Challenge for you!

I want you all to post your FAVORITE picture! I would like it to be of you and your significant other or you and a friend, or if you must scenery. I look forward to seeing what you have!!

This is a picture from my honeymoon...I love it! I love how you can see both of our rings, we both look happy and gorgeous!

Just passing along some fantabulous news

I just found out that my teaching schedule for next year is going to be great! I will not be teaching Physics!! PRAISE THE LORD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!! And I also will not be teaching Consumer Math...I will have a study hall instead! Wow I am so excited, I will still have a bunch of classes to teach but at least I taught all but one last year. I am just so excited I wanted to share with you all!!

A Touch of Outdoorsie

Erick and I like to go out kayaking but we often need motivation especially when it is 94 degrees outside. Well we received some motivation from our friends Michelle and Gregory Jack. And boy am I glad that we did! We had an AWESOME time! The weather was nice, there was a huge storm-a-brewing, but that brought nice cooler weather, and it didn't rain. We met this nice couple that was just sitting in their kayak looking into the water and we noticed that they were looking at manatees! So awesome, I have never seen one except on TV or in a book. They were neat to see, but scary at the same time. I know they aren't dangerous, but when they get underneath your kayak all you think is "AHH its going to flip me!!" Well no flipping happened just a little nudging, which is still nerve racking! Haha if only my high school students could see how big a baby their science teacher was! But then their was this crazy dolphin that was charging us and at the last moment it would slow down and pop its nose out and blow. I have included some pictures and video of our adventure! It was the best day of kayaking ever! Thanks Michelle and Greg!

I made my husband shave

For those of you who have a husband that has facial hair I am sure that you know what I mean when I say that I forget what he looks like when he hasn't shaved in a while. Well I haven't seen my husbands baby smooth face in over 2 years and I thought that it was time to see what my beau really looked like.

BEFORE




AFTER


(Did I mention that the last time that he did this we were dating and I almost broke up with him...well he looked 5 years younger...haha)

Organic gardening

I just figured something out...I am trying to have a little organic garden...ok tiny organic garden, my peas and cucumbers are all that I have going right now. But I just come to realize that my garden is not organic, it has pesticides on it :( My mom pays a man to go around and spray for bugs and pests around the house and that means that my poor garden is getting sprayed too :(

Friday, July 25, 2008

Please Pray for Pastor Greg and the Laurie Family

Christopher Laurie with his wife Brittany and his daughter Stella

Christopher Laurie, son of Pastor Greg Laurie and Cathe Laurie, was called home to be with the Lord on Thursday morning.

Christopher, 33, died in a car crash while driving to Harvest Christian Fellowship, where he had served as the church's art director for the past three years.

In addition to his parents, Christopher is survived by his wife, Brittany, and daughter, Stella, as well as his brother Jonathan. Christopher and his wife are expecting another daughter in November.

More information will be posted at harvest.org as details become available.

We ask that you pray for the Laurie family in this time of mourning. You may pass along your condolences and thoughts for the Laurie family by posting a comment at Pastor Greg's blog. http://blog.greglaurie.com/

Graduate School and a full time teaching schedule...what was I thinking!

(Disclaimer...this is a lot of whining and random thoughts...continue at your own risk)
Ok so the good news is that I am officially ready to begin my adventure as a grad student!! Woohoo!! Back to school. I will be working towards my Master's of Education. I was approved for my school loan! Awesome until I have to pay it back. So for me to get this Master's of Ed will cost me 28,000! Why does furthering your education have to be so expensive! I mean the challenge of it all should be enough, but no they have to slap on 20 grand. This fall I am only taking 2 classes Educational Psychology and Educational Research. (It was nice for the financial aid guy to say that the classes are hard, and take a lot of reading and writing of papers!)
I also bought my school books! I got 3 books costing me 340$, granted it was placed on a book voucher and I don't have to pay for them until I graduate, but come on! I will just do what my friend Teri does and sell them back when I am finished with them. By the way does anyone have a "concise APA format book"? I am hoping the English teacher at school will have one I can borrow.
Oh did I mention that I go back to teaching! This year I have 5 preps with 6 classes! Here will be my schedule: I have 2 9th grade Physical Science classes, 1 10th grade Biology class, 1 11th grade Chemistry class, (this one could change) but 1 12th grade Physics class, or it could be Consumer Math, and then a Marine Biology class! I just pray that the Lord either takes some of the classes away from me or somehow makes me very organized and smart!
Ok I am done venting I am sorry I was so negative, but whining helps right...all my students do it!

My famous Spinach Lasagna!!

This recipe is for Teri and Cathee...just a yummy dish I wanted to share
(Teri you will need to substitute many of the ingredients, but it can be done, I put what I think you can sub in parentheses)

Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients

frozen spinach (thawed)
2 cups ricotta (low fat)(Try vegan ricotta)
noodles (Quinoa)
1 egg (not crucial)
(mushroom) spaghetti sauce or you could saute some squash and zucchini, or portabellas to make it chunky (Teri I am not sure if you can have tomotoes so just saute the veggies)
1 tbl Nutmeg (shh don't let this one get out!Secret ingredient)
2 bags mozzarella shredded cheese (try goat cheese)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350

Cook noodles like normal

Mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, nutmeg, 1 bag mozzarella in a bowl

Layer accordingly sauce, noodle, spinach mixture, cheese, sauce, noodles....

cover with tin foil

Cook for about 30-35 minutes, take off foil, cook for another 5 minutes or until bubbling

Let cool for about 15 minutes...unless you like it to be runny!

Enjoy

High School camp was awesome

I survived the week at camp! A little sore, a little sleep deprived, but it was worth it. We had 7 decisions, 5 baptisms, and countless lives changed. We had a great group of kids, I was surprised. I was thinking we would have a bunch of students just waiting to prank and to sneak away together, but as far as I know they were awesome! While I was at camp I went wakeboarding! Haven't done that in over 8 years, I I actually did very good! But any ways here are a few pictures that I took. Notice the awesome nerd and gangsta nights! I showed you some of the beautiful campus and also the foot waching night and some crazy people! Also thank you to those who prayed for me.

Summer Camp

I am about to embark on a once a year journey known as High School Summer Camp. But this isn't the sleeping in termite infested cabins, with the loo outside and over a hill. Are you kidding me these are "Naples" kids we are taking. We are staying in resort style rooms, and of course there is a "beach". Don't get me wrong the kids are great and I love them, but they wouldn't know what to do if they had to walk outside to use the restroom, or think about bugs crawling anywhere near their bed.


So I have been told that I will be a referee for the games and contests. I really don't know what that will entail, but hopefully not too much energy will be requested out of me. I have my cooler packed of all my non-gluten, non-dairy foods. The kids are going to think that I am an organic nut eating freak. But I gotta do what I gotta do.


So pray for me, I will be gone for a week. When I return I will post some pictures and let you know how I faired. Did I mention I won't have my husband there with me the whole time. I am sad about that. :( He will be there 2 out of the 5 days.
Until then adios.

Some more ART!!

You are probably shocked! I have to admit I have been busting out a lot of creativity lately. But what can I say I'm gifted..haha!

Last night my sister in law, Erin, came over and we painted a bit. This was her first time painting on a canvas, but she did a fabulous job. Her hubby Bobbie likes to collect sharks, so she went with a shark scene.




I have had this idea of something to paint for a while. The idea came from Carly. But I have been trying to find things to decorate my room, so I decided to make this three piece picture that I am calling... "Red". My pets like it. Leo decided to sit on the bird, and Georgia actually licked it. She licked my ceramic bird also. I guess she is trying to make friends.

I made a Burd! (Sounds like bird from Bambi)

Last week I went to my Mammaw's ceramic shop to spend some quality time with her and my Pappaw. When I was there I painted this bird to match my new bed spread. I think it came out so cute! Looks like Georgia liked it as well!

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Thanks to Teri, I have a new favorite show. But to warn you this is not a show that everyone will be able to tolerate. It is called you are what you eat. It is on BBC at 4pm. There is this holistic nutritionist who will help a very unhealthy, normally obese person lose weight and become healthy. It starts out with Gillian (the nutritionist) showing the unhealthy person what they eat in a week. I think this is unreal what some people stuff in their face in a week. Then she will normally check their tongue, this can show her vitamin deficiencies, and then she will check out their...poo, gross huh. But that will show her a lot about how their food is being broken down, absorbed, or not. I guess I find this fascinating because I love biology. If you care about your health then check it out! It could help you change a habit or two!



Top Ten Tips

1. Avoid sugar - found in cakes, biscuits, confectionary, chocolate, candy, desserts, soft drinks and many other foods.

2. Use whole grains rather than refined carbohydrates - white bread, white flour, white pastry, white pasta and white rice should be replaced with brown rice, quinoa, millet, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat and red rice.

3. Avoid artificial additives - these may be sweeteners, preservatives, colorings or flavorings.

4. Avoid stimulants - caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and other recreational drugs.

5. Eat vegetables or salads with lunch and dinner - Variety is important, so experiment with those that you don't normally eat.

6. Include some sources of essential fats every day - these include oily fish (such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, herrings and trout), pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, linseeds/flaxseeds, hemp seeds, walnuts and avocadoes. Avoid processed fats such as low fat spreads and margarines.

7. Have at least 2 vegetarian days each week - good vegetarian proteins include chickpeas, lentils, mung beans, borlotti beans, butter beans, aduki beans, tofu, tempeh, quinoa, amaranth, nuts and seeds.

8. Avoid processed meats - ham, salami, chorizo, hot dogs, bacon and any smoked or cured meats. These all contain nitrates that have been linked to stomach cancer and are high in saturated fats and salt which are linked to cardiovascular disease.

9. Cook from scratch wherever possible - this means buying whole, natural ingredients and cooking or preparing them yourself. Avoid processed and packaged foods as much as possible.

10. Buy locally grown, organically produced, seasonal produce where possible - check out farmer's markets, farm shops and pick-your-own farms for the freshest produce.

In all these things...we can be conquerors!

I receive Greg Laurie's Daily Devotion, and today's was very encouraging to me and I wanted to share this with you...Because I know how discouraging life can be especially when we think we are doing the best we can to be in God's will.

Through the Storm




Sometimes we may think that when we're in the will of God, it will be smooth sailing. But many times it is just the opposite. Doors slam in our faces. Obstacles appear in our paths and storms arise that threaten to drive us off course.

That is why we need to remember there is a devil who wants to stop us from doing what God wants us to do.

As the apostle Paul was on his way to do the will of God, he hit some tough times. An incredible storm arose that caused the people in his boat to despair of their lives. But there was no obstacle big enough to stop Paul. He always seemed to rise above his circumstances.

As he went through the storm, he knew God had shown him what to do, and he would let nothing deter him from that course.

When a hard time hits, when a crisis hits, when a tragedy hits, we often want out. We ask God for an airlift out of our problems.

But many times, God wants us to learn in the midst of them. Romans 8:35–37 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (NIV). Notice the phrase, "in all these things." It isn't saying we won't face some of these things. But it says that in them we are more than conquerors.

If you are seeking to obey the Lord, expect opposition. Expect obstacles. Expect difficulties. But also expect God to see you through.