good intentions...

Last night, I made sure I was in bed by 10:00.  Back to school in the morning...planning on waking up by 6, and trying to be out the door no later than 7:30.  Trying to give myself a few more minutes of peace and quiet in my classroom to get things done before the hustle and bustle of the day.  I find that by the afternoon, I am WIPED out, and trying to do anything because increasingly more difficult.

And seeing as how I developed my yearly "Winter Break sleeping patterns" of going to bed between 12 and 1...and then sleeping until 9-10, I decided that I would be okay if I could just fall asleep by 10:30.

A few days earlier, I started reading a new book after seeing the trailer and becoming interested.  So, on my phone under the covers as not to wake my husband, I continued reading this book, just for a few minutes before going to sleep:

Bad, bad idea.

Pretty soon, 2:30 rolled around.  I seriously could not believe it when I looked at my phone.  And as a side note, my husband's alarm goes off at 4:45, and he is not the quietest person in the morning getting ready, if you catch my drift.

But I just HAD to finish it.  The benefit?  I got to spend the day discussing it with students who have already read it, and one of my kids let me borrow the second one.
Score.
Now the question is... should I start it tonight?

New Day, New Year

Welcome 2014!

I found a fun idea on Pinterest, and thought I would play along.

Here are my thoughts for the New Year.

BAD HABIT TO BREAK // Jumping to conclusions.  Assuming I know what someone is thinking, feeling, or going to say...without giving them a chance.  In particular, I do this to my husband.

NEW SKILL TO LEARN // How to take really great picture with my new camera!  Especially in the manual mode. 

PERSON TO BE LIKE  // Hoping to be more like my Mom.  She is patient, kind, generous, and always puts others first.  All things I could work on.  

GOOD DEED TO DO // Remember birthdays, anniversaries, and other important occasions.  Send a card and make a phone call. 

PLACE TO VISIT // Oregon coast with my husband.  I'm thinking a cabin, the sunshine, beach, and uninterrupted time.  

BOOK TO READ // Divergent Series.  Branch outside my comfort zone.  

LETTER TO WRITE // To my Dad.  Who means so much to me, but is sometimes extremely difficult.

FOOD TO TRY // Cauliflower.  Maybe roasted?  Maybe riced?  Any maybe oatmeal.  I struggle with texture issues.   

DO BETTER AT // Relaxing.  Not worrying.  Going with the flow.  Letting things go.

    

January

While it is completely clique... January has such a strong meaning for me.

A new start.

Fresh calendar.

Goals for the year.

This year is no different.  

2014 is going to be one great year, and I want to make sure I am documenting it.

I want to blog.

{Which is a big deal since I have not wanted to for quite some time...obvious by my lack of posts.}

So here is hoping... that I will find time.  Make time.  Use a few minutes of my time to write.  

2014 is going to be a year of big thing, and I am feeling...ready. 

homemade flour tortillas...

Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour (I used a gluten free flour mix!)
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ heaping teaspoon of baking powder
¼ cup of oil (I used coconut oil, but you can use canola or vegetable)
2/3 cup hot/boiling water

Steps:

1.    Put the dry ingredients into a food processor and mix well.

2.   While it is running, add the liquids slowly.

3.       After a minute or two, it will form into a ball.  Don’t mix too long!

4.       When you take it out, knead it together and form a ball.

5.       Place it in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth for 15 minutes.

6.       Split the ball into 8 smaller balls, and then let it sit from 15 minutes to an hour.

7.       Roll out each ball SUPER thin.

8.       Place in a medium/high dry skillet, and wait for it to barely brown.  The top will puff up quickly, so flip it over to quickly brown the other side.

9.       Enjoy!

These were super easy to make, and SO yummy! 

word of God speak

I sat in my car today after a 2 hour training {on top of a very busy and loooong day} and cried.

I drove home crying.

When I walked in the door, I dropped my bags and started crying.  

I headed back out to the gym to work out with my best friend in hopes it would make me feel better. 

Seems like free therapy for me.

Got back in the car to head home again, and the tears started flowing.  

Then this song came on, and I literally had to pull over and just...listen.

Word of God speak

Would you pour down like rain

Washing my eyes to see

Your majesty

To be still and know

That you're in this place

Please let me stay and rest

In your holiness

 Word of God speak

He's here. 

He loves me. 

He cares for me.

  

He knows my future better than I ever could imagine I do.

And I need to {rest} in that tonight, tomorrow, and every. single. day.   

decisions...

I pull up this blog every day.

Late in the evening, after everything has settled down, I pull up my blanket and open my computer.

I feel like the blog posts I read are written by close friends.  I love reading each story and feeling the emotions shared about everyday life, heart ache, pain, and love.

But something in my stops me from blogging about my life.

Not sure what, but something in me says stop.



So where does that leave me?

Do I start a new one?  Do I leave this behind?  Would something new and fresh be good?  Something different?

In so many ways right now, my life feels.... unsettled.  But at the same time, life feels so great.

Ahhhh decisions.  

testing is done!

Our BIG state testing is now OVER!

Which means I am no longer going crazy in my classroom trying to cram everything I can into my little kiddo's brains.  

I am no longer reviewing everything I can think of. 

I literally felt like I was sleeping, eating, and breathing TESTING.  

I have SO much I want to blog about!

A few days before testing, I was going CRAZY, staying late and trying to finish everything. 

And then this guy showed up at my classroom door. 

I.Love.Him.

Hot coffee, and flowers.

Just Because. 

BLESSED.