Heat N Bond

I just thought that I would let everyone know that Heat N Bond is a lifesaver for the working woman. Especially the small-of-stature working woman. Yes, indeed, I love my Express pants, but they are always too long! But have no fear, Heat N Bond is here! Just cut the length you need, fold up the hem and iron. WaLaaaa! Pants are hemmed. Conveniently found at Wal-Mart for under $3.00. What a deal!

Must blog, must blog...

Sheesh, I am horrible I haven't blogged for a while!!! And I have a lot that I could say too, that's the thing. Uh, where to start?

Between one of my classes today, one of my students walked up to me and said, "Do you know you're on Google?" And I replied, "You googled me?" She was just looking for our class website, but it was still funny to me. Of course I am sure that students have done it before, but it was funny to actually hear someone say it!

In other news, my schedule for my master's program changed a bit. Right now I have class two nights a week and hopefully one online class- if I don't get that class, I might not be able to finish in a year. I do like my other two class quite a bit though- they are really invigorating. It's just the new ideas and the administrator perspective that I enjoy. In any job, there is always a different perspective. I have had the perspective of a teacher for four years now, and I like learning from the perspective of an administrator.

My classes are doing great. Very minimal discipline problems. Open house was last night, and all of the parents are very friendly and amiable. (Amiable- one of our vocabulary words this week) First quarter we have a big focus on plot, so students are reading short stories and drawing plot diagrams. O. Henry, Edgar Allen Poe, and the like. Great stuff.

Also coming soon is Justin's website for online personal training. Since I don't really have any background in web design, I'm sure I am making it a lot more cumbersome than it has to be. Still, I enjoy the new challenge and we hope to get some advertising out too.

That's the biggest things in short. I'll have to get more detailed later!

A Reward for Your Work

"Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men."

Proverbs 22:29

That verse constantly motivates me to do my best! 

Today, I had a huge encouragement when someone I very much respected gave me a huge compliment about my teaching. I was so uplifted by it. I wish I could say exactly what it is, and maybe after some time I will be able to. For now, it's a confidential compliment. (Sorry to leave everyone hanging!)

Pizza!

First day of school, and I came home and wanted to make pizza sauce. So I did, from tomatoes and spices in our tiny little garden. And pizza. Like real, homemade dough from yeast and everything. And it was good. The great thing about making your own pizza is that you can make it how you want it! I had four sections:

• pineapple and ham
• ham and pepperoni
• ham, pepperoni, and bacon
• ham and bacon

Don'tcha want some?

Garrapata State Park Hike

one rabbit
forty-seven  lizards
dozens of wildflowers
multitudes of grasshoppers

...time with my husband....priceless!

While the hike at Garrapata State Park was very strenuous, as a guide would describe it, I think it was worth it. We went up the Rocky Ridge Trail first (I recommend this!) through a dryer ecosystem with lots of wildflowers and a view of the coast when it wasn't fog covered. We hiked this section early so we didn't have a clear view of the coast the whole way up. There is a nice bench on this side where you can look out and see the ocean when the mist lifts.

This first section had a pretty steep grade, but nothing like going down the other side of the ridge, where we saw many people going up. I am very glad we hiked up the Rocky Ridge Trail and down the other side before it turns into the Soberanes Canyon Trail. I would much rather have the very, very steep on the way down! There was plenty of lizards along the trail that kept popping up and over the rocks, though Justin wasn't fast enough to catch one. This section was a little over 3 miles, but felt a little longer.

Now, we knew when the Soberanes Canyon Trail started, because we made it to the bottom and found a beautiful little creek that winds its way through the canyon bottom. This creek feeds the grove of redwoods that live here. While there are not as big as Yosemite or Calaveras redwoods, they are still great to walk under the shade of, especially as the creeks winds through the valley. We crossed it several times through this 1.7 mile section of the trail. All in all the hike was about 3 hours for us, which included our lunch break along the creek.

Down further on the highway is a beach, though we just explored a small portion of the coast right across from the trailhead.

Here's some pictures of the scenery:

Funky flowers on the Rocky Ridge Trail

A spiderweb with the morning dew

             

Non-native cacti

 Gorgeous redwoods

        

Coastal view on the other side of Highway One

Flying and Jesus

First, three kids board a plane and fly from Florida to Nashville without their parents knowing! How????
WATCH HERE

Second, a guy walks across the country wheeling a cross... and had his way provided for by strangers.
WATCH HERE



(I was going to gripe about seniority today, but I'll hold my peace for awhile more!)

Super Easy Chicken and Rice Casserole

MMMMmmmm Good!

Try this:

1 can Campbell's cheddar cheese soup
1 can milk (from above empty container)
1 can chicken, undrained or 1 shredded chicken breast
1 1/2 cups raw broccoli, chopped into small pieces
1 cup rice, uncooked

Combine soup and milk in microwave-safe bowl and heat, stirring occasionally until mixed. Add chicken, broccoli, and rice. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to small casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Feel free to substitute cheddar cheese soup for cream of celery, cream of chicken, or cream of whatever! You could also add different veggies like peas or carrots, or various meats like ground turkey, sausage or hamburger. Just cook the meat first! I bet you could put this in a crock pot on low heat too... I haven't experimented yet. Happy eating!

#17 and #32

I'm starting to draw a few conclusions: 1) I'm just a big baby; or 2) This is a lot worse that I thought it would be.

On Friday morning, I went under anesthesia and they pulled tooth #17 and #32. That's the two lower back wisdom teeth. And so recovery begins....

Friday: I pretty much sleep all day, eating a little bit of pudding and not much else. Since I'm sleeping, not much bothers me. I realize late in the day that I still have the heart monitor stickers on me and pull them off.

Saturday: Umm, ouch. The right side of my mouth is beginning to swell, I have a headache, and have horrible nausea. I have to take penicillin and a pain medicine, Propoxyphene, the latter which is making me feel pretty sick. Luckily, Justin is able to get ahold of the doctor and he says to just take Ibuprofen for the pain. It's just kinda of a dull pain anyways, but consistent. Plus, my mouth is stiff so I start using a cold pack. I have to start doing salt water mouth rinses, and try to gently brush the teeth. Still on a liquid diet- juice, broth, applesauce, pudding. Justin and I try to watch a movie, but between the noise and trying to hold the cold pack, it's just not working out. Justin reads our daily Bible reading to me out loud before bed, and I try to concentrate.

Sunday: Stayed home from church. I feel really groggy and can't talk too well, and you know you always talk at church. More pudding, more broth, more swelling, more sleep. Less nausea though, thank goodness. I feel majorly lame because it shouldn't take me this long to get better. On top of it, since we sold my Cougar yesterday, we need to go get me a car. So, about 4:30 we head over and buy a new Honda Fit (more on that later). We get back around 7:30, and I'm exhausted.

Monday: I slept horrible last night. Like bad, bad. I couldn't get comfortable. I need to get to school to work on my classroom, but it's just not happening. After a hot bath, I end up going back to sleep for a few hours, after which I wake up, and decide it is my duty to blog. After all, I don't want to forget how nasty this recovery it. That way, when I am having a bad day, I can just say "at least I didn't just get my teeth pulled." Seriously. I will.

Part of the problem with all of this is that I hate wasting time. And that is what I feel like I have done all weekend! I always want to feel profitable, and I really, really, haven't.

I should add that the doctor was great and gave me very complete recovery directions. I don't blame him for anything. This is just inevitable!

Lords of the Earth

What a great, epic missionary story! Don Richardson, also the author of Peace Child, wrote Lords of the Earth about a fellow missionary's work in the stone-age jungles of Irian Jaya. Stanley Dale was a unique personality, and it turned out, the perfect one to start a missionary work in the forgotten places of the Snow Mountains in Irian Jaya. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will blog a few quotes that were powerful to me from the book.



' "Bruno," Stan mused. "This peace treaty was initiated in a day." And then he added meaningfully: "It could have taken years!" 

 Bruno weighed Stan's point: some problems diminish in proportion to the gumption, not necessarily the superior skills or knowledge, of those who tackle them. Or increase in proportion to the timidity of those who lack daring. Some problems, Bruno reflected, but perhaps not all." '



'Hovering in helpless anguish, Bruno saw Stan raise his head and look up at the cold stars, just now beginning to emerge above the Heluk Valley's black mountain walls. And in his expression Bruno could almost read what Stan was thinking.

It's a lonely enough place in which to live; but it's an even lonelier place in which to die!'



'At the entrance to the Kibi village, Kusaho stood, his arms outstretched in welcome. I realized when I saw him that what I had imagined was true- weighed in the light of cultural differences, Kusaho must be regarded as one of the most unique human beings on earth. His untaught compassion toward strangers, his clear-sighted anticipation of unknown truth, and his willingness to differ from the majority, Kusaho towered above his peers higher, perhaps, than many great men in our culture have towered above us.'

Buy it here! Read it!

Gophers Part II

Oh, here we go again. We finally gave in and called the landlord to use some of his specialty gopher-killing devices. He came out yesterday. Then, this evening, Justin was checking out a new mound of dirt and saw the grass move. After a successful flooding, he got the wretched little thing out. He called me to look at it at about that time. Here's what happened before he, uh, disposed of it...

A most special morning

My husband always succeeds in making me feel like the most special woman in the world. I wake up this morning and stumble into the kitchen to find a handmade card:

So here I am, two dozen years old. Somehow I feel that I should be older, but I'm making the most of the time God has given me! Thanks, Lord, for another birthday and for a wonderful husband, family, and friends.