Simply Fun

January has come and gone, and so far my new year's resolutions are doing quite well! :) (give or take a few 'off' ' days.) 

Here are a few things I have enjoyed this year so far. Thought I'd share. 

1. My devotions. I'm reading Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling." If you're unfamiliar with it, check it out here. It's an overwhelming journey learning to walk and live in the Presence of Jesus, and trust Him with every problem and thought. 

2. A new addition to our family: Clear Play! I can't find enough positive words to describe this new technology we've purchased! Check it out on their website. Basically, it allows you to watch videos and movies and bypasses negative elements, language, etc. with the option to change the settings for each movie you watch. Super cool! 

3. Working on my Chopin Pedagogy Project. It's actually more fun than it sounds. I get to play some of the most sophisticated and beautiful piano music ever written- and call it 'homework.' :) Check out the Nocturnes by Chopin if you love relaxing piano music. Warning: you may fall asleep.

5. Enjoying scenery around me. I spend a lot of time on the road, and it's relaxing to observe the scenery. This was a beautiful sunset in High Point a few weeks ago. 

6. Eating good food. I love eating. Period. And, while I have been eating healthier this year (and enjoying the results), there's nothing like good ole Lexington BBQ, hush puppies, and sweet tea. Mmmm. Good for what ails ya! I love living in the South. :)

Then, there's mom's peach cobbler. Sugar free, except for the icecream. Wow- it's truly awesome! 

7. Random projects. I love crafty projects! And, these are a few I came up with. 

I have several dozen (no exaggeration) plastic easter eggs left over from last year. Blech. SO, brilliant me, decided to do something with them. So I painted and glittered them. I also painted polka dots on some of them. Anyways, they're pretty cute! 

The nest, Well. *clears throat* I wanted a cute little nest. Found one for $20.00, and thought to myself, "self, I can make that." So I did. With moss from Dollar Tree...and a Chinese Noodle Bowl dinner. Ha! No joke. I cut the bowl in half and hot-glued moss to it, and ta-da! Not difficult, cheap, and it's cute. Perfect combination! 

And, since it's February and Valentine's is soon approaching, I made cookies today for students and Sunday School kiddos! First time making the icing recipe and it was amazing! 

And. yes. that's a random green Shamrock on the right. March is soon too...right? :)

Happy February 9th! 

'till next time...

Spring business...or busy-ness...

This morning when I awoke, I knew there were several things I really should accomplish. 


1. Wear green, listen to lively/fun Irish tunes, and eat great food. It's St. Patrick's Day after all! Hope yours was grand! Made the traditional Irish Soda Bread (best recipe ever, from an Irish cookbook mum bought in Ireland several years ago), and looking forward to enjoying the rest of it at lunch tomorrow with friends. Mmmm. Along with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, etc. 

2. Iron. *Check. Nothing exciting there.


3. Practice piano. *Check. Beethoven Op. 27/1, I have conquered you (evil laughter). Good feeling. :)


4. Try a new craft I've been wanting to do for a while- make a flower pin. *Check. 
This is the second one I did today; light yellow with a small pearl ornament in the center. Pins either in your hair or on a schnazzy jacket/cardigan, or anything really. Love it, muchly! I see more of these in my future. Very easy to make- no pattern required. Just lots of hot glue. Now, that's MY kind of craft. :)

5. Exercise. *clears throat* If practicing piano counts, I did overtime. If not, well...there's always Monday...


6. Blog. Which, *check,* I am now doing! Ah-hah! There are a few reasons for my intentional sabbatical from blogging, which I will now list FYI (for your information, if you care to know. If not, skip down to next paragraph). 


a. I spend a lot of time on the computer each day, howbeit school related, email, frivolity, research, etc. and blogging was one thing that wasn't really 'necessary.' Neither is pinterest or facebook, but still...


b. Blogging was listed among my new year's goals. However, I am excited to report that the other goals for this year (extensive reading on various subjects, devotions, personal goals, etc.) are going so splendidly, that I've had little or no time to even think of blogging! Many times I've done/seen something and thought, "That would make a really great blog article." That's as far as any of them have gotten. 


c. I'm realizing that it's far too easy to share my thoughts and problems on cyberspace before I talk to the One who actually has the answers: God. I've been doing this for the past few months, and goodness, what a difference. Do I still seek council from people? Of course. But, knowing that God is personally interested in seeing me succeed and prosper helps me to take confidence in confiding in Him before blabbing to others. Do I enjoy facebook, etc.? Yes. The problem lies when ones reliance for rejuvenation, inspiration, and encouragement comes from seeing how many friends can be added in 10 minutes, versus thinking about the C.S. Lewis/Ravi Zacharias devotional thought for the day, or that 'little' matter God is working on in your life. No, I do not think about Chronicles of Narnia all day or sit in a meditative state. :) However, keeping Christ at the forefront of my thoughts, rather than an afterthought or 'emergency plan,' makes life better all around. That's what I've been attempting. God is helping me, and I am grateful. 


So. Here's the paragraph you can skip to if you found the previous comments/thoughts repulsive, weird, strange, or otherwise odd. Which, may be most of you. All 3 of you.


In all seriousness, God has been good. And, I'm finding it extremely rewarding to focus my emotions, efforts, thoughts, words and actions centered around pleasing Him 24/7. I'm even attempting to become less sarcastic. It's a work in progress. :) 


To end these 'returning' ramblings, I thought I would share a few of the books I've been reading and would recommend to you. 


1. The Resolution for Women (centered around the movie "Courageous." Phenomenal movie and book, very convicting for women in any stage of life, and very practical. Awesome read.)


2. "Hook, Line, and Sinker." New novella by one of my favorite authors, Susan May Warren. Short book, cute theme, great message, neatly portrayed. You should read it for fun.


3. "The Grand Weaver." A new book I received for my birthday by another favorite Christian apologist/author, Ravi Zacharias. An amazing book about how God weaves the events and circumstances of our lives together. God has a plan in everything.


4. "A Year with C.S. Lewis." An incredible -read-once-a-day- devotional from one of the greatest authors of all time- C.S. Lewis. I find myself re-reading the devotional each night before I go to bed. The thoughts shared within the pages are incredibly practical, deep, thought-provoking, and can be convicting. Not for the faint of heart searching for a "Now I lay me down to sleep" devotional. For those who are serious about knowing God, and discovering more about Him. 


My apologies for the many rambles shared...this happens when I return after a long blogging absence. :)


Best wishes for a terrific holiday weekend. 
Until next time...

New Year Hullabaloo

Before I pontificate , may I just say, 

Happy New Year! 

The days since my last posting (Thanksgiving) 

have been a bit hair-raising, unpredictable, and difficult for our family, thus is the explanation for my non-postage. (don't you love odd words? not sure that one is uh, accurate in that usage, but it sure is fun to use.) 

If you're not friends with me or my family on Facebook, here's a quick overview...Dad went to Raleigh for a short, quick medical procedure on the Monday after Thanksgiving, and ended up back in Raleigh with a diagnosis of kidney failure on Wednesday morning. It's been a definite roller-coaster ride for all of us since then, but dad finally got to come home on December 14. We took him back to the

ER Christmas Eve night and was released Christmas Day afternoon with diagnosis of MRSA. He is still on dialysis and strong antibiotics, so he is definitely not back 'up to par,' but at least he is home and improving! God is so good. and we are thankful.

The Christmas holidays were interesting, to say the least, considering the previously

explained situation, but it was wonderful getting to spend the Holidays in NC...

where the crisp winter air wafts through the bare trees, cardinals adorn the frost-covered 

clothesline wires, and the early-morning frost decorates the brown, dead grass. 

I love it. It's quite superb, actually. 

Christmas programs (3, actually), school/church parties, Christmas caroling (with students

at the Hospice House, then with church friends to shut-ins), Christmas-cookie-baking,

The K-6 Christmas Program at school- "Not a Creature was Stirring."
It turned out so cute! The kids looked adorable, sang their hearts out,
and did an excellent job! I was so proud of them! 

favorite Christmas tunes on the radio, Christmas movies by the fire, ... the list goes on, 

but I love it all! and so very thankful to get to share these times with my family. 

Fun Gingerbread-baking with 7-8th grade at school.
Whew. This was the 1st time most of them had ever cut out Christmas
cookies. Seriously? How sad is that! the room was a wreck when we
finished and we were all covered in flour, but we all had a blast.
and they tasted great. :)

Our gorgeous live tree (from the NC mtn's) upstairs,
decorated with Waterford Crystal and
ornaments from overseas. It was beautiful! 

Living room upstairs- partially decorated for Christmas.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of it completed :(
It was beautiful, though! 

enjoyed nifty Christmas decorations 'downtown'
Thomasville during the Thanksgiving parade with
friends from church.

And, just for a laugh....

A snippet of the hilarious older ladies featured in the Thomasville
Christmas parade. Hysterical!


All around, it was a terrific (but flexible) Christmas, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the bustling,
shopping, gift-wrapping, traffic, programs, decorating, etc. that are involved in making the
Season memorable. And, most of all, I love celebrating and reading about the Birth of Jesus.
Still marveling in the Gift of God's Son!

The hour grows late, and I must needs rise early to provide and education for the children
of Thomasville. :) More posts to come later.

A'dieu, until then...

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:)