# 30

Another thing to check off of my 30 by 30 list! 

A few weeks ago I hosted my first (of hopefully many) tea party at my home. It was lovely. 

Three of my wonderful friends came over. We had scones, some tea sandwiches and tea of course. 

For dessert we had chocolate moose with strawberries in a chocolate cup. 

It was yummy, if I might say so myself. :) 

Now I do realize that there are no pictures of people, but you'll just have to take my word on that one. I forgot to get my camera out until after they left. Oops!

My goal is to host at least one Tea a month. I want to invite the ladies I work with next. Unfortunately my apartment isn't very big so I'll only be able to invite a few of them at a time, but I know it will be fun. 

I'm so excited to cross another thing off my list!

a little crumbly, but very tasty scones

I found a cute chocolate mold at a craft store.

Teas I found at Cost Plus World Market.

Day off

 

It was so nice to have Monday off of school. Unfortunately Julie still had to work. But we tried to make the most of it as a family. We met up with Julie downtown and walked over to Sift for some delicious (!) cupcakes. Just in case you don't know. Sift is a recent winner of Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. I've only been there a few times, and I love it. This last time I had a Samoa cupcake that tasted just like the Girl Scout Cookie. Yum! 

Julie had to go back to work and I decided to give my parents a little time at home without Dani. We drove over to Howarth Park, fed the ducks (illegally -- oops!), walked on the trail, and played on the playground. It was a gorgeous day and we had fun just the two of us.

Love this verse!

Matthew 6:25-31
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
    “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

# 26

I've finally been able to start checking a few things off of my 30 by 30 list! Yay!

#26 - Get a massage
Over Christmas break I went and got a massage. It was so nice and relaxing. I could totally get hooked on having them if I had enough money. Someone gave me a gift certificate for my birthday (in May) to Massage Envy. It took me long enough to use it.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Financial Peace University

About a year ago my sister and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class at her church. It was such a good experience. I learned a lot and Julie has been really good about keeping me accountable. I got a lot out of the class, but I am most definitely a work in progress.

Before Christmas my church announced that they were going to offer the same class on Sunday evenings. I knew right away that I needed to take it again. One of the huge benefits to this class is that once you have paid for it you can take it as many times as you want. That totally benefits people like me. You know, the people who have to hear something at least 3 times to actually understand it.

Tonight was the first class and already I am feeling motivated to do well financially. There were things in tonight's lesson which I had written down in my book last year that I most definitely did not follow through with and I am kicking myself for that. I could have been way ahead of where I am now.

Here are some of the things I took out of tonight's lesson on Super Saving:

• Saving must become a priority - saving money will help me to feel content more than spending it will. 
• Use Pre-Authorized Checking withdrawals to transfer money to my savings account before I even know it is there. (and maybe don't even have that money written in my budget to begin with) 
• Discipline is the key ingredient to do well financially. 
• I MUST START NOW!!!

I was talking to a friend after the class about how Dave Ramsey really encourages us to get a $1000 emergency fund as fast as we can. This stresses her out (as it does me), but I reminded her that it is just a baby step. It isn't going to happen overnight. We have to take it one day at a time.
Sure there are people who could put $500 into an emergency fund every month, but there are others (myself included) who will only be able to put a little bit in at a time. I think the key is to make a very detailed budget and find things to cut out of your regular spending. For me, I am going to cut out Starbucks and fast food. For one thing it isn't healthy to be eating out like that on a regular basis, and it also adds up very quickly. Dave Ramsey also stresses that it takes a lot of discipline. And I think the discipline we need comes from God. We really need to be seeking God's strength in this area. It is easy to slip back into old spending habits, but God can and will give us the strength that we need. 

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 

- Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)

Friday Fav 5

1. Asante Children's Choir - This group of children came to school this week to preform for chapel. They were amazing! It was such a huge blessing. 
2. My parents - Thursday was a very tiring day for me and I am very thankful for the encouragement my parents were to me. I especially needed a hug from both of them and that is exactly what I got. :) 
3. Clean water - There are so many people all over the world who don't have clean water. I am so spoiled! My tap water is even clean and I have to use a Brita filter before I drink it.
4. WOW - On Sundays I go to a fellowship group called Women of the Word. It hasn't been till a few weeks ago that I have realized how much I appreciate them. They are such blessings to me. Each week they ask how I am and they genuinely want to know. I also know that they are praying for me during the week. I am so thankful for them. 
5. Good directions - This morning my friend Jen and I drove an hour and a half to go to a school spelling bee. The directions we had gotten off of google weren't very good and we got a little lost. Obviously what isn't what I'm really thankful for. We stopped at a gas station at one point and a very nice man helped me figure out where I was supposed to be. That is what I'm thankful for. :)

Look out for the Spelling Master!

I did something new today.
I was the Spelling Master for a group of 22 - 6th graders.
That means I was the one to sit in front of the microphone (wish I had a picture), give the word and a sentence to the students and tell them whether they are correct of not.

I can't even describe how nervous I was to begin with! It was bad.
One of the mom's called it hyperventilating.

I prayed a lot and had several people praying for me. My voice was pretty shaky at the beginning, especially when I had to give the instructions, but after a few rounds I really became focused. I tuned out everyone except for the student standing in front of me. 

I was shocked at how difficult some of those words were! Several of them I had never even heard of. Good grief!
As we were getting toward the end of the spelling bee there were several words that I mispronounced and had to correct myself. That was a little embarrassing, but what can I say, they were hard words.

In the end I had a really good time. I loved the response of the girl who won. She and a boy had been going back and forth for a while, and when she finally won she jumped in the air and had this excited look on her face. It was priceless.

I think I would like to do it again, but maybe with a younger group of spellers where the words are a little easier for me to read. :)

Student Quotes

My coworkers and I do a lot of laughing at school. Working with kids can be hilarious! Here is a funny quote from today. I actually wasn't there, but heard about it after school.

During 2nd grade music the teacher was showing the class pictures of stringed instruments. When she showed them the violin she pointed out the two holes that look like "f"s. One of the boys then said, "They are like two lovers looking into each others eyes."

Oh my! I'm actually glad that I wasn't in there to hear it, because I would have been laughing so hard!!! I'm not sure how the music teacher responded, but I'm sure she did well.

Friday's Fav Five

This is something I tried doing a long time ago on my blog, and I decided that I'm going to try again. It is a great way to reflect on the week and see what God is doing in my life. 

1. Reading Scripture - this was one of my "New Year's Resolutions." So far I've been staying on track and I look forward to it every day. Yay!
2. One of my co-workers announced that she is pregnant! I'm so excited for her and her husband! 
3. My students - I can honestly say that I was looking forward to coming back to school this week. I love my students and I was very excited to get back to teaching them! Thank you, Lord, for my job!
4. Hot coffee - It has been a very cold week. At this time in my life, part of my job is to do early morning yard duty. This means that I am outside from 7:45-8:15. Brrr. This week has been so cold. Once I get done I usually go to the office and get a nice hot cup of coffee, which warms me right up. 
5. Hugs - Three days a week Danika goes to school, and on those days she always runs out to the playground to give me a hug. I love it. It makes my morning so nice. This morning was very cold and she was so cute all bundled up and with her little pink nose. 

End of Christmas Break

1. Sleep in - done pretty well with that one
2. Read a book for fun - I'm reading Inkheart, but still have a ways to go.
3. Take my car in to get fixed - all fixed!

4. Clean my apartment. I mean really clean! - Why is this so hard for me!!??!
5. Get through a few books I need to read for work - I started reading one of the books, but still haven't finished it. 
6. Get a massage - amazing!
7. Finish typing out my Grandma's recipes
8. Cook a few of my Grandma's recipes - made my Grandma's meatballs on Christmas Eve
9. Work on my Christmas quilt- almost done cutting out the fabric. Then I can start piecing it together.
10. Organize my Tastefully Simple business
11. Clean out my closet and get rid of a few clothes that I don't wear.
12. Read a book at Starbucks


Not too bad! 
Back to school tomorrow. I'm generally looking forward to it, which is good. I do wish that I had a little more time to work in my classroom, but that is my own fault since I only went in once to work in my room. :o/

Stalling - Pumpkin Seeds

I am so terrible. Whenever I have things to do I usually can find something else to do. I'm sure I'm not the only one and I'm sure my mom is not going to like reading this post.
So today while I had a few things that I need to get done today I decided that I needed to use up the sugar pumpkins I had. I grew them in the garden at school over the summer and fall and they've been sitting around waiting for me to do something with them. So this afternoon I baked them and pureed them. Now the puree is sitting in my refrigerator draining in cheesecloth to get the extra water out. Online I read that I could freeze it and use it for later. I think I'm going to make a pumpkin bread with some of it tomorrow night.
I also took care of the pumpkin seeds. I LOVE PUMPKIN SEEDS!!!! I went onto allrecipes.com to see how long I needed to roast them and I found a fun recipe for them. Oh! They taste just like candy! I posted it on my food blog even though it isn't one of my Grandma's recipes. I might have to get more pumpkin seeds so I can share it with other people. I might just eat all of this batch on my own. :)

Hello 2011!

It is hard to believe that 2010 is over as of tonight. Wow! The year went by so fast!
It has been a good year. God has been so good to me. It has been a busy year and I've been able to do some fun things. I've become so thankful for my friends both near by and far away as well as my family near and far.

I'm really looking forward to 2011. I know that God is going to do some great things this year. I don't know what He has planned, but I know that He has planned it. I love having that reassurance. Seriously I don't know how people live without having the hope that Christ give us. Recently I realized that I've been taking it for granted, but 2011 is where that is going to change. I have several things on my New Years Resolutions list, but the one thing I want to do is grow in my relationship with God. And how is that relationship going to grow if I hardly spend any time with Him?! Tomorrow is a brand new year and things are going to change for me. I am feeling very determined. And I hope that I will be able to update you in a month or so and say that I have been following through with that determination.

In addition to this here are the other things I'd like to do for 2011:

1. Read from the Bible everyday.
2. Exercise twice a week. 
3. Mail out birthday cards to my friends. 
4. Save $1000 for my emergency fund. 
5. Pay off my credit card from car repairs. 
6. No tv before bed - read instead. 
7. Have 2 Tastefully Simple parties a month. 
8. Check my budget and spending every week. 
9. Host a tea party every other month.
10. Keep up with my grading so that I'm not cramming it all in at the end of the quarter. :) 

Yikes, I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew. 

Recap on Vacation

I thought I'd check my list of what I wanted to do over my vacation and see how I'm doing. I know there are a few things that I need to do still. 

1. Sleep in - done pretty well with that one
2. Read a book for fun - I'm reading Inkheart, but still have a ways to go.
3. Take my car in to get fixed - it is there as I'm typing this

4. Clean my apartment. I mean really clean! - Almost done! One room left to tackle!
5. Get through a few books I need to read for work - ok I haven't started this one yet. Yikes!
6. Get a massage - scheduled for Wednesday - Yes, I finally scheduled it!
7. Finish typing out my Grandma's recipes
8. Cook a few of my Grandma's recipes - made my Grandma's meatballs on Christmas Eve
9. Work on my Christmas quilt- almost done cutting out the fabric. Then I can start piecing it together.
10. Organize my Tastefully Simple business
11. Clean out my closet and get rid of a few clothes that I don't wear.
12. Read a book at Starbucks - Planning on going there this afternoon. :o) 

Well, not too bad. Most of them are in progress.  Better get going on some of them. Only 5 days left.

Puddles...a blessing and a curse

I have had quite the experience with puddles lately. And I have to say I truly have mixed feelings about them.
On the negative side, my car does not like puddles. I don't just mean any ordinary puddle. I mean the really big ones. You see when I drive through large puddles, which doesn't happen too often, my car throws a fit.
You know that belt in your car's engine? The one that controls the engine fan, water pump, alternator, power steering, and I'm sure a few other things?
Yup, that's the one. When I go through large puddles that belt come off. Not off in the sense that I lose the belt, but off in that those things in my engine are not functioning. So far this winter it has happened three times. It is really obvious when it happens too. I didn't realize how much I appreciate my power steering! My arms are killing my from when it went out this evening.
Grr! Tonight was one of those oh so lucky nights. And I realized it was the same puddle that had made it come off the time before. Yes, I'm learning. My mechanic says that it is common in the type of car I have and there isn't anything that can be done to stop it.
So, I am avoiding giant puddles.
After all that negative there are ways I am seeing how God is taking care of me.

1. Every time this has happened I have been close to home or work.
2. Someone just has to put it back on, and it doesn't cost too much money.
3. One of the maintenance guys at my work can put it back on for me. Thanks Shannon Guisti!
4. The last two times it came off I was very close to work.

God is so good!

Ok, now here is the reason why I find puddles a blessing.
Danika loves putting on her rain boots and jumping in puddles. The other day we went for a walk specifically looking for puddles to jump it. (she did all the jumping, I forgot my rain boots)
It is so much fun. Every little bit of water we saw she wanted to jump in it.
Finally we made it to a public school near my parent's house and found some good puddles in the parking lot. I think she would have stayed there all day.
So much fun!

Thank you, Lord for your many blessings and for showing me the positive in the negative. You are so good. -- Jamie

Jesus Paid it All by Kristian Stanfill

Top 5 Christmas Movies

Here is my 

Top 5 Christmas Movie List 

1. White Christmas

2. A Muppet Christmas Carol

3. The Santa Clause

4. Elf

5. Mickey's Christmas Carol

I have to admit though that I have hardly watched any Christmas movies this year. 

I feel like Christmas snuck up on me. And it is almost here!!!

What to do...

As of Friday, I am on Christmas Vacation! I'm a little excited to have some time off of work. Vacation time is one of the perks of being a teacher, for sure.

I was thinking the other day of all the things I'd like to do and get done during my two week vacation, so I thought I'd make a list to help motivate me to get them done. Hopefully I can get some things crossed off the list.

1. Sleep in (woke up at 7:30 today, that is a start!)
2. Read a book for fun
3. Take my car in to get fixed
4. Clean my apartment. I mean really clean! (planning on getting a good start on that today)
5. Get through a few books I need to read for work
6. Get a massage
7. Finish typing out my Grandma's recipes
8. Cook a few of my Grandma's recipes
9. Work on my Christmas quilt (maybe I can finish it sometime this year to use it next year)
10. Organize my Tastefully Simple business
11. Clean out my closet and get rid of a few clothes that I don't wear
12. Read a book at Starbucks (I've missed that in the last few months. It is so relaxing)

Ok, I'm sure the list could go on, but it is only 2 weeks people. :o) I'm so looking forward to the time to relax, get some things done and spend time with my family. The last few weeks have been crazy busy and I've only seen them here and there.

Happy Birthday!

Another Year

I’m wishing you another year
Of laughter, joy and fun,
Surprises, love and happiness,
And when your birthday’s done,
I hope you feel deep in your heart,
As your birthdays come and go,
How very much you mean to me,
More than you can know.

By Joanna Fuchs

I love you Julie! I'm so thankful that God gave me you as my little sis! I'm praying that this year is the best one yet!

How to survive the end of the semester...

Well, the procrastinator in me is showing right now. I always get mad at myself for putting things off to the last minute. Grr. It is the end of the semester and here I am trying to frantically get my grades all done in time. (Well I really want to get them done a few days early) So I'm taking a little break and I am writing about it. :)


Here is how I survive the end of the semester...

Christmas gift exchange with the class

It was a little crazy, but fun at the same time.

A nice hot cup of Butterscotch Kisses Cocoa. So amazing.

Gotta have great dessert when you have a bunch of papers to grade. These were made by one of the parents at school. Perfect!

Comfy and cozy slippers. 

And last but not least Hulu. 

I've got some favorite shows to watch while I'm entering my grades and correcting paper.

My Christmas Vacation is just around the corner. Monday is going to be wonderful with no school work to do.

Uncle Bubbles

I'm not always the best with my words and I really have a hard time sharing my feelings, but today (tonight...ok this morning) my heart is very sad. Today very suddenly Wayne Kuhner went to be with the Lord. My heart is very torn because I know that Wayne is safe in the arms of his loving Savior but at the same time I am very sad that he is not here anymore.

I have known Wayne my entire life and for as long as I can remember I have called him "Uncle Bubbles." He blew bubbles for me when I was little. My family used to spend a lot of time with the Kuhner family. Unfortunately, over the last several years we have not spent as much time together because of busy schedules, but they are still great friends.

Wayne was an great man of God. He cared for so many people. I loved peeking into the Church office on Sunday mornings to see if he was in there. He'd always give me a huge hug, say "hey sweetie!" and we would chat for a while. Every time I sang in church he would tell me that he thought it was my mom who was singing and that he loved it. I was always so encouraged by him.

Every time I think about him tonight I cry, hence the lack of sleeping at the moment.
The Kuhner family is in my prayers right now as I'm sure this is a very hard time for them.

Thank you, Lord, for your perfect timing, even when we don't understand. Thank you for the time I was able to have with Wayne. I am so thankful that he is at home with You in paradise. Please bring comfort and peace to those who knew and loved Wayne.