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! 

Hagood Hardy - Anne of Green Gables soundtrack (part 1)

Greetings, chaps! This is one of my very favorite books...

movies, and soundtracks. It doesn't get much better than this!

Enjoy a listen! :)

Sensational scones

Today has been officially declared 'sleep, cold-medication, reading, blog-catch-up, lesson plan' day. :) 
I posted this picture on Facebook of some scones I made, and many expressed interest in acquiring the recipe, so here it is. Do enjoy! :)

Blueberry Coffeecake Scones

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour                                1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar                                                      1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 teaspoons baking powder                                1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon salt                                                 1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed, drained frozen blueberries

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled                           1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

2 large eggs                                                         dash of all-spice or cinnamon

crumb topping

3/4 cup all-purpose flour                                      1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar              1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled 

Preheat oven to 375* and grease a large baking sheet.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives used scissor fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and lemon peel. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. The dough will be sticky. With lightly floured hands, gently knead in the blueberries until evenly distributed.

Pat the dough into a 9-inch diameter circle in the center of the prepared baking sheet.

To prepare the topping, in a small bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the dough to cover. Press the crumb topping lightly into the dough. With a serrated knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and a cake tested inserted into the center of scone cones out clean. (Often takes up to 45 min. to completely bake thoroughly.) 

Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Recut into wedges, if necessary. Freezes well. 

Makes 8 large scones. 

Enjoy this favorite! It's absolutely delicious with a cup of fresh, hot, mint tea. :) 

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-jU-Ly and ZOOlogy

Christmas in JULY!! (hooray, everyone)

a time to turn the air down, 

listen to the Carpenter's Christmas Portrait, 

the Chipmunk's,  and dream of cooler

days in the not-so-far-away future. 

Ahhhh. 

At least...that's what I did. 

just for fun!

 *We now return to our regularly scheduled program.*

Now to the real reason for this post: 
I'm dreadfully behind on this whole 'blogging' thing, 
for which I genuinely apologize. :) 
To make up for it, here is a photographic recap of my day trip to the Asheboro Zoo 
the last week in July with some fun friends. :) Enjoy!
More posts to come. 

Asheboro Zoo- beautiful landscaping

Sneaky gators- first stop. I love the mirror affect in this pic.

Erica (L) and Fleming (R, special needs girl) having fun in the Eskimo cave!

One of my favorites: the huge polar bear. 

Beautiful flowers at the honey bee's.

No zoo visit is complete without 3-4 rides on the carousel. :)

Beautiful orchids in Africa.

"Swamp Ghosts," white alligators.

Incredible flowers and foliage in Africa.

Never seen anything quite like this. 

The ostrich's were so cool!

Adorable 'baby' giraffe.

and...my favorite picture of the day! Love it when nature allows
us to get close. 

Erica, me, and Fleming. (Ms. Barbara was the photographer.)
Fun was had by all, even in 108* summer weather! :)


That's all for now, folks...exciting new posts later!