Good Mornin'!

Well, it's not quite morning anymore, but it feels good to say it anyway!

I've been slack with this lately--however. I have a reason to post today.

On Tuesday I got a package in the mail. A REAL, beautifully LONG, BONA-FIDE handwritten LETTER.

From Australia.

With the kind of Christmas card I've been looking for to give myself--but haven't been able to find. And a precious bookmark.

Thank you so much, Aly! You are a queen of friendship.

I'll try to write you back, and return the favor of a REALETTER.

I'm not quite in clover yet... lol... I still have grades to do, and post, and all of that. But at least I now have time to do it.

I need to finish making pillows and bedroom slippers for Christmas... lol!!! just saying that makes me laugh, though I love doing it.

---

Good Grief. It's been forever since I posted, therefore I have stories to tell!

Story No. 1: My niece Renee, not quite one, took her first steps! How sweet is that?!

Story No 2: I had no school last Thursday and Friday. Guess Why?!?!

Not because of snow.

Not because of ice. We had a little, but only enough for a 2-hour delay on Thursday.

Oh no.

Because the power was out in the town where I teach.

LOL!

It totally messed up my teaching schedule. When the students come back, I'll be finishing up projects from Literature Circles--that should have been finished before Christmas. But oh well--not everything works the way you try to plan.

Actually, I've learned so far--very little does according to your plan. But just so it's God's plans in action, then everything will be just fine.

For instance: because I was off, Momma and I were able to go ahead and do Cookies for Christmas. Not something I thought I was going to be able to help with this year. I'm glad I could!

I also was able to go ahead and sew up one of the skirts I'd planned to make over the holidays. And now I have another jean skirt. Yay!!

--I'd better go get stuff done. I can't believe Christmas is so soon.

God Bless, everyone!

It's been a while...

...And I don't feel like I have a whole lot to say. I guess my brain is pooped--from trying to keep up with--or tone down--my students. I most likely will have much more to say after a bit of vacation.

So, here's the list of things I want to do over the break:

1. Make and buy Christmas gifts. (duh.)
2. COOK
3. Make 2 jean skirts. I can't find any decent ones in the stores.
4. I don't want to do this... but I need to-- GRADE PAPERS. I'm so behind. and I'm getting that panicky feeling, because I don't want to grade the whole vacation long.
5. Go Here:

Dungeness--Ruins on Cumberland Island, GA

We took a nap on the beach....

(This was Rebecca, not me.--But I did the same thing.)

And took pictures of a beautiful tree...

And walked around... and just relaxed.

(Becca looks tilted--which is my fault. It almost looks as if she's going to fall down...but I still like the perspective on this shot)

It was wonderful.

I want to go there again, but I don't know if I'll make it this year.

I hope so.

We didn't get snow this time--but there's a slim chance of it tonight. I guess we'll see!


God Bless

It's almost snowing...

But NOT QUITE.

It would be nice to have a 2-hr delay tomorrow... lol!

Listen to me! And I'M THE TEACHER!!!!

Though I don't know that it will happen--not unless the mountains are icy.

(Lol-- I'm talking to my students about sentence structure right now... so it makes me so much more aware of how mine come together.... but not with obvious results. (Technically, I just wrote a RO!)

Last night's service was wonderful. It gave me so much to contemplate--and to worship God over. Actually, it seems that all of our services lately have just meant so much. It's wonderful.

Psalm 91

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

--Faith and Confession. Amen.

Despite all of the moans and groans I do on here about teaching... My God has sustained me througout this journey, and He will continue to do so. He has blessed me so much. I've made it so far.

Just to give you an example--one new teacher at my school didn't make it. The kids weren't awful; the work wasn't any worse than mine... but she just didn't make it. She stopped coming. Without reason. When I see that, I realize just how good God is to me.

Pray for Snow, y'all!

Samantha, You've Enspired Me...

...To tell how God is so very good to me--and has been all my life. I'm blessed beyond my wildest imagination, just becuase I'm His child, and growing in Grace.


I first was babtised when I was a little girl. I was four years old.

I didn't want to go to hell.

And so I went on, for years.

Sinning. Being a little girl.
All the while growing up in a home with parents who believed the Message.
Listening to Brother Branham. Going to church. Singing. Sinning.

Yet all the while, God had His hand on my life. I finally came to the knowledge that I was a sinner--and not surrendered to God--at age 14. And there I surrendered to Him.
And there, I began to live the Message by my own works.
Which is to say, not well. At all.

I knew there was a piece missing. Something wasn't right.
But I didn't know what.


I'm so thank God for sending me--my family--my church--a Holy Ghost-Filled, Straight-preaching pastor. My most rebellious moments as a teenager were brought into the light of God's Word--and I realized where I was astray. God 's gift will always point out sin and unbelief.
And through the preaching across the pulpit of my Home Church, I realized:

I needed the Holy Ghost.

After I'd realized, I heard it everywhere. In every message I heard, I heard Brother Branham preach the Holy Ghost. When I read the Bible; when I prayed; it was a sore thumb of thought: I needed the Holy Ghost.

I needed to surrender more, though.

And I had to want to surrender.
Not want the Holy Ghost, just to take myself back again.

I sought--for I'm not quite sure how long. And the night when I recieved Him--not as a historical figure, but as my Lord and Savior, who died on the Cross to save me, and would deign to come down and LIVE in ME--it was too awesome for words.

I had no words--I had nothing to offer Him, but sweet surrender.

And I'm still learning my lesson, over and over again, to surrender my life into His complete care. I'm still facing the fact that I AM NOTHING,
and HE IS ALL.



I'm still growing in Grace.
Every trial, every test, every pain is an opportunity to grow into Him more--as long as I take it. It's always an opportunity to lean on Him more; to let Him be more in my life.

And when I fail--which is so often--He is my advocate with the Father.
And I'm sheltered within the cover of His wings.
My voice is heard--but my sins are under the blood.

And because of that, I cannot fail the Lord.

The lord of my life; He has never failed.... On my own, I could never succeed...


Through Him, I cannot fail Him.

I LOATHE Locks of Love.

So, today--guess what was on the school newscast this morning. Yup. Three people-cutting their hair for locks of love. Ten inches of their hair, chopped off.

One of them was a guy.

So, guess what my students said as soon as they heard this?!?

Yup.

"Miss R.--Miss R.! You should do it!"

One of the teachers down the hall from me said his classroom was absolute chaos, because all of his students wanted me to donate my hair to L.of L. "Think of it, Mr. Matt, she could contribute 3X what the others did!" --And on, and on.

NO.

A thousand times, NO.

I put up my hair after the news broadcast. It was down before that. I didn't want to be bothered by students commenting.

But it was a good opportunity to tell my fellow team members why I don't cut my hair. And it was bound to happen sometime that I would testify about it. Even if all I said was, I don't want to, and don't I feel like God wants me to, either.

1 Cor 11:15: But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

---

And I just want to thank you Lord,
For letting me hear the Word;
What have I done to deserve such Glory Revealed in me?
...

Hmm....

I'm really tired, so this will be really short. However, if you wish to find out about how my lovely thanksgiving went, all you have to do is go to Sharon's Blog--lol!

The good newses-- I baked my first turkey this Thanksgiving! Actually--I basically did what Momma usually does, and she did what I usually do--She did the last-minute cleaning, while I did the cooking! It was fun to be in the kitchen.

The turkey was marvelous, which is why I'm gonna leave you with the recipe--Definately worth a try! We did the dressing that goes with the turkey as well, but I prefer a cornbread dressing--I'll probably merge two recipes next year--or just do Slave Dressing with apples and sage. (Yup--that's the name of my family's fabulous recipe. PC it's not... )
I wasn't too keen on the sausage this time. I don't know why.

Has anyone else tried this?
http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html

It's great fun--and just for the info, I'm 76% Dixie. My dad--who says Say-ruh when he's pronouncing the name Sarah--scored lower than ME!
Oh well--some mysteries will never be solved.... lol!

Going Home, I'll meet you in the Rapture, Going, home, I'll meet you in the Air. And you are never too young to think about it; I cannot wait --To be Going Home....

I need thee ev'ry hour...

I'm listening to the radio online through Messagelinks right now while I'm also finishing up my LRP's. I don't know how late I'm gonna be up tonight--I just know it's going to be reaallly LATE--and I know that my kids aren't going to get the best of me tomorrow. Thankfully, they are finishing up projects, and they each individually know where they are. I'll just have to monitor and adjust tomorrow.

But anyway--back on topic. I love what's playing--songs from Fernando Ortega's Hymns CD. They're such beautiful songs. And it's so funny, how many of the pple I know who sing on messagelinks radio--tonight I heared Ben, my brother-in-law, as well as my pastor, as well as Bro. Jeff Elkins from Mesa--and if I knew more people, I guess I'd know them too(!!!)

Tonight we had such a wonderful service at church. The messages that come across at my home church have just been for me--and I'm so grateful to the Lord for meeting my need. I know He promised, but when I see it manifested in my life, and in my heart--that is so wonderful.

I love to listen to Brother Branham... but sometimes, it's difficult for me to catch the gist of the Message he's bringing across. It seems as if when the Word is brought across the pulpit, in church, It's amplified--it's meaning is so crystal-clear. How grateful I am for a God-sent pastor, and the fact that I'm in my place--where I belong.

'Tis time--'Tis time--To...

UPDATE.

I know it. But I've been avoiding it. Because it seems as if I won't have anything happy to say until my BREAK BEGINS at 3:30 tomorrow afternoon--and I'm FREEEE for five days! Isn't it funny--until I became a teacher, I never realized that the teachers want breaks just as badly--if not worse--than the students. All I know is I currently need one... and will be thrilled to take any snow days that God will, in His infinite mercy, give me this year! But in truth, His mercy will carry me through this year, and has already. And I'm so thankful for that. I was just thinking the other day about the kingdom of God. It's something my pastor has been preaching on lately, and I hope that it's begun to take root in my heart and life. It made me think about this: we spend so much time absorbed in the kingdoms of this world--our jobs, traffic, media, news, wars, pain and suffering... The list goes on and on. And we learn the kingdom of this world well. We can repeat its mantras, demonstrate how to survive, and complain with the best of them.

But when we've so thoroughly learnt the world's kingdom--gotten it down-pat--then we go about to learn God's Kingdom--of joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Ghost. It makes me wonder if I'm not defeating myself, this focus on Satan's Eden. Lord, am I really learning the ways of your Kingdom? I pray I am, one step at a time, through the Great Tutor.

HEARING.RECEIVING.AND.ACTING.title CHATAUQUA.OH 60-0607

E-14 014 A carnal mind wants God to bring the birthright down to their level. But for me, and I believe all true born Christians, we meet it on God's level. I don't care what I have to do, or what I have to say, how I have to act: the only thing, I want it. That's means more than my popularity. That means more than my job. It means more than my mother, means more than my wife, more than my children, more than every friend I got. Let me have that birthright. I don't care what I have to pay. I want to meet God on His requirement. Whatever He requires, if it's fall in dust, if it's speak with tongues, if it's run through the building and act like a maniac, or stand on my head, I don't care what it is, just so I get it. That's the main thing. That's the spiritual minded people. They want the birthright, regardless.

They want it. And as soon as they get it, it sets up the same reaction it was in that family. Finally, it'll come to a place till there come a separation. A man will have to obtain, if he obtains this birthright, he will have to separate himself from the world, just as Jacob had to.

HEARING.RECEIVING.AND.ACTING.title CHATAUQUA.OH 60-0607

E-15 015 My, sometimes it means walk alone. But if you really are sincere, and you really receive the birthright, you don't care to walk alone. If the neighbors won't invite you anymore over to dinner, if nobody will have anything to do with you, what difference does it make to you? As long as you've got the birthright, that's the main achievement of your life. As long as I'm borned of the Holy Spirit, what difference does it make? Long as I'm on my road to heaven, what difference does it make what the people say as long as we're walking in the Spirit? And all that's borned of the Spirit of God, are led by the Spirit of God. Sons and daughters of God are led by the Spirit of God, always walking in the beautiful light of holiness, cleanliness.

---

THINGS.THAT.ARE.TO.BE.title RIALTO.CA V-4 N-6 65-1205
37 027 Therefore, the Bride in the rapture will come forth, and there it's all preplanned by God, all backed up. From the beginning He knowed every man, every place, who would set, all about it. It's all preplanned. God knew it would be here, and--and when He made it that way so that when we get there--He's gone to prepare a place for us, and when we get there, it'll all be prepared just like even this night is prepared, like this hour is prepared. This...

THINGS.THAT.ARE.TO.BE.title RIALTO.CA V-4 N-6 65-1205
38 028 His great foreknowledge tells Him all these things, by foreknowledge. He's omnipresent because He's omniscient; omniscient because He's omnipresent. Therefore, by His foreknowledge... Now, He can't be just like the wind over the earth, because He is a Being. He just isn't a myth; He's a Being. He dwells; He even dwells in a house. He dwells in a place called heaven; and therefore, by His omni--being omnipresent--being omniscient, knowing all things, then He is omnipresent because He knows all things.
You... Now, you grew from your birth... When you was born and presented into this world, God knew that you were going to be here in this earth, and you growed from birth to maturity. Things that seem so strange to you in your young womanhood, young boyhood, as children, now seems very real. You couldn't understand it when you was a child, but now as you become adult, you begin to understand and find out that everything was just set just right. And you... It really means something to you now.

THINGS.THAT.ARE.TO.BE.title RIALTO.CA V-4 N-6 65-1205
40 029 So is it in your spiritual birth. You do things that you don't understand when you're a little baby, come to the altar and you give your life to Christ. You do such strange things. You wonder why you did it. But after while when you mature, as matured Christians, then you understand it. See? There's something picks up and you see why you had to do it. Your spiritual birth... Your natural birth types your spiritual. How--how it fitted to you. In this life as you grew, everything fitted right in, because you were made for that.
Wasn't it a strange thing the night that you staggered into the mission, the tent meeting, or the little church somewhere on the corner, and something, a preacher preached on a certain subject, and you just fell right at the altar? See, see? God knew that before the foundation of the world. See? It--it seemed strange to you why you did it then, but now you understand. You knew what happened. And so fitting to you in this life and will be also in the life that is to come. This world and it's life seems to--to advance as you mature. Everything seems to go right with you.

THINGS.THAT.ARE.TO.BE.title RIALTO.CA V-4 N-6 65-1205
41 030 I don't believe in a--that a person just happened to be here by chance. Now, just think: when you come to the--the world, everything had to be foreprepared for you, or preprepared, rather, for you. I don't hardly understand that how that we could think that a God that could prepare all these good things for us would not--we could not put trust in Him, that if He brought us in this chaos that we're in now and prepared the good things of life for us here, how much more can we trust Him to prepare the things that is to come (See?), the eternal things.

God Bless!

Untitled

Choose Something Like a Star

by Robert Frost

O Star (the fairest one in sight),
We grant your loftiness the right
To some obscurity of cloud-
It will not do to say of night,
Since dark is what brings out your light.
Some mystery becomes the proud.
But to the wholly taciturn
In your reserve is not allowed.
Say something to us we can learn
By heart and when alone repeat.
Say something! And it says, 'I burn.'
But say with what degree of heat.
Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade.
Use Language we can comprehend.
Tell us what elements you blend.
It gives us strangely little aid,
But does tell something in the end
And steadfast as Keats' Eremite,
Not even stooping from its sphere,
It asks a little of us here.
It asks of us a certain height,
So when at times the mob is swayed
To carry praise or blame too far,
We may choose something like a star
To stay our minds on and be staid.

Okay--talk of cars on other xangas has inspired me.

I'm shall tell of my very first car-- White Lillly.

She was a '72 Datsun 510 hatchback station wagon, with more character than a scarred vetran. I received her on my sixteenth birthday from my sister--who had just bought a brand, spankin' new white Honda Accord.

She's the reason that I know how to drive a straight drive, though since her untimely death, all I've had are automatics.

She received her name after I read Mathew 6:28, which says:

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

She was white--sort of--and she toiled not, neither did she SPIN...

At the event of her untimely death, I wrote the following obituary...

The residents of W*** U**** were saddened by the great loss of a faithful, albeit old and decrepit companion of eight years.

White Lilly, as she was known in some circles, will be properly mourned as her passing became imminent with an unusually harsh sound in her third gear, resulting from a faulty transmission, which, if driven any more, would cause the driver great duress and suffering, with a roadside call of angst to one's father/mechanic.

As slave to her owner's demands of somewhat unruly driving, she served her one-score and eleven years in the service of the road, transporting her innocent and mechanically ignorant female mistresses around the bountiful and munificent campuses of W******* and C******, as well as carrying her long-time and not so mechanically ignorant owner, Mr. Mike G. far and wide.

Ms. Lilly died at the extremely old age of thirty-one, on the twenty-eighth of January, two-thousand and three.

.

(Yay!!! I get a new car!)

~Marie~

--Sometime, I'll post a pic of her...

Untitled

This is for Alyssa

Introverted (I) 62.07% Extroverted (E) 37.93%
Intuitive (N) 51.72% Sensing (S) 48.28%
Feeling (F) 64.71% Thinking (T) 35.29%
Perceiving (P) 64.71% Judging (J) 35.29%

Your type is: INFP

INFP - "Questor". High capacity for caring. Emotional face to the world. High sense of honor derived from internal values. 4.4% of total population.

Enneagram Test Results

The Enneagram is a personality system which divides the entire human personality into nine behavioral tendencies, this is your score on each...

Type 1	Perfectionism	||||||	30%
Type 2	Helpfulness	||||||||||||	50%
Type 3	Image Awareness	||||||||||||	50%
Type 4	Sensitivity	||||||||||||	43%
Type 5	Detachment	||||||||||||||||	66%
Type 6	Anxiety	||||||||||	33%
Type 7	Adventurousness	||||||||||||	43%
Type 8	Aggressiveness	||||||||||||||	53%
Type 9	Calmness	||||||||||||	46%

And all this means... http://linus.highpoint.edu/~bblatchl/infp.html

Untitled

Big 45 Test Results

Gregariousness	||||||||||||	38%
Sociability	|||||||||||||||	42%
Assertiveness	|||||||||||||||	46%
Poise	|||||||||||||||	46%
Leadership	|||||||||||||||	50%
Provocativeness	||||||||||||	38%
Self-Disclosure	|||||||||||||||	50%
Talkativeness	||||||||||||||||||	58%
Group Attachment	||||||||||||	38%
Extroversion	|||||||||||||||	45%
Understanding	|||||||||||||||||||||	66%
Warmth	|||||||||||||||||||||	62%
Morality	||||||||||||||||||||||||	78%
Pleasantness	|||||||||||||||||||||	62%
Empathy	||||||||||||||||||	54%
Cooperation	||||||||||||||||||||||||	78%
Sympathy	|||||||||||||||||||||	66%
Tenderness	|||||||||||||||||||||	66%
Nurturance	|||||||||||||||	50%
Accommodation	|||||||||||||||||||||	64%
Conscientiousness	||||||||||||	34%
Efficiency	||||||||||||	38%
Dutifulness	|||||||||||||||||||||	66%
Purposefulness	|||||||||	30%
Organization	|||||||||||||||||||||	62%
Cautiousness	||||||||||||	34%
Rationality	||||||||||||	34%
Perfectionism	|||||||||||||||	42%
Planning	|||||||||||||||	50%
Orderliness	|||||||||||||||	43%
Stability	||||||||||||	38%
Happiness	|||||||||||||||	46%
Calmness	|||||||||||||||	46%
Moderation	||||||||||||	34%
Toughness	|||||||||||||||	46%
Impulse Control	||||||||||||	34%
Imperturbability	|||||||||	22%
Cool-headedness	||||||||||||	34%
Tranquility	|||||||||	26%
Emotional Stability	||||||||||||	36%
Intellect	||||||||||||||||||||||||||||	82%
Ingenuity	|||||||||||||||||||||	62%
Reflection	||||||||||||||||||||||||||||	82%
Competence	||||||||||||||||||||||||	74%
Quickness	||||||||||||||||||||||||	74%
Introspection	||||||||||||||||||||||||	74%
Creativity	|||||||||||||||||||||	66%
Imagination	||||||||||||||||||||||||	74%
Depth	||||||||||||||||||||||||	74%
Openmindedness	||||||||||||||||||||||||	73%

Big 45 Key

Factor		low score	high score
Gregariousness	38%	quiet, reclusive	engaging, socially bold
Sociability	42%	withdrawn, hidden	warm, open, inviting
Assertiveness	46%	timid, gunshy	controlling, aggressive
Poise	46%	uneasy around others	socially comfortable
Leadership	50%	stays in background	prefers to lead
Provocativeness	38%	modest, plays it safe	bold, uninhibited, cocky
Self-Disclosure	50%	private, contained	very open and revealing
Talkativeness	58%	quiet, stealthy, invisible	motor mouth, loud
Group Attachment	38%	loves solitude	prefers to be with others
Understanding	66%	insensitive, schizoid	respectful, sympathetic
Warmth	62%	disinterested in others	supportive, helpful
Morality	78%	break/ignore the rules	play by the rules
Pleasantness	62%	aloof or disagreeable	gets along with others
Empathy	54%	out of tune w/ others	in tune with others
Cooperation	78%	competitive, warlike	agreeable, peaceful
Sympathy	66%	socially inconsiderate	socially conscious
Tenderness	66%	cold hearted, selfish	warm hearted, selfless
Nurturance	50%	self pleasing, me first	people pleasing, me last
Conscientiousness	34%	reckless, unscheduled	careful, planner
Efficiency	38%	unreliable, lazy	finisher, follows through
Dutifulness	66%	leisurely, derelict	strict, rule abiding
Purposefulness	30%	inattentive, undisciplined	prepared, focused
Organization	62%	relaxed, oblivious	detail oriented, anal
Cautiousness	34%	impulsive, spendthrift	restrained, cautious
Rationality	34%	irrational, random	direct, logical
Perfectionism	42%	careless, error prone	detail obsessed
Planning	50%	disorganized, random	scheduled, clean
Stability	38%	easily frustrated	calm, cool, unphased
Happiness	46%	unhappy, dissatisfied	self content, positive
Calmness	46%	touchy, volatile	even tempered, tolerant
Moderation	34%	needs instant gratification	easily delays gratification
Toughness	46%	hypersensitive, moody	thick skinned
Impulse Control	34%	lacks self control	maintains composure
Imperturbability	22%	highly emotional	emotionally contained
Cool-headedness	34%	demanding, controlling	accommodating
Tranquility	26%	emotionally volatile	emotionally neutral
Intellect	82%	instinctive, non-analytical	intellectual, analytical
Ingenuity	62%	lacks new ideas	innovative, novel
Reflection	82%	unreflective, coarse	art and beauty lover
Competence	74%	slow to understand/think	intellectual, brainy
Quickness	74%	intellectually dependent	intellectually independent
Introspection	74%	not self reflective	self searching
Creativity	66%	dull headed	synthesizer, iconoclast
Imagination	74%	practical, realistic	dreamer, unrealistic
Depth	74%	lacks curiosity	mental explorer

I love to cook... lol...

I cooked for the first time in--eons--last night and today
YAY!

I made (I know y'all really want to know this... )
Pork Chops and Apples, Pan-Fried Potatoes (AKA fancified hash browns, with sauteed onions and chicken broth and spices), and Brocolli... plain-jane, cause everything else tasted pretty complex. Served with from-nature grapes. No cooking involved.
And this morning, I made muffins and homeade applesauce. I LOVE homeade applesauce!

It was just a relief to do something so incredibly normal, like cook a meal. And since I love to cook, it was tons of fun!


I don't think I'm in teaching for the long-haul. (Actually, I know I'm not.) As much as I love literature, writing, and all of that good stuff, being with so many people in one day stresses me out. Especially when I must direct their actions, and make sure they are actually doing something productive. Especially when they don't want to be directed... lol!

But I am an English nerd. I'm such an English nerd that I get daily poetry. Now, they aren't always good, but this one was. So I saved it, now to be rehashed in my xanga.

Here's a poem for the day, complements of Writer's Almanac:

God's Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed.
Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell:
the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs--
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World
broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

God Bless!

I love to cook... lol...

I cooked for the first time in--eons--last night and today

YAY!

I made (I know y'all really want to know this... )
Pork Chops and Apples,
Pan-Fried Potatoes (AKA fancified hash browns, with sauteed onions and chicken broth and spices), and
Brocolli... plain-jane, cause everything else tasted pretty complex.
Served with from-nature grapes. No cooking involved.

And this morning, I made muffins and homeade applesauce.
I LOVE homeade applesauce!

It was just a relief to do something so incredibly normal, like cook a meal. And since I love to cook, it was tons of fun!


I don't think I'm in teaching for the long-haul. (Actually, I know I'm not.) As much as I love literature, writing, and all of that good stuff, being with so many people in one day stresses me out. Especially when I must direct their actions, and make sure they are actually doing something productive. Especially when they don't want to be directed... lol!

But I am an English nerd. I'm such an English nerd that I get daily poetry. Now, they aren't always good, but this one was. So I saved it, now to be rehashed in my xanga.

Here's a poem for the day, complements of Writer's Almanac:

God's Grandeur

by Gerard Manley Hopkins

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with
toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs--
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

God Bless!

Untitled

I'm alive... really!

---^---^---^---^---^---^---^---^....
I've just been busy lately. Long-Range Plans are due soon, as well as midterms coming up... so it seems like a lot's going on. So, Aly, I've not abandoned you--I just took a temporary leave-of-absence!! My students were so BAD today... argh! They were just loud. They had trouble listening. And I wrote up a student. And others got in trouble too. In fact, as I walked down stairs at the beginning of my planning period, I saw a whole GROUP of students that I teach, waiting to see the sixth grade disciplinarian. Every single one of them were my students, and most of them were all in my first period together. And I wonder why in the world that period won't settle down?! La. But on a happier note... This weekend, I'm not gonna do a thing. Well, actually I am. I'm going to accomplish as much as I can on my long range plans, so that next weekend, I'll actually be free from responsibility. Because Ben and Sharon and Renee are coming up... and we're going to finally celebrate my birthday!! --Celebrate my birthday. lol-- I know-- it was a month ago. However, we've been incredibly busy; therefore, we haven't taken the time. Anyway, it's just now starting to look and feel as it should when my birthday takes place... so it's not really that much of a stretch. The trees are just now starting to be beautiful and red and yellow and orange... and maybe I'll take the time to run to the mountains this weekend.
Why is it fun to take personality tests online? It just is. Maybe it's because it's fun to see where they're wrong and where they're right. Please pray for me. It seems as if I can't break through, past all the stress and worry and confusion that a first year teacher's entitled to. It's been such a struggle, ever since I started teaching, to spend time with Him and His word. But I KNOW--beyond a shadow of a doubt--that God is greater than our confusion, and he will supply our needs. I know that I'm in this job for a purpose. I just haven't quite grasped what it is. I'm thanking the Lord that there is a purpose--a reason--that I'm going through all this. And I know that I'll come out stronger on the other side. Thank you all, my wonderful friends from around the world, for your love and care. God bless you!

It's a witness...

WITNESSES_ CHICAGO.IL THURSDAY_
56-1004 E-42
Did you ever go out (while you're praying), did you ever go out on a morning after a dark, dismal night? Look hanging on the clothes wire. Look hanging on the grass blade. Look hanging on the leaf. It's a little dew drop. Oh, they're so miserable looking, quivering as the cold, chilly winds are shaking them, but just let the sun start to rise. Watch how they shine. They're glistening. Why? You know they were once up in the sky, and the going away of the sun brought them down, but they've been up. They've had an experience. They are a witness that there's an atmosphere to live in above this earth, and as soon as the sun is the one who draws the dew back up into the skies again. They've once been up, and now they're down, and they see the sun rising. So they know they're going up again, so they're happy and reflecting the light of the Sun, little dew drops.

My blessed little child, as your father in the ministry, though you may be older, but still you're my child. I have preached to you the Gospel, and you're dropped down. You were made to be a son and daughter of God, and maybe you've wandered away; but the Son of righteousness is here with healing in His wings. And don't you want to reflect His life, knowing that you can be lifted up now and lifted up to your rightly position to be God's daughter, God's son? You do.

God has been good to me....

So, this song has been in my head all day long:

God has been good to me,
So very good to me;
More than this world could be,
He's been so good to me...

And it's so true. He has.

Today was the first cool day of Fall. I love this time of year... I know I say that a lot, but I really do! But when I went outside for afternoon duty, I actually shivered in my light jacket, and was super-glad I was wearing my clogs today. Speaking of clogs, are there really any better shoes for winter (and for us skirt girls) than a good pair of Danskos? Other than knee-high boots to keep our tootsies half-way warm, I really don't think I know of any better! (grin)

I still haven't taken my official "Fall Mountain Trek". Maybe when Ben and Sharon come up the second week in November... maybe then we'll do it. But of course, by then we'll have missed the apples. I don't have time to make a decent pie right now anyway.

This weekend, I drove past the mountains. At least. I took Hwy 11 up to Becca's house before going on to Charlotte. lol--I really think I'm gonna end up making my winter perfume/colonge myself. I can't find anything that hits the right essences with me... but I did find something very cool in Caswell Massey: a perfume base to make your own perfume from essential oils! So, in the tradition of French women everywhere (and all the cooks and experimenters in the world), I'm gonna try my hand at it. We'll see how it goes. (Too bad I'm not actually French.. ;) But of course, the best ever for me is still Crabtree and Evelyn's Lilly of the Valley. I just love it.

I was sooo proud of myself for not spending a lot of money this weekend! Hopefully it helps make up for some of the other times when I wasn't so good... lol! But then, I guess it helps that I wasn't really in the mood to shop for clothes. Where I do want to go is Greenville's April Cornell outlet...

Why am I talking about shopping so much?!

LoL....

I'll stop now.


I'm ready to go hike Table Rock again. Not that I'm in shape for it... I'm not. But I just want to go do it again, the same way I wanted to bike the loop at Cade's Cove this summer. I'm ready to see it in the fall. Becca and I were talking about it last night with a friend... I wish we could go this Saturday, but it looks like we won't.


I broke a nail playing the piano last night. This is a sign of two things:
1. My nails are too long to play the piano properly. (duh)
2. We had an awesome, wonderful service last night! Praise Him.

God is really so good to me. Whatever my need, he answers it, even if it's simply to be chastened or blessed. And some of the things I've heard lately at church have made such a difference. For instance:

We have no original thoughts. Our thoughts come from two sources... either God or the Devil. And we have a choice... to accept or reject the thoughts that come into our minds. That means that we don't have to accept the Devil's thoughts!

That has really helped me overcome some battles lately.

God Bless You!

Wedding, Meanderings, Teaching--Students... BLEH!

Okay y'all... I'm back from the wedding, and I'm on a different blog for this simple reason... I've a student who's invaded my private life, and is currently signing my blog. I can block her from commenting on my site, but I can't do much else (at least with my limited knowledge of computers, etcetera.)

So... to blogspot I will go... to blogspot I will go... (hehe!!)

At least for a bit. This student (the one that I happened to be stupid enough to give her my URL--yes I will admit it was my stupidity and my mistake...) will not be staying in my class forever... she's going to be moving to FL in about a month. Sooo... I might start posting back on xanga in a month. I like it better than blogspot... I can make it pretty without using a template! (as if that were the only reason for having a blog... (grin)

And at least this way, some of my fab fam can comment on this site (ahem--SHARON!) -- (jk)

The wedding was beautiful, and we got everything done, amazingly enough!!! I still feel as if I owe Lavinia's sister, Doina, a huge thanks for all she did. I really don't think I would have finished the sleeves (or been in any state to sing, much less growl, the next day) without her help. You can check out pictures on Sam's site. Especially check out the sleeves of our dresses, since Momma and I fixed them with narry a pattern for the sleeve hole armicyst! (Well, except for Lisa's, where I used her own pattern, because I forgot to measure where her shoulder met her arm in the hustle to insert her side panels... Not that anyone wants to know that(!!!)

Coming back to school the next day, however, wasn't so peachy... [grrr]... It was not a good teaching day. I'm seriously wondering if I'm cut out for this profession. There's so much I need to learn.
And I proved Rebecca's words right. Coming back from vacation the night before you have to teach means that you're going to have a bad day, and it will be especially bad if your students were bad for the substitute--as my first period was. BLEH! The REST of my classes got doughnuts for their good behavior. First period got none, as well as being in the "Wrath o'Ms. R------" for almost the entire period.... I hope they learned their lesson.

On a happier note, now that I am 23, I find it's not so bad... lol! When I compare myself to the experience and age of the teachers that I work around, I'm a baby--and I find that my students don't think 23 is so old, either... : --That can be good and bad...

I've got to get off and grade papers, Since grades are due wayyyy too soon for the first nine weeks.

And since this is my "first" post, let me end by saying may God bless and keep everyone who sees this.