Hallowhiny ...Hallowork

I love Halloween, but this one hasn't been the best one ever. 

So let's start with HALLOWHINY!
First of all - Kyle has to work all weekend. Boo! (the thumbs down kind of boo - not the scary mask kind) But we knew that, so we had planned ahead and decided to do our Halloween last week. However, Busch Gardens was so packed they handed us a flyer on the way in proclaiming that they might shut down the park because it could possibly reach capacity. Sooo...we turned around and never went in. It was a practical decision - paying $100 to stand in lines and bump into people all day would not have been fun - but still a bummer. It was fun hanging out with the Wallaces in Williamsburg all weekend, though. That made it better. As did shopping at the outlets, seeing them again, and hanging with all the Wades this weekend! But still - no costume, no haunted house, and I forgot my Halloween treat in Williamsburg.

Two years ago - Kyle and I were Jack Skellington and Sally and it was awesome! Last year, I was an awesome viking and I got to party with a sailor, a dark fairy, and a demon. This year I am "On House Arrest Girl." My costume is complete with sweatpants, a pony tail, and stacks of school work.

That brings us to HalloWORK! I don't know how I got so behind at school, but I am stressed out. So stressed out that the scariest part of this Halloween season are my finger nails. I have chewed them down to the nubs. I am behind at school, I need to get a tenant in to take over our lease at the townhouse, I need to start packing and painting, I need to get my wisdom teeth out, I need to start shopping for Christmas, I need to save money, I need to help with the dance team at school, I need to help with the fall play, I need to find flooring, I need to....AHHHHH!

Phew.

So much good is happening in my life right. BIG GOOD! And that makes me giggle like tickle-me Elmo, but at the same time I feel so overwhelmed. It's like Cirque du Soleil is performing in my stomach and they are booked for 4 shows a day!

So.

Deep breath.

Big smile.

And Happy Halloween.

Next year I will have an awesome costume. No matter what!

Here are some of my favorite pumpkin carving contest winners. This is another one of my plans for next year.

I've got bugs...

Well, let me rephrase, I want to have bugs.

Ha.

I was browsing Etsy, which I occasionally do to procrastinate cleaning my house, and I came across a framed cicada. It was so cool looking. This may make you squirm, but I think I want to buy a collection of framed bugs!  I don't think I would have the zeal and patience to catch my own bugs and frame them. I would also feel very sad killing something just for artistic purposes. Do the bugs die on their own and then people frame them? Probably not; although I don't hear of PETA doing anything about it. They probably don't care about bugs.

Anyway. I want probably just two - seeing that the ones online are pretty expensive and I have no idea where I would go to buy them in person. Here are some ones I like...

A creepy one. But so cool. 

Brightness, Imagination, and Beauty

We had this meeting at Draft a while ago that spoke of teaching 21st century students in the "21st Century Way." Blah blah, yadda yadda. (just kidding, I listened and learned) But the most interesting point the presenter brought up was in one of the very first "hook 'em into it" slides. She brought up the results of a study on the creative mindsets of 5 year olds vs. 50 year-olds. Here is the basis of the chart:
       
                                                         5 year old                                50 year old
Number of imaginative
thoughts per day                                     32                                             4

Number of questions asked
out of curiosity per day                            27                                            2

Number of laughs per day                        23                                            3


There were other parts to the chart as well, but I didn't write them down. I like how the thing that struck me the most in this teaching seminar might not have really had that much to do with teaching, but then again, it has a lot to do with life in general. It makes you think - what happens to us? We shut off our imagination? We stop asking questions? We laugh less? I thought of this chart when I was on my way home from a weekend filled with plenty of imagination, curious questions, and laughter. I spent the weekend with two great kids that just reminded me that there is such pure joy and creativity  in a child's mind and heart. It brings life back to reality. Adulthood can be stressful - but I really think it can be less so, if you just remember what it is like to be a child. And that is my Dr. Phil lecture of the day. *cheesy wink*

Here are some cute pictures Kori and Briana took. : )

My favorite...hahaha.

Praise - because I can trust You with my life.

Praise my God who answers prayers.

Praise to my Father who pieces my life together so beautifully, intricately, and wisely.

Praise to a Savior who has given me a great life and everlasting life.


I can't believe how my prayers have been answered. It is amazing what God will give back to you, when you take one step forward for him. When you focus on his commandments and strive to live for him, he out shines any great deed you could do and returns love for love 10 fold. Two years ago, I was a mess. I was falling into a party lifestyle that I thought would fulfill me. And as I ran to each party, I was running away from God. It took heartache to bring me back. Ever since, I feel him strengthening me. I feel his love for me. And I am witness to his grace and propensity to give what is asked of him.

Praise to my God, a generous God, a loving God, a faithful God.

...possible projects

So I am excited about my list of art projects I want to make, despite how long and possible daunting it is.  Some are needed decorations - others are just for fun.

So this is simply glorified decoupage! According to Do-It Yourself Magazine, all you need is a great poster, a chair, water, glue, a sponge, and some polyurethane. Easy!

Yay for a Octopi! How cute are these? I figure if I find a little boy's t-shirt with a great octopus on it, I can use that as the front of the pillow. Can I get another EASY! Wow, that sounded cheesy. Ha.

Magnetic clothespins = cool kitchen magnets. 

I think letters make cute additions to a bookshelf or dresser top. Plus they look inexpensive and super easy.

And this is just the top layer of my "need to make" picture folder. I got so many projects to tackle. : )

Teaching in the Valley...

I had a great day today at work. I have been stressed out lately because of state assessments coming up, so I needed a good day.To spread the love and joy, here is a little list I came up with.

You know you teach in the Valley (or any rural area really) when...
1. You walk out in the hallway and students are painting a sign that says, "It's turkey season!" (which they used on a homecoming float, but still)

2. Two young girls show me pictures of the camo dresses they plan to wear to prom

3. Students who don't like "Jersey" day during spirit week protest by showing up in head to toe camo

4. Kids warn me that they will probably start being late to first block once hunting season starts

5. Boys wear cowboy hats and white T-shirts (with the sleeves cut off) to the homecoming dance
                                                 
6. FFA...selling Christmas fruit

Great Food!

I am starting to really love cooking. Once you have a great stock of the essential spices and ingredients, cooking becomes much easier. A few days ago I made Pioneer Woman's meatloaf (again) because it is so delicious. But she has a great new recipe for Cajun meatloaf that I am going to try. Oh and I made lemon pepper broccoli...from a recipe at the Taste of Home website. 

Then, I thought I had enough hamburger one day for meatballs, buuuut I didn't. So I just whipped together Chicken Parmesan and it was delicious. And easy! Just bread the chicken, pan fry the chicken, melt the cheese on the chicken, pour some of the sauce in the pan with the chicken, then add the sauce and chicken to noodles...easy!

Aint it the truth...

Found this little gem on Etsy. I want it.

Spirit Week

Homecoming is here... at the ol' Draft. Here are some shots from the two best days - super hero day and 80s day. I think next year we should have celebrity look-a-like day.

 

We just both happened to be "Grammar Girl" so we joined forces. My cape reads "Catch the Run-on" and "Defeat Text Message Spelling" - those are the baddies I face everyday. 

The Visionary! I helped Ms. Quesenberry with her costume. She is the art teacher...couldn't you tell?

The ladies on 80s day....I forgot to take my own picture. I looked like their mom from the 80s. 

Tomorrow is School Spirit day. And there is a pep rally and a homecoming parade and the homecoming game. I have to work the game - running the ticket booth. I also have to chaperone the dance on Saturday. I am going to be worn out with all this homecoming....just come home already.

Promises

Psalm 27:14: Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Matt 7:7-8: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." 

John 5:24: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

Is 40:31: "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." 

Phew, I needed that. Praise and Glory to the one true God. Thank you. 

This song has reminded me to just wait on him in the past and every time I hear it, I remember to keep doing that. 

Charity of the Month

Since I am getting paid by the month, I am thinking of giving to a different charity each month. This will increase my junk mail, but it is worth it. : )

I watched two Diane Sawyer specials today that led me to pick the charity for this month. The first 20/20 special exposed the truth behind Islam and the differences between what Muslims consider their true religion and that which pushes radicals towards terrorism. The other special revealed the brutality used against women in Afghanistan. I put that one on my Christian blog - it is heart-breaking.

Therefore, the charity of the month is an organization called Women for Women: an organization that works internationally to help women gain the freedoms and respect they deserve.

I get so overwhelmed thinking of how I want to change this world, but I never seem to stand up and do something. I decided that I need to stop trying to start huge and just start small. So instead of buying that nice new skirt at the Gap, I will send a few bucks off to maybe help someone else. It's a start.

Oh and if you want to watch something else that will make your heart break - but shows the truths of this world - watch the documentary "The Cove." You can watch it instantly on Netflix. Or if you can't watch, don't have the time or what not, just boycott Sea World and all other "swim with the dolphin" programs. They get their dolphins from horrible fishing industries in Japan.

Islam

So I was tired of watching noneducational, mind-numbing TV. I have been watching too much of it. It's like candy - it has no salutary value, but it is so good. Anyway, I was tired of it, so I decided to watch an episode of 20/20. It was a special about Islam - the true nature of the religion in contrast to the radical beliefs of Islamic terrorist groups. It was interesting.

Muslims believe in many of the same stories we do. They believe in creation starting with Adam and Eve, although both are made from the dust in their version. They believe in Mary and her immaculate birth. They believe Jesus will come again and that until that time he sits at the right hand of God. But..and its a big but... they do not believe that Jesus is the son of God. They don't believe in the crucifixion. And they have another prophet they follow, Muhammad.

It is crazy to me that the three most popular religions of the world are focused on some of the same basic stories. Christians (including Catholics), Jews, and Muslims believe in the same God (pretty much); but the Messiah is where we all differ. If you look to the Bible, it is as if these differences were starting to take shape during the time the prophets were writing. Many Pharisees didn't believe Jesus's claim that he was the son of God and they were Jews, so therefore the Jewish faith rejecting Christ as God's son was already happening. Then Peter, as well as several of the other disciples, warn, in their letters, against false teachers.

 2 Peter 2:1-3 says, "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;  and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." 

This is an interesting warning to bring up, because not only does it showcase that there were people trying to lead possible believers away from Christ, but it also showcases a message that many Muslim believers who turn to radicalism need to hear. The 20/20 special featured many American Muslims who advocate that their religion is not violent or hate-centered. Scholars believe that it is through misinterpretations of the Muslim's holy book, the quran, that some Muslims turn down a road to terrorism, violent suicide, and murder.

It is a testament to how easily a false teaching can lead a believer or a group of them astray. The same can happen in Christianity. Radicals can emerge if the words of God or even of a religious teacher are taken the wrong way or used in the wrong way. Jesus even refers to false prophets as "wolves in sheep's clothing."


Dang, more wolves. Good thing I know the one true God and his son who will keep me strong. Also on a side note, it made me sad that so many Muslims are so close to the true God, to know him, to reaching him, but they can't get to him without the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus. So, therefore, Muslims need our love and evangelism. They don't need us to burn their books, jeer at their clothing, or judge their intentions before knowing them.

Luke 19:10
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

They did mention something called "honor killings" that I want to research more. I just started researching and there are articles that say this 20/20 broadcast had some of the facts wrong....but I will need to read more. There is so much to learn and know in this world.

....15 minutes later...my heart breaks...how can we teach the wolves to be kind?

Home Decorating Announcement

I have decided to repaint the living room.

It will be a lot of work.

But I am now sure that I cannot live with this peachy color. I feel like I put the accent color on the walls and I am yearning for a neutral. I am thinking a very muted and light olive green. Olympic has one called "Quaking Grass" that is nice. But I have only seen it on the website, so I will have to visit home depot. Whoop.

I just give myself more and more work to do.

I finally got paid today. My first paycheck with the new job. I celebrated by stopping by the awesome thrift store next to SDHS. I bought an old bow pin, some little wooden houses to use as decorations, a shutter, and an old book to tear pages out of for art. I will upload pictures once I find homes for all these items. Kyle has almost completely finished sanding the bed we bought on Craigslist (2 months ago!!!). I wanted to have it finished and stained by the end of the weekend. Yay for goals. Then, I might actually buy the bedding I want!!!