 presents left), and not only finish the shopping but almost completed all of the wrapping as well. The only thing I haven't done at my house is manage do any Christmas decorating. It's okay though, I'm not there that much during the holidays.
Almost all family Christmas get togethers are planned, and even some evenings that aren't Christmas oriented are planned.
Last night at sat in front of my computer and worked on my calendar (my trusty friend) for almost a half hour to figure out how i was going to be in three different places during the same hour. This would also really stress me out, but guess what. It doesn't. I have just learned that it will all work out.
Finally after the Christmas season, I will be applying to Grad school, okay so that might cause a little bit of a stressor, but it will be fine. $50 and some time online, things will be set. Then two college classes this summer, and I will have an addition to my teaching license, so why stress right?
I hope as we are all nearing the Christmas season that we manage to take time relax and smile. Thank our LORD for his blessings, and remember the real reason for the season!
And if you need help getting in the Christmas spirit, you can come sit on my couch in the piece and quiet and listen to the Christmas Music that is played very loudly outside my window all evening long from the center of town.
I look forward to chatting with you more in the future ;)
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