30-some-Thank-Things

November: that season of the year in which people construct impressive lists of things for which they are thankful. I'm not opposed to these lists... Nor am I an advocate of them, unless that spirit of Thankfulness is indwelling the entire year-long. 

This Thanksgiving season, rather than simply writing a list of things I'm thankful for (which I also did), 

I tried something completely new and out-of-the-ordinary. 

Beginning the very first week of November, and still in progress today,

every time I walk in a room, flip on the light switch,

sit on my bed to check my email, dig through my sock 

drawer for a different pair, send a text on my phone, 

I try to remember to thank God for everything involved in completing

each of those tasks. (not limited to these tasks, just 

an example.) Does it take time? yes. 

but it does help you become aware of God's blessings

in a different way. 

That being said, I do have a 'list' of thankful things, which I will share. 

But, I am attempting to apply thankfulness to my entire year,

not just this month of November at Thanksgiving festivities. 

So, here we go...just to name a few:

1. Family- near and far
2. Friends- from acquaintances to dear friends
3. Electricity and running water
4. Comforts of home often taken for granted (furniture, insulation, heating, air conditioning, etc.)
5. Job- doing what I love, and exactly where God wants me right now
6. Nice car
7. Great camera- to capture those 'kodak' moments. I love pictures!
8. Ability to see colors- how boring would life be in darkness all the time? 
9. Ears-to enjoy laughter, chatter, and music
10. Music- a connection to the soul
11. My piano- no caption needed.
12. iPod- to enjoy music and great books on long trips or at work
13. Freedom to worship
14. Hot tea- medication of choice
15. Literacy and the ability to read- among my books I have formed the best of friends.
16. Good health- (except for the horrid cold I now have)
17. Candles and nice smelling things- they make the world a better place
18. Chocolate- all forms. it makes the world go 'round. :)
19. Rainy days- replenish the soul and satisfy my melancholy side
20. Books- choose a good book, treat it well, and you have made a friend for life
21. Mentors- people who care what I do with my life, and are willing to invest time to help make it better
22. Love- 
23. God's grace and forgiveness- where would we be without them?
24. Students- their laughter and antics keep me young, but I treasure my time with them
25. Education- betterment of life, career, and expansion of knowledge
26. Internet- irony, I know! - for those late-night-research-emergencies
27. Computer- thank you, Jesus! Type-writers and I would not get along well, I'm quite sure
28. Personalities- make the world an interesting place. if everyone were like Obama....
29. Changes of weather- fall, winter, spring and summer- I love them all!
30. Christmastime- the long-awaited season of the year
31. Vacuum- yes.
32. Disinfecting wipes- they make my day better
33. Germ-x- no explanation needed.

So, there you have it! My thanksgiving list for this year. A few of the things, anyways. Cheers for a terrific holiday season! 

November...EEK!

You must be wondering, "Is she EVER going to up date that blog, or let it die a slow, painful death??" Well, good news and bad news. (didn't you just hate it when your dad used to say that?)
First, the good news: No, the blog is not dead! Very much alive and well (contrary to first glimpses); Bad News: Life happens. Namely, teaching happens, which comes first, and I don't always get to share those fun times as often as I'd like. Sigh. So, there you have it. :)


fun times decorated November! Allow me to share a few with you. :D
The last week of October...

The last week of October, I had to privilege of going to Indiana
to play for my cousin Debra's wedding. Another plus to the
wedding was getting to spend time with the Bride's sister, Tiffany,
who has been my very best friend since we were kids.
Three weeks apart, both pursued ED degrees in college,
and alike in many scary ways!
Love you, Tiffany! 

First, a few school-views of November. . .

My November bulletin in Jr. High- really
happy with how it turned out! Nothing
like trying something new...simply because
you can. :) 

In History, the students made 'log cabins' for the Colonial
Period. Several kids are missing in this pic, but you
get the idea. I loved the creativity! 

                                   Next, of course, comes Thanksgiving! And turkey. and stuff. 

The day before Thanksgiving, the students decorated
our classroom for Christmas. Here is our cute little
tree. They did a great job! All that's missing is Linus' blue
blanket, which I forgot to take that day. :( But as of tomorrow,
it will be our 'tree skirt.' Isn't creativity a grand and glorious thing? :)

                                                           Now, on to Thanksgiving. . .

Grandpa and Grandma Davis came over for the afternoon-
we were so glad they could come! Dad, Kimberly, and I
got an pool lesson from the 'expert.' aka: Grandpa.

 Grandpa, showing up how to shoot it right. He's great!

Our Thanksgiving feast was delicious!
Turkey, of course, Sweet Potato Cass.,
Squash Cass., Oyster Casserole made by
Grandma (one of my favorites!), home-made rolls,
cran-apple salad, cranberry sauce, Pumpkin/Pecan
pies. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but it
was scrumptious! I am so blessed.

And that about wraps up my November re-cap post. Check out my next blog post, "30-some-Thank-Things," which is about my 'thankful' list. Until then. . .

Knock-knock......... BOO!

 Dear people of the world: This is an important alert to . . . alert you that this blogger is among the land of the living, contrary to popular opinion. 
We extend our apologies for the delay in posting. I'm sure the blog-ee has excellent reasoning for the delinquent pause in posts as of late. 


The end.

Ah. . . the arrival of fall! It is here, this long awaited season. My favorite time of the year, no questions asked. Life has been c.r.a.z.y. That's the only word I can think of to do it justice. 

However, there have been some pretty fun/interesting happenings along with the craziness. :) Allow me to update you on a few. 

Thursday, 9.14.11 

National Donut Day (bet you didn't know that...)

So, my fellow teacher friend Sethanna and I

decided to be brave and actually make donuts with the

7-10th graders at school. Whew. 

So, my lucky reader, here is how to 'make' donuts. :) 

1- Buy canned biscuits. POP them open without jumping. (I dare you to try...) 

2- have excited students (or boring family members) shape them with
a little '0' in the center.

3- place biscuits on paper plates.  

4- after heating oil in skillet/pan, turn heat on low and carefully
drop biscuits into pan, slowing turning with tongs until golden brown. 

5- remove donuts from hot oil and place on paper plate, soaking up
excess grease with paper towel. Using tongs, drop in gallon
bag filled with either powdered sugar, cinnamon/sugar, or sprinkles.
Shake until coated thoroughly. 

6- Voila! Delicious donuts! Bon appetite. 

Best when eaten with large glass of chocolate milk. Mmmm.

Honestly, they were AMAZING! 

It was so delicious, and the kids (ok...me too) had a ton of fun in the process!
For the 'educational' aspect, the students learned how to write a process
essay on 'how to make donuts.' Huge hit with the parents,
I'm quite certain. I've heard multiple reports of families making donuts with the
recipe. Favorite homework assignment of the year! :)

The following day I went to UNCG School of the Arts (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) for a piano lesson with Professor John Salmon. Naturally, I was nervous. Very. But I couldn't have asked for a better lesson! Brilliant sense of humor. In that light, I am in the process of applying for UNCG to begin my MM next fall in the Piano dept. and study under Dr. Salmon. Very excited! In the midst of figuring out dept./audition/Fellowship logistics, but it's looking very promising. 

Stay tuned for more blog updates in the next few days- fun stuff going on, as well as a few blogs on the topic, "Back to the Heart of Worship...or not?" 

And, just for fun, the is the ever-changing view out the front door of the house. Tinges of orange, yellow, and red on the trees = eye candy! 

                                         Happy 1st of October celebrating the wonder of fall! 

Happiness is: blundered imp-cakes, chocolate, and singing in the choir

 according to Charlie Brown, "Happiness is singing in the choir." and, since my goal for my students was for them to begin to correlate learning with fun and excitement (I sensed a great lack of this), then if singing in the choir= happiness, PARTY while singing in the choir must= double dose of happiness, right? Well :)


...So, I decided to have a Christmas Kickoff Party for my Jr High/High School kids in choir in Wednesday, our first real day of choir, since Monday was a half-day. 

I found these and just HAD to try them out...aren't they
terrific?

However...*clears throat* pictures online aren't always as easy as they appear...I know this! "How," you might ask? Well, this next picture says it all...

The dreadful imp-cakes...poo!

...Yep, that's correct. Instead of cute little reindeer, I ended up with red-eyed, horned, imps due to a mistake of my own. (bought small pretzels rather than large, the wrong candy, and forgot to use marshmallows for the eyes.) Since this was not what I wanted to communicate during our first choir practice, I improvised and came up with...

...Ta-Da! Smiley cupcakes! :)They weren't the Christmasy affect I was hoping for, but at least they don't look like I stole an orc from Lord of the Rings and made him pose for my cupcake design. :) And, they tasted great.(Which, I suppose, was the prime objective.) 

Here's a glimpse of my choir kiddos...all 17 of them. :) I wasn't quite sure what to expect since there was just an ensemble last year, but I am really excited! We had a blast playing random games! One was where everyone goes around the room humming different Christmas songs/carols, and has to find other people humming the same one. They kept me hopping for the 65 minute class... and by the end, I felt something like this...

But, I figure, if it helped the kids realize:

1) learning and fun can go together

2) choir is not scary- it's singing: and supposed to be fun!

3) learning more about music can be a blast, too...

...then I will have succeeded...even if it took imp-looking

chocolate cupcakes, oreo's, fizzing drinks, candy, games,

Christmas decor and music to do it! 

Our next choir is on Wednesday, so I'm hoping for a great 

rehearsal! 

If you run out of things to pray for,

I could use a few extra :)

Well, here's to a terrific labor day weekend...

and an apology for such a lengthy post. :)

(but, I must admit, I sort of use this for a journal to help me 

remember things, so I'm sort of not as sorry as I sounded:) 

...all in a day's work...

I'm sure you must be wondering at my absence of writing the past week or so...

However, I am writing now as a survivor of my very first week of school

as a full-time teacher of Jr. High classes, Elementary Music,

 Jr/High Choir, and 12 private students (music classes and

lessons begin this coming week). 

(HOORAY, everyone!)

WHEW, and what

a week it has been indeed! 

It was something like this...

But, I must say, that the classes I had anticipated

as being the most difficult, are in fact my absolute favorites! 

While Jr. High (7-8th) classes are very different from anything

I've ever taught, I'm really enjoying the experience! So thankful for a 

genuinely terrific group of kids to teach- makes my job

a lot easier. :) 

There were several times this week when I began to feel like this...

...but then I remembered, 

All in all, it was a good week. I entered this 

school year with a plethora of different feelings

about the year, but I already feel as if I've learned 

more than the students! Guess that's good, right?

To shorten this, I'll just share the highlights from this week

to give you an idea of what I've been up to! 

Welcome to my 7-8th Homeroom

where I teach 7th grade Math, NC State History,

and Jr. High Bible Monday-Thursday. (We get

Fridays off...beautiful thing, isn't it?!) 

I do not have 'before' and 'after' pictures of this room...

because...because. :) Let's just say, 

it got a face lift, and my goal was to 'fun-ize' and color it, 

so this is what I came up with...

Our "News Flash" (aka, Current Event) section

with magazines, articles, etc. and the bulletin

board of the month... 

"The Value of an Idea is in Using it."

The little blue hands have words such as

'design,' 'create,' 'inspire,' 'invent,' etc. on them. 

View of my desk and student work display area. 

I never really thought I wanted to be a teacher...

even in college. But suddenly, I can't imagine doing

anything else! Even after days like Wednesday.

(Wednesday was something like Garfield's Monday,

except intensified x 1,000,000. 

But hey, at least

I'm alive to tell about it. :) 

More pictures about activities of the past few weeks 

are soon to come...but first, sleep.

So very invigorated about a long weekend...

No school until from Friday to Monday for me. 

Oh, yes, please! 

Until after zzzzzzzzzz...

morning by morning.

If yesterday's blog post wasn't exciting enough for you, this one may slightly rouse your interest. :) I want to go on record to say that I am ending this day even more thankful than yesterday...for a variety of reasons. Why? Ah, I'm so very glad you asked :)...

1- I had a lovely day. in many ways.

2- enjoyed absolutely gorgeous pre-fall weather. 

Mmm. low humidity, car windows down,

you get the idea. Happiness was emanating today!

In the words of the song: "How can I keep from singing 

Your praise? How can I ever say enough, how amazing

is Your love!" 

3- God kept my sister, Kimberly, her friend, and 

all students at GTTC (2 community colleges campuses) 

safe during a bomb threat and evacuation this morning.

I couldn't get the link to work in my blog, so here it is:

http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-gtcc-evacuates-two-campuses-due-to-bomb-threats-20110823,0,1978670.story 

Needless to say, that is a huge praise! 

Hoping and praying they find the culprit...

4- No one was harmed in the earthquake today,

even though it was definitely felt here in NC today!

Saddened by the damage done to the 

National Cathedral in DC, though. 

I have some exciting new classroom photo updates to share, but they must wait until tomorrow. I shall leave you desiring to return with bated breath... :) 

In closing...my friends, God is truly so much better to us than we deserve...every day, but especially when His lovingkindness and mercies are so evident in circumstances and events. 

"...Morning by morning new mercies I see...ALL I have needed Thy hand hath provided: 

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me..." 

until next time...

Me? just busy being thankful...

it's been one of those days. 

You know... the kind where a persons' state

of being degrades from 'good' or 'fine' to just 'existing.' 

the kind that makes a person actually wish the clouds

were looming and grey instead of bright and sunny.

indeed, definitely on of those today. 

Here are a few highlights, to give you an idea. . .

1) it's been Monday. all day. 

2) worked in my classrooms for 5 hours

3) various stressful situations interrupted my 

process of classroom organization

4) I began to wish people did not exist

5) everyone else seemed to be having

 a 'Monday' today, also

until tonight. 

after some thought, I have a new perspective.

1) it's not just Monday; it's pre-Tuesday

2) got a huge amount of work done at school today,

and enjoyed the opportunity to listen to  my 

favorite classical music for 5 hours

3) had the opportunity to practice grace rather

than truth during situations

4) you never know what other people are facing. a seeming

harsh or rash statement may in fact be 

a reaction to a personal or tragic situation or circumstance.

5) just when I was at my 'whits-end,' a teacher-mentor-friend

popped in just in the nick of time to offer

an encouraging smile and kind words.

no, I'm not one of those individuals blessed 

with constant pleasant and positive outlooks on life,

but I am in the process of becoming more like Jesus. 

because I have His example, I can learn...

"in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content..."

all things considered, today was just another 

opportunity to practice what I tell others:

"don't look at your circumstances as bumps in the road,

but rather as another small detour of grace." 

so, at the conclusion of this long stressful day,

if you were to ask, 'how are you?,' my answer would

be: 'just busy being thankful.' 

and so I am. 

This song by Josh Groban typifies the

feelings of my heart tonight. 

just thankful.

Teacher Thyme

It's once again 'that' time of year again: the time when teachers type tests and students loathe them for it. :) In years past, I have done the rightous loathing; this year, the roles are reversed and I am typing the tests, making lesson plans, and learning much more about North Carolina History than I previously thought possible. Quite a difference, I assure you! 

First of all, a few introductions to my world of teaching... 

         

This is what I call 'buzzing Bob.' Bob was 

the first to greet me to my new music room.

Thoughtful, no?

Or I should say, this was Bob. 

He has been transported to Mud-Dauber

Heaven thanks to a friend. :)

This, is my music room. Or at least, how it was. :)

This was taken at the beginning of my 

tornado-ish flurry of cleaning, rearranging, 

and process of putting-stuff-away. 

This is the other view of my classroom.

Clearly, in organizational disarray. :)

At least it's progress, right? 

Right side of the room, complete with this

semester's theme:

"Attitude is a little thing, that makes 

a big difference." 

Oh, see that huge piece of furniture on the left

supporting the equally large tuba, it probably

should not be moved without assistance.

How do I know, you might ask? 

Funny thing (that ended up not being funny at all)...

I was quite certain it had wheels...

end of story: it has no wheels and turned out

to be quite a beastly piece of furniture after I

pushed it half-way around the room and back.

Needless to say, not one of my brighter moments.

My back may never recover. :)

And...last but not least...

the much-better product of a few hours' work. 

This is not the final product, but it's progress,

folks. Nothing spices up a room

like a little color! :) 

Oh! Do allow me to introduce you to one of my new favorite hobbies...

Acquiring really cool free stuff from Teacher's Education stores!

This loot was acquired during tax-free week while browsing the aisles with

my cohort in crime, Sethanna (Paul) Ackerman. 

I was SO excited about the froggy note pad, stickers, bookmarks, 

pencils, erasers, sticky notes, stress ball, etc... just because I'm a teacher!

How cool is that?! A lot, I assure you. :)

Thus ends my teacher update for the day! I confess...the main reason in posting was a diversion from lesson plans that have been hogging my attention the past few days. Ah well. Back to the books for me, it is!