Last night a friend of ours posted his new music video to a song on his new album. His name is Vic and he lives here in Nashville. He one of the sweetest guys I know, such a caring spirit and genuine person. It's especially fitting for the New Year. Below is a link to his video, I suggest you check it out!
http://youtu.be/A4sINu0yz0s
What are your resolutions? I suppose I haven't quite made any definite resolutions yet, but I do have a few things on my wish list:
1) Start training to finish the Country Music Marathon, again
2) Hand in hand with the training goes weight-loss, but mainly for me I just want to eat better
3) Be a better wife and mother, but I think I do a pretty good job already!
4) Finish my EdS and start on my EdD
I hope whatever you choose to focus on this year, it includes being a light to others. I plan on studying my Bible more and living my life out loud to enhance His kingdom.
Happy 2012 to all of you and yours!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Freezer Cooking
This morning I had an epiphany...Let me back up and say that I found out yesterday that I will need surgery on my right shoulder to rectify some numbness in my arm. I'm most certain that this is probably an old volleyball injury that has finally decided to surface. Anyhow, as I was drinking my morning coffee and checking emails, I realized that I would be without a right arm for at least 4-6 weeks after surgery. I decided that I probably needed to make ahead several meals and freeze them to make life easier during that time. While Shannon is a good cook, I'm sure he will be busy keeping care of our soon to be 3 year old during that time. So, I did a little research online and found several recipes that looked appealing, made a grocery list, and headed out to shop. First stop was Sam's Club, then Aldi, then Kroger. Overall, I spent about $200.00 on food and supplies. Here's what I made today:
9 Mustard Herbed Pork Chops (3 meals)
9 Cheese and Cracker Crusted Chicken Breasts (3 meals)
40 Corn Flake Chicken Strips (4 meals)
Penne Pasta with Sausage, Ricotta, and Tomato Sauce (1 meal)
French Dip Sandwiches (1 meal)
4 Hamburgers (1 meal)
Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf (1 meal)
Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf (1 meal)
3 lbs Cooked Ground Beef (2 meals)
Sundried Tomato Chicken Pasta (1 meal)
Stuffed Shells (1 meal)
Asian Beef Stir-Fry (2 meals)
5 Chicken Breasts (2 meals)
12 Chicken Tenders (1 meal)
Chopped Onions
Chopped Bell Peppers
All in all I have 24 meals prepped and ready to go! I wouldn't suggest doing this without a helper. Shannon wasn't overly excited about being the sous chef today, but he did finally come to my rescue. My feet are pretty tired, I stood all day in the kitchen! I know that my hard work will be worth it in the long run. Even if we don't gobble up all the meals right away, life is about to get busy and the prepared meals will come in handy. I don't know about you, but I have the grab and go tendency; if I'm in a rush it's easy for me to settle for a greasy cheeseburger. Fast food meals are something I would like to rid from our family in 2012. I know this is a daunting task for a family of travelers, but I'm hoping we can at least cut back. This break from school has been beneficial for me, I feel like I've accomplished a ton!
Lastly, I'm sure you want to know where I got my recipes...I actually found a blog through www.pinterest.com to a blog where the author spills all the details of freezer cooking. So thankful I didn't have to purchase another cookbook! Here's the link:
http://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/01/freezer-friendlymake-ahead.html
I want to forewarn you I have never made any of these recipes before, so cook at your own risk!
9 Mustard Herbed Pork Chops (3 meals)
9 Cheese and Cracker Crusted Chicken Breasts (3 meals)
40 Corn Flake Chicken Strips (4 meals)
Penne Pasta with Sausage, Ricotta, and Tomato Sauce (1 meal)
French Dip Sandwiches (1 meal)
4 Hamburgers (1 meal)
Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf (1 meal)
Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf (1 meal)
3 lbs Cooked Ground Beef (2 meals)
Sundried Tomato Chicken Pasta (1 meal)
Stuffed Shells (1 meal)
Asian Beef Stir-Fry (2 meals)
5 Chicken Breasts (2 meals)
12 Chicken Tenders (1 meal)
Chopped Onions
Chopped Bell Peppers
All in all I have 24 meals prepped and ready to go! I wouldn't suggest doing this without a helper. Shannon wasn't overly excited about being the sous chef today, but he did finally come to my rescue. My feet are pretty tired, I stood all day in the kitchen! I know that my hard work will be worth it in the long run. Even if we don't gobble up all the meals right away, life is about to get busy and the prepared meals will come in handy. I don't know about you, but I have the grab and go tendency; if I'm in a rush it's easy for me to settle for a greasy cheeseburger. Fast food meals are something I would like to rid from our family in 2012. I know this is a daunting task for a family of travelers, but I'm hoping we can at least cut back. This break from school has been beneficial for me, I feel like I've accomplished a ton!
Lastly, I'm sure you want to know where I got my recipes...I actually found a blog through www.pinterest.com to a blog where the author spills all the details of freezer cooking. So thankful I didn't have to purchase another cookbook! Here's the link:
http://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/01/freezer-friendlymake-ahead.html
I want to forewarn you I have never made any of these recipes before, so cook at your own risk!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
#tenyearsago
This morning while I was reading through Twitter posts, I noticed the trending hash-tag was #tenyearsago. I started thinking back to my life ten years ago and I can't believe how much things have changed, but yet stayed the same!
Ten years ago, I had just graduated from college with my undergraduate degree. I was ready to take on the world and I did. In the last ten years, I've coached collegiate volleyball, taught in the public schools, earned my Master's degree, made a dent in my progress towards my Doctorate in Education, gotten married, had a child, bought 2 homes, moved 7 times, run a half-marathon, and so much more.
Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the now and what you don't have. I challenge you to look back at your past and count all the little blessings. It makes the now seem irrelevant.
I plan on blogging soon about our Christmas break and family time. I know my blog has been somewhat neglected, but I must say I'd rather be writing this blog than I would be writing papers for school!
Ten years ago, I had just graduated from college with my undergraduate degree. I was ready to take on the world and I did. In the last ten years, I've coached collegiate volleyball, taught in the public schools, earned my Master's degree, made a dent in my progress towards my Doctorate in Education, gotten married, had a child, bought 2 homes, moved 7 times, run a half-marathon, and so much more.
Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the now and what you don't have. I challenge you to look back at your past and count all the little blessings. It makes the now seem irrelevant.
I plan on blogging soon about our Christmas break and family time. I know my blog has been somewhat neglected, but I must say I'd rather be writing this blog than I would be writing papers for school!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
In Six Years...
August 19th made six years of marriage for Shannon and I. Tonight, I'm all by myself- Emme's at a friends, Shannon's out of town, and I'm at home, I was thinking about all that can happen in six years. I think I'll reference this post next time I want to buy a new car, since 72 months is the financing magic number these days.
Anyhow, in six years, we've bought two homes and made them home. Probably the best part about buying a home is finding those neighbors who really make it feel like a home. We've been blessed in both neighborhoods we have lived in to have made great, reliable friends.
We've bought four cars. Double ugh. Alas, I think we have vehicles that might last us and the crazy gas prices.
I've taught for 5 years. 25% of my way to retirement. Yeah, right.
We had a baby! And we survived. If we make it through the 2's, well, never mind.
2 of the 3 of us have had our heads cut open and put back together.
We've had 3 roommates. All, whom we miss!
We've joined a church, twice.
Most of all, in six years, we have learned to love through it all. We've loved when it's good, when it's scary, when it's bad, when it's brutal, when we didn't want to, and when it was hard. In six years we've had a lot of ups and downs, good and bad, boring and fun, exciting and scary, triumphs and trials. Best of all, we've had each other, and today I might just be happier than the day we started this journey six years ago. Time flies!
Anyhow, in six years, we've bought two homes and made them home. Probably the best part about buying a home is finding those neighbors who really make it feel like a home. We've been blessed in both neighborhoods we have lived in to have made great, reliable friends.
We've bought four cars. Double ugh. Alas, I think we have vehicles that might last us and the crazy gas prices.
I've taught for 5 years. 25% of my way to retirement. Yeah, right.
We had a baby! And we survived. If we make it through the 2's, well, never mind.
2 of the 3 of us have had our heads cut open and put back together.
We've had 3 roommates. All, whom we miss!
We've joined a church, twice.
Most of all, in six years, we have learned to love through it all. We've loved when it's good, when it's scary, when it's bad, when it's brutal, when we didn't want to, and when it was hard. In six years we've had a lot of ups and downs, good and bad, boring and fun, exciting and scary, triumphs and trials. Best of all, we've had each other, and today I might just be happier than the day we started this journey six years ago. Time flies!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Wait, what happened to Summer?
It seems like just a few weeks ago I was writing my last blog post and school was almost out for Summer. Well, here we are, and school has already started. We have had a whirlwind of a Summer, but it's been awesome.
I decided in the Spring that I wanted to go back to school to get my Ed.S. (Education Specialist) degree and possibly (hopefully) pursue my Doctorate after that. I took my first two classes in June. It's the first time that I have taken school seriously in my life. It paid off, I learned something and I made two A's. School was always easy for me if I even slightly applied myself, but I was a little unsure of how I would do going back to college. I worked my butt off, but, it was enjoyable. I learned things about the education world that I never paid attention to before because I was always going to be a coach. I now sport my first college 4.0 GPA!
After working fast and furious to get a 15 week course packed into 5 weeks done in 2 weeks, we set off on our great Summer Adventure. We spent a week in Cleveland, Branson, and Daytona Beach, with stops in St. Louis, Dallas, Bentonville, and Cincinnati. Shannon and Emme also spent 5 days in Kentucky. After 6 weeks straight on the road, we had about 5 days to recover before I had to go back to school. Each of those days incorporated a 3 hour nap for us all. We were exhausted! I'm not sure we will ever pack that much travel into one summer again, but I enjoyed every moment of it.
We have also found a new church home! Shannon, Emme, and I now call Life Assembly in Mt. Juliet our home church and I couldn't be more excited. I believe that Life Assembly is a place that God put in our path for a reason. Life has a FABULOUS children's ministry and I'm counting down the days until my Emme can become part of the Rainbows program (only a few more months!). Rainbows and Royal Rangers are a program specific to the AG church. The most exciting part about Life for me is the opportunity for mission work. The have a Buddy Break program that provides respite one Friday a month for parents of special needs children. I have already volunteered to help with that program. I'm also hoping to find a mission trip that I can participate in real soon. I think I'm ready!
School started July 26th for me and August 1st for all my kiddos. I suppose the first week went well. It's always nice to see how much the kids have grown over the summer along with their sweet faces on the first day. I requested a transfer last year because I wanted to teach older kids, but nothing became available. It was bittersweet for me because I was so glad to see the kids I have been teaching for 5 years on the first day of school, but it wasn't where I thought I wanted to be. Needless to say, God has perfect timing for everything, and I know this situation is no different.
Emme is doing great! We are working on learning her shapes and colors (she's almost there), letter and number recognition, and of course her favorite past time, singing. She knows more nursery rhymes than I do and I sometimes hear her singing them in her bed (when she isn't in ours!) I ask for you to pray for her, we have her in a 3 year old classroom (she's 2 1/2) and she is the youngest which is sometimes frustrating for her. I've struggled with this decision, because I'm not sure if I should be pushing her so hard- she came home with homework last week. I often forget she is just 2. She is so grown up, has the attitude of her Mother (Lord help us all) and sings like her Daddy (WHEW!).
Shannon is feeling better after an allergic reaction to some medication that caused his joints to stiffen and swell. Thankfully, most of those symptoms have subsided and he is transitioning to another medication. His schedule has been a little light this month, therefore, he has been home quite a bit. Although this is a financial strain on us, I think it was best for him after such a chaotic summer. He really needs the rest and I enjoy his help when he is home.
We are getting ready to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary on August 19th. It seems like only yesterday we were married. Of course we have had our ups and downs, but I know he was God's special gift to me. I'm hoping we can take a little mini vacation in December when we go to Dallas for Christmas, just the two of us. We've only been able to do that one time since Emme was born, but it was SO wonderful! Shannon already blessed me with our anniversary gift, a new Keurig coffee maker. I'll blog about that later but just know it's wonderful! He always says that I can't hold a secret, but he gave it to me the day he bought it. He knew I had a tough day at school (Friday) and he thought it would make me smile. I'm sure he was a little excited to have a cup of coffee too!
I suppose this has been more of an update than a blog, but I guess whatever goes when you aren't updating your blog on a regular basis like you should! Stay tuned friends, I'll try to keep you posted.
I decided in the Spring that I wanted to go back to school to get my Ed.S. (Education Specialist) degree and possibly (hopefully) pursue my Doctorate after that. I took my first two classes in June. It's the first time that I have taken school seriously in my life. It paid off, I learned something and I made two A's. School was always easy for me if I even slightly applied myself, but I was a little unsure of how I would do going back to college. I worked my butt off, but, it was enjoyable. I learned things about the education world that I never paid attention to before because I was always going to be a coach. I now sport my first college 4.0 GPA!
After working fast and furious to get a 15 week course packed into 5 weeks done in 2 weeks, we set off on our great Summer Adventure. We spent a week in Cleveland, Branson, and Daytona Beach, with stops in St. Louis, Dallas, Bentonville, and Cincinnati. Shannon and Emme also spent 5 days in Kentucky. After 6 weeks straight on the road, we had about 5 days to recover before I had to go back to school. Each of those days incorporated a 3 hour nap for us all. We were exhausted! I'm not sure we will ever pack that much travel into one summer again, but I enjoyed every moment of it.
We have also found a new church home! Shannon, Emme, and I now call Life Assembly in Mt. Juliet our home church and I couldn't be more excited. I believe that Life Assembly is a place that God put in our path for a reason. Life has a FABULOUS children's ministry and I'm counting down the days until my Emme can become part of the Rainbows program (only a few more months!). Rainbows and Royal Rangers are a program specific to the AG church. The most exciting part about Life for me is the opportunity for mission work. The have a Buddy Break program that provides respite one Friday a month for parents of special needs children. I have already volunteered to help with that program. I'm also hoping to find a mission trip that I can participate in real soon. I think I'm ready!
School started July 26th for me and August 1st for all my kiddos. I suppose the first week went well. It's always nice to see how much the kids have grown over the summer along with their sweet faces on the first day. I requested a transfer last year because I wanted to teach older kids, but nothing became available. It was bittersweet for me because I was so glad to see the kids I have been teaching for 5 years on the first day of school, but it wasn't where I thought I wanted to be. Needless to say, God has perfect timing for everything, and I know this situation is no different.
Emme is doing great! We are working on learning her shapes and colors (she's almost there), letter and number recognition, and of course her favorite past time, singing. She knows more nursery rhymes than I do and I sometimes hear her singing them in her bed (when she isn't in ours!) I ask for you to pray for her, we have her in a 3 year old classroom (she's 2 1/2) and she is the youngest which is sometimes frustrating for her. I've struggled with this decision, because I'm not sure if I should be pushing her so hard- she came home with homework last week. I often forget she is just 2. She is so grown up, has the attitude of her Mother (Lord help us all) and sings like her Daddy (WHEW!).
Shannon is feeling better after an allergic reaction to some medication that caused his joints to stiffen and swell. Thankfully, most of those symptoms have subsided and he is transitioning to another medication. His schedule has been a little light this month, therefore, he has been home quite a bit. Although this is a financial strain on us, I think it was best for him after such a chaotic summer. He really needs the rest and I enjoy his help when he is home.
We are getting ready to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary on August 19th. It seems like only yesterday we were married. Of course we have had our ups and downs, but I know he was God's special gift to me. I'm hoping we can take a little mini vacation in December when we go to Dallas for Christmas, just the two of us. We've only been able to do that one time since Emme was born, but it was SO wonderful! Shannon already blessed me with our anniversary gift, a new Keurig coffee maker. I'll blog about that later but just know it's wonderful! He always says that I can't hold a secret, but he gave it to me the day he bought it. He knew I had a tough day at school (Friday) and he thought it would make me smile. I'm sure he was a little excited to have a cup of coffee too!
I suppose this has been more of an update than a blog, but I guess whatever goes when you aren't updating your blog on a regular basis like you should! Stay tuned friends, I'll try to keep you posted.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Life comes at you fast....
I know it's been FOREVER since I have written a blog and tonight will probably be short, but like the title says, life comes at you fast. Are you ready?
This morning I learned that a dear friend of mine (Holly) lost her 7 year old niece yesterday to a tragic car accident. I haven't been able to shake this. I can not even fathom the thought of losing Emme, much less one of my 11 nieces or nephews. My heart has been weary all day for this family who lost their Mom/Grandmother (Holly's Mom) just a few years ago to cancer. Sometimes, life just doesn't make sense.
Only a few minutes ago, I read an update from a friend of ours from Texas who has been battling not 1, but 2 forms of cancer this past year. He lost his voice, sense of taste, part of his tongue, and the list continues. Friday he went in for a PET Scan to determine if the treatments had work. To God be the glory, his answer came today and he is free of cancer!
I know this blog has been short, but I just had to share my thoughts tonight. Just like the commercial says, "Life comes at you fast, are you ready?" It's ringing in my ear tonight. Until then...
This morning I learned that a dear friend of mine (Holly) lost her 7 year old niece yesterday to a tragic car accident. I haven't been able to shake this. I can not even fathom the thought of losing Emme, much less one of my 11 nieces or nephews. My heart has been weary all day for this family who lost their Mom/Grandmother (Holly's Mom) just a few years ago to cancer. Sometimes, life just doesn't make sense.
Only a few minutes ago, I read an update from a friend of ours from Texas who has been battling not 1, but 2 forms of cancer this past year. He lost his voice, sense of taste, part of his tongue, and the list continues. Friday he went in for a PET Scan to determine if the treatments had work. To God be the glory, his answer came today and he is free of cancer!
I know this blog has been short, but I just had to share my thoughts tonight. Just like the commercial says, "Life comes at you fast, are you ready?" It's ringing in my ear tonight. Until then...
Sunday, February 27, 2011
I've been running...
It's been awhile since I've blogged, and literally, I've not had time! I made a commitment to myself at the beginning of the year that I would do my best to lead a healthier life. So far, so good, but my oh my it takes time and money!!!
Who would have thought that living a healthy lifestyle would be more expensive? It's crazy, you try to do the right thing, and the wrong thing happens! Basically, my grocery bill has doubled. Apparently, fresh food, fruit, and vegetables are a hot commodity! This isn't to mention that once you become healthy, your body goes through physical changes, and guess what? That's right, your clothes don't fit. So now what? Luckily for me, I haven't hit the point yet where my clothes are absolutely falling off of me, but if I keep this up, it won't be long. So, unfortunately for my bank account, that equals bad news. Fortunately for the local shelters, I'm putting clothes on someone's body that probably couldn't afford them otherwise. So, that's my rant about the expense of being healthy.
Now, on to the time factor. Because I've committed to do this, I've had to cut back on other leisurely activities like blogging. It wasn't really intentional, it's just been crazy busy around here and any free time that I get, is spent working out, mostly running. That's right, the girl who only runs when it's raining because I don't want my hair to get wet, is running a half-marathon.
Every year at school, I host a Running Club for my students. The ultimate goal of the running club is to run a marathon, kid style. Basically each child runs a mile a day up until race day and on race day, they run their last mile, which equals a full marathon. 26.2 miles. This year, I have 108 kids running. As a side note, our school is about 600 kids total. That's pretty impressive effort on my kids' part I think. Anyhow, if 1 out of 6 kids at school can commit to running a marathon, it's time I did.
So, I've been running. I started in early January and goodness it was tough. I knew I was out of shape, but whew! I started with an interval run/walk training schedule. Out of the blue one day (probably about 3-4 weeks ago) I decided I would run without walking and see how long I could go. It was a particularly emotional day, receiving news related to cancer about many friends. (This is my chance to say, CANCER SUCKS!) I started running, and each time I thought it was too rough, I thought about just 1 of those I was praying for with cancer, and kept running. Needless to say, I did it. I ran the entire 30 minutes. In my ever so competitive fashion, I've continued to add on miles and minutes. This weekend, I ran 7.53 miles in 1:28.00. Yep, that's right 7.5 miles. Then, I walked 1.5 after that. 9 miles total!
Shannon says that I've become addicted to running, but I'll tell you, not hardly! I'm still not a huge fan. What I am addicted to however, is taking that time to clear my mind, reboot and refresh, pray up, recharge, take deep breaths, and focus not only on myself, but all the others I've been praying for. I will do this.
If you're wondering the date of the Marathon, it's April 30th. The Kid's Marathon is on April 29th. If you live in Nashville, come on out and cheer me or the kids on!
Until then...
Who would have thought that living a healthy lifestyle would be more expensive? It's crazy, you try to do the right thing, and the wrong thing happens! Basically, my grocery bill has doubled. Apparently, fresh food, fruit, and vegetables are a hot commodity! This isn't to mention that once you become healthy, your body goes through physical changes, and guess what? That's right, your clothes don't fit. So now what? Luckily for me, I haven't hit the point yet where my clothes are absolutely falling off of me, but if I keep this up, it won't be long. So, unfortunately for my bank account, that equals bad news. Fortunately for the local shelters, I'm putting clothes on someone's body that probably couldn't afford them otherwise. So, that's my rant about the expense of being healthy.
Now, on to the time factor. Because I've committed to do this, I've had to cut back on other leisurely activities like blogging. It wasn't really intentional, it's just been crazy busy around here and any free time that I get, is spent working out, mostly running. That's right, the girl who only runs when it's raining because I don't want my hair to get wet, is running a half-marathon.
Every year at school, I host a Running Club for my students. The ultimate goal of the running club is to run a marathon, kid style. Basically each child runs a mile a day up until race day and on race day, they run their last mile, which equals a full marathon. 26.2 miles. This year, I have 108 kids running. As a side note, our school is about 600 kids total. That's pretty impressive effort on my kids' part I think. Anyhow, if 1 out of 6 kids at school can commit to running a marathon, it's time I did.
So, I've been running. I started in early January and goodness it was tough. I knew I was out of shape, but whew! I started with an interval run/walk training schedule. Out of the blue one day (probably about 3-4 weeks ago) I decided I would run without walking and see how long I could go. It was a particularly emotional day, receiving news related to cancer about many friends. (This is my chance to say, CANCER SUCKS!) I started running, and each time I thought it was too rough, I thought about just 1 of those I was praying for with cancer, and kept running. Needless to say, I did it. I ran the entire 30 minutes. In my ever so competitive fashion, I've continued to add on miles and minutes. This weekend, I ran 7.53 miles in 1:28.00. Yep, that's right 7.5 miles. Then, I walked 1.5 after that. 9 miles total!
Shannon says that I've become addicted to running, but I'll tell you, not hardly! I'm still not a huge fan. What I am addicted to however, is taking that time to clear my mind, reboot and refresh, pray up, recharge, take deep breaths, and focus not only on myself, but all the others I've been praying for. I will do this.
If you're wondering the date of the Marathon, it's April 30th. The Kid's Marathon is on April 29th. If you live in Nashville, come on out and cheer me or the kids on!
Until then...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)