Sweats on Sundays

Week 17-22 (In no particular order)

2010-05-25T18:27:00.016-05:00

Week 22- Matt's parents and grandparents came into town for a quick weekend visit. We took them to Famous Dave's for the giant trash can lid full of food. :) We always have a wonderful time when they come to visit and this was no exception!

Week 22 Bonus! We broke out the Mexican train dominoes while everyone was here visiting. Matt and I have been obsessed with the game since. We've played three games just the two of us. Unfortunately he's up 2 to 1. :(

Week 20- We went to North Carolina for a quick weekend. Matt was preaching at a church in his hometown. It was nice to get out of town even just for a day or so. One of my favorite things about going to NC this time of year is getting to see Joey and Patsy's garden! We ate fresh strawberries right out of the patch! I love just walking around and looking at all of the fruits and veggies they are growing.

Week 21- Matt turned 31 this week! Patsy made him his favorite cake and we had a wonderful celebration at home. We had homemade chicken tacos and Matt picked up chips and salsa from Chuy's, our favorite! It's was a great birthday party! :) Happy birthday Matthew!!!

Week 19- It's been a couple of weeks since the flood but relief efforts haven't slowed down a bit. This week we had a pallet of water and a truck load of food donated for our church to distribute to flood victims. Our garage quickly filled up with supplies and it was great to see it dwindle as we were able to pass it on to people in need.

Week 18- Matt and I were shopping at Trader Joe's and they had fresh pizza dough on sale for only a dollar! We bought one pack of the whole wheat to give a try. It was great because there was enough dough for us to both make our own pizza! They both turned out delicious and we can't wait to try it again!

Week 17- This weekend Nashville experienced one of the worst floods in it's history. Neighborhoods all over the city were totally devastated. Matt and I had to evacuate our house on Sunday night and when we were able to go back on Monday morning this is what we came home to. It was surreal to see our house surrounded by water. Thankfully the water only came into the garage and we did not sustain any damage. We feel so thankful and so blessed.

Don't forget to check out all of the other Project Life photos here!

Week 14-16

2010-04-27T13:28:00.003-05:00

No more excuses about lost camera chargers or computers with nasty viruses. Here are my pictures from weeks 14-16 of Project 52!

I have been cooking more in the past few months than I ever have in my entire life and I love it! I love trying new recipes and fine-tuning them the second time around. This mac and cheese is one of my new favorites! I love the heat from the jalapenos and the crunch the panko bread crumbs give. But my absolute favorite part about this recipe is that I get to use my super cute individual casseroles!

We have tomatoes! I really enjoy checking in on my little miniature garden every day. I like watering my plants and looking to see what might be new. Imagine my surprise when I found these little guys! In just a few weeks we will have our first ripe tomatoes of the season. I think I see some salsa in our future.

Matt and I at Hank Williams Jr

This week was insane! I had dinner with a friend and Bible study on Monday night. Jessica and I went to the Bon Jovi concert on Wednesday night. Matt and I went to see Hank Williams Jr. on Friday night. And to finish it all off we ran the Country Music Half Marathon on Saturday. Whew. It was jam-packed but I loved every minute of it! So many wonderful memories made in such a short amount of time. Life the way I like it.

After the 1/2 marathon

To see my view of Bon Jovi and all of the other Project Life pictures hop on over to The Mom Creative!

Weeks 10-13

2010-04-06T11:06:00.011-05:00

Clearly, I’m having issues.

My computer is still not healed.

My camera battery is dead and, of course, my charger is no where to be found.

However that hasn’t kept me from capturing some pictures for my Project 52! I’m just a little (okay, maybe a lot) behind. Here are the last 4 weeks!

Matt and I went to LA for my Spring Break. Ricky was gracious enough to let us stay with him and was such a wonderful host! We went to Yogurtland, which is a self-serve frozen yogurt place, several times. It was so great to just hang out, eat yogurt, and talk about life!

Hollywood! We snapped this while outside of the Griffith Observatory. It’s on a hill high above LA. The views were stunning! You could literally take in the whole city. We were also able to look through a couple of telescopes. We saw the polar cap on Mars and had an amazing view of the moon. It was very coo and, best of all, it was free!

Matt and I are training to run the ½ marathon on April 24th. We often go to group runs early on Saturday mornings. I love the group I run with! It’s especially helpful when we are running distances longer than I have ever run in my life. We ran 12 miles this week! I never thought I would be able to say that, and it’s a huge thanks to this group for helping make it a reality for me!

The weather over Easter weekend was beautiful! Joey and Patsy came in to visit and were gracious enough to help us start an herb garden. I had a better time than I thought I would digging in the dirt and filling up pots with my new plants. I can’t wait to cook with my new herbs!

So there is a snippet of our last 4 weeks! Don’t forget to check out The Mom Creative to see all the other Project Life posts!

Week 8 and 9

2010-03-09T12:55:00.004-06:00

In case you didn't notice, I'm a little behind on my Project 52.

My computer has been struck down with a nasty virus. Luckily, it seems to only flare up when I’m connected to the internet so all of my pictures, etc. are not in jeopardy. However, it does mean that Matt and I are now a one-computer-family. And since technically it’s HIS computer, well, you all know what that means. :) Actually, Matt has been very good at sharing. He’s also been blogging a lot more, so to try to encourage that I don’t ask to get on the computer too much.

All of that to say, here are our pictures from weeks eight and nine:

Matt went on a little guy’s trip to St. Louis. He had a great time! It was good for him to get out of town for a couple of days. (I’ll have him write on the journal card for this week.)

My desk area at work! Right now it looks like a total mess but I feel like it’s organized. Everything has a place and those that don’t will soon be in a folder, labeled, and filed away. Added to my desk area this year were a new laser jet printer and an ELMO document camera. Notice all the post-its? Clearly I love making lists… :)

Make sure you hope over to The Mom Creative to check out all of the other Project Life posts!

Week 7

2010-02-23T16:19:00.004-06:00

One of Matt's and my favorite thing to do is eat, especially with friends. Last week, we met our friends Courtney and Jamey at Eastland Cafe for an early dinner. We hadn't seen them in a while and it was so great to catch up! At Eastland we love to get their margherita pizza, fish tacos, and chicken pot-stickers. The best thing about it? Each item is only $5! Good food, cheap prices, and great friends. Does it get any better than that?

Check out all the other Week 7 posts at The Mom Creative.

40 Days of Water

2010-02-17T11:11:00.005-06:00

Several of my friends were posting on twitter and facebook the various things they were thinking about giving up for lent. I had been toying around with the idea myself, trying to decide exactly what I could give up for 40 days. I kept shooting down my own ideas because everything I thought of was too big of a sacrifice. There was just no way I could give up TV or chocolate. I finally convinced myself that I didn’t really need to participate in lent anyway.

Then I clicked on this link and it rocked my world.

Shame on me. Shame on me to think I couldn’t give up chocolate or TV for 40 days. (I mean, I would miss the Bachelor finale if I did that?!)

Blood:Water Mission reminded me with their 40 Days of Water challenge that there are people who would be happy to have something to sacrifice. It reminded me that there are people who make sacrifices every day just to get clean water to drink.

So that’s what I’m hoping to remember every day of this 40 day challenge. As I drink only water, clean water that I get with no effort, I pray that this tiny sacrifice will help me become innately aware of how blessed I truly am.

I convinced Matt to take on this challenge with me. You can read his take on it here. We started today. (Hence the water you see above:)) I will be calculating our saved expenses by choosing only tap water for the next 40 days and then make a donation to Blood:Water Mission. We would love your support and encouragement.

Are you participating in lent this year?

Week 6--Recipe Share

2010-02-16T13:26:00.009-06:00

Week 6 of Project Life Tuesdays hosted by The Mom Creative

I have been cooking more in the last few weeks than I have in my entire life. One of the things Matt and I committed to this year was to eat out less, eat home more, and save a ton of money in the process. My crock pot gets a major workout every week.

My picture this week is of a few of the cookbooks I have been using recently. I'm trying to cook meals more on the healthy side. I've made mac and cheese and an Alfredo that were both low fat and delicious! Our other new favorite is crock pot chicken tacos. Yum!

As March quickly approaches we will be mapping out our menu for the month. I would love any quick or easy recipes you would like to share! Almost every recipe I try has come by recommendation from a friend and they are always SO good! So let's share. :)

I'll go first.

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

4-6 frozen chicken breasts

1 can of Rotel

1 package Taco seasoning

Put the frozen chicken in the bottom of your crock pot. Mix the rotel and taco seasoning in a small bowl and pour over the chicken. Cook on low about 6 hours.
When chicken is done remove from the crock pot and shred using two forks. Mix in some of the rotel left in the crock pot.
Fill your hard or soft taco shells with the chicken mixture and add your favorite toppings!
Enjoy!

So easy, right?

Now it's your turn! :)

Two Years Ago Today...

2010-02-15T21:10:00.003-06:00

I met the man of my dreams for the first time. I loved him then. And I still do. More than ever.

You are amazing Matthew. You are so special to me.

Love love love!

Week 5

2010-02-09T17:35:00.004-06:00

I made it through January! I have really enjoyed doing the first month of my Project 52. It has made me take more pictures and it has made me want to capture the moments of my life. I'm already looking forward to doing Project 365 next year! :)

My picture this week is from one of my very favorite new traditions: Willis Wednesday! Every Wednesday night we get together with the Willis family. They are such a sweet family and have a cutie pie boy, Jonah. Wednesdays have become a night I look forward to every week.

This week Matt and I were pseudo parents to sweet Elias. (You may remember him from Week 3.) Both of his parents were traveling so we had a slumber party with him at our place. He and Jonah got along famously! It was so fun to watch the boys play together.

Don't forget to head over to The Mom Creative to check out all of the other Week 5 posts!

Week 4- Snowed In!

2010-02-02T22:03:00.003-06:00

This past weekend Nashville got several inches of snow. The school I teach at was closed Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. I had a great time enjoying my days off hanging out and lounging around with Matt. On Friday Matt made some snow cream. I had never heard of it or tasted it before. I harvested the snow and Matt mixed it all up. I really enjoyed it! For my second cup I added a little coconut. Yummy! My picture this week is of the fresh snow we used!

Don't forget to head over to The Mom Creative to see the rest of the Project Life Tuesdays!

Disconnect

2010-01-28T10:31:00.002-06:00

Lisa @ The Preacher’s Wife had a very intriguing post a few days ago that really has me thinking. I encourage you all to read it here and think about the questions she asks.

As you all know if you saw my Week 2- Project 52 post Matt resigned from his job earlier this month. So now we are looking for him a ‘tent-making’ job and starting the church planting journey. I’m excited about this but I’m also scared out of my mind.

For me this is taking a lot of faith. Most of the time more faith than I feel like I have. I don’t know anything about church planting and I really struggle with feeling inadequate. Is God really sure that he wants me to be a part of this? Doesn’t he know me and all my imperfections?

I really have to cling to the fact that He is who He says He is. And that doesn’t come easy for me. But His plan is not about me, it’s about Him. And luckily I don’t have to find my worth in people. I can only find my worth in the Lord.

My prayer is that these attitudes of my heart will become the attitudes of my life because currently there is a disconnect. I’m living in fear and allowing other’s perceptions of me (my looks, my hobbies, my ‘christian-ness’, my talents) to guide my actions. I claim my favorite verse is Psalm 27. I think it’s time I start believing it.

Psalm 27
A David Psalm
1 Light, space, zest— that's God!
So, with him on my side I'm fearless,
afraid of no one and nothing.
2 When
vandal hordes ride down ready to eat me
alive, Those bullies and toughs
fall flat on their faces.
3 When
besieged, I'm calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose,
I'm collected and cool.
4 I'm asking
God for one thing, only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long. I'll
contemplate his beauty; I'll study at his
feet.
5 That's the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world, The
perfect getaway, far from the buzz of
traffic.
6 God holds me head and shoulders
above all who try to pull me down.
I'm headed for his place to offer anthems
that will raise the roof!
Already I'm singing God-songs;
I'm making music to God.
7-9 Listen,
God, I'm calling at the top of my lungs: "Be
good to me! Answer me!" When my heart whispered, "Seek God,"
my whole being replied,
"I'm seeking him!" Don't
hide from me now!
9-10 You've always been right there for me;
don't turn your back on me now.
Don't throw me out, don't abandon me;
you've always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but God took me in.
11-12 Point me
down your highway, God; direct me along a
well-lighted street; show my enemies whose
side you're on. Don't throw me to the dogs,
those liars who are out to get me,
filling the air with their threats.
13-14 I'm sure now I'll see God's goodness
in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God! Take heart.
Don't quit. I'll say it again:
Stay with God.

Week 3

2010-01-26T22:36:00.006-06:00

As you can tell I have been blogging my Project 52 pictures exclusively for the past 3 weeks. I've love that this project helps me share at least one tidbit of my life each week. I am going to try to actually blog inbetween Tuesdays (shocking, I know! :)) I have an update on my running program/progress and a couple of other things to share.

This week my picture is of the cutest little cowboy I've ever seen. On Saturday I got to hang out with my friend Jessica and just chat, eat lunch, and get crafty. I can't wait to show you the super cute journaling cards I made! I'll save those for another post...

After our craftiness, Jessica had a party to attend so Matthew and I babysat Elias for a couple of hours. He wore this cowboy hat almost the entire time we were there. So stinking cute.

Don't forget to check out all of the Project Life Tuesday blogs here!

Wacky Week 2

2010-01-19T20:57:00.004-06:00

Week 2 was definitely different for us. Matt resigned from his senior pastor position. It was an incredibly hard decision that wasn’t made lightly. We prayed for guidance and felt God leading us in a new direction. So we know we have no other choice but to be obedient and trust that His plan for our lives is perfect. We don’t really know what the future holds or what’s next for us. But we are excited. We would appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek God’s will for our lives.

My picture this week is a small glimpse of all of the boxes of books that used to be in Matt’s church office. Now they are stacked neatly in our guest bedroom. I already have plans to organize our storage area and soon they will all be tucked away in there. :)

Don't forget to check out the other Project posts here!

Project 52

2010-01-12T16:59:00.006-06:00

I don’t ever take pictures. I want to be that person who has pictures of everything and has all of life chronicled, but I’m not…yet. This year one of my goals is to become better at taking pictures. I’m not going to focus on how I take pictures or how my pictures turn out. I will celebrate the simple act of taking my camera with me somewhere and documenting that act by snapping a few pics.

My main source of inspiration for this new goal is my friend Jessica. She is so good at taking pictures and documenting her family’s story. She is doing a picture taking project titled, “Project Life”. It’s this awesome kit that comes with everything you need for a complete album. Literally everything but your pictures and handwriting. Check it out here.

The goal of the project is to document life as it happens. Basically you take a picture everyday and write a little blurb about each picture. At the end of the year you have an album full of 365 pictures from your life with little reminders about why that picture was important to you that day.

I love this idea, but it’s a little overwhelming for me. So, I decided I would take a baby step first. I have committed to do “Project 52” this year. Basically it’s the same concept as the other only I am focusing on one to two pictures a week instead of one every day. This feels WAY more manageable to me right now. There is no kit, that I know of, for this so I am using an album that holds 160 pictures. I am going to cut cardstock to 4x6 and do my dates and journaling on these. I gave myself extra room so that I could use more then one picture a week if I just can’t choose one. :) My hope is that I will love it so much I will branch out and do “Project Life”, also known as Project 365, next year.

So, without further ado, here are my two pictures (I’m already going above and beyond!) from the first week in January. Also, on Jessica’s blog she is hosting Project Life Tuesdays where others who are doing the project or something similar can link up together. I will join her each Tuesday and post my picture of the week! It’s not too late to start your own!

Matt and I went on a little weekend getaway to Atlanta. One of Matt's favorite restaurants, Pappadeaux, is there. It was so fun to be able to just get away and to eat some really good food!

Running Update

2009-12-31T17:06:00.002-06:00

I wanted to give an update on my running. I am currently in week 3 of my training program. If you are decent at addition you may wonder why I’m a little behind. The truth is, this Christmas season has been a challenge for me. It was hard to figure out when to ‘fit in’ my runs. So instead of trying to fit those in I just didn’t do them. Anyway, I am back on track!

I had been dreading Week 3 since I started. See, Week 3 Day 3 requires a 2 mile run with no walking. This was a hard for me to believe I could do from a mental stand point. And this morning, when I got on the treadmill, after walking my warm-up lap, I was flooded with excuses for not being able to finish.

First I thought: I ran last night, I shouldn’t be running again already. My legs are already hurting, there’s no way I can run 8 more laps. Then I told myself: if I make it to one mile, I can just take a quick walking break. I deserve it. I can’t finish this without a break.
I felt like the whole time I was running today I had to convince myself of all the reasons I shouldn’t quit. My legs really weren’t that tired. I wasn’t too short of breath. I didn’t need to slow my pace. I realized I just had to want to finish.

And you know what? I did it.

I ran all two of those miles at the pace I wanted to run. I know that’s not an amazing distance, but it was a challenge for me. And I did it. I’m proud of my accomplishment and I’m ready to do it again tomorrow on Day 4. This is the way I needed to end 2009. I’m not going out feeling defeated, beat up, put down, frustrated with my self, or on the heels of personal let down. I’m starting 2010 with a sense of self pride and a belief that if I want it, I can get it. I can’t think of a better way to start a new year and a new decade.

How are you going out?

A little bit of Christmas

2009-12-12T11:16:00.008-06:00

I thought I would share some of my favorite Christmas decorations. I was inspired, yet again, by The Preacher's Wife. Enjoy!

I made these letters using plain, cardboard letters from hobby lobby, gold spray paint, scrap book paper, and the amazing Xyron machine. Here they are in the kitchen.

My husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on November 25th. He got me this beautiful nativity scene. I've loved it from afar for years and I'm so excited to have one in my own home. I'm looking forward to adding to it each year.

And here is our tree! I only have a mixture of the ornaments I've received since my very first Christmas and a few I've collected since. I have to fight the urge buy ornaments to fill it up. My mom always had a full tree and so that's what I think a tree should look like. One of these days...

Can you tell I've just started my collection of Christmas decorations? :)

Couch to AnyK

2009-12-04T11:15:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I joined a gym. Well, actually, I went to a gym to join it and got a free 7-day pass, but my intention is to join. I had been looking for a while but couldn’t decide what my priorities in a gym really were. Since Matt and I moved to our new house (Oct. 1st) I have not been to the gym. I take that back, I have been to the gym once or twice to drop Matt off but that's it. In no way am I an avid exerciser nor do I enjoy it. But I do believe it is necessary in my life in order to ‘maintain’. This being said, I was able to generate a list of things I needed in a gym. Here they are in random order: proximity to my home, group fitness classes, cardio (treadmills), and friendly staff. I chose my gym because they have all of these things. I’m actually excited to go work out today.

I have never been an athlete or an exerciser of any kind really, but my husband is. He loves to exercise and exercising totally changes his mood. And since he loves exercising, particularly running, so much he decided to sign us up to run the half marathon to raise money for a local school. Yeah, both of us. By now you could probably guess that I do not run. Until yesterday. I started a program called Couch to 10k. It’s a training program for total beginners. It starts from the couch and 10 weeks later you’re running a 10k. I’ve looked at this program a lot and have actually had it on my iPod for a couple of years. The only problem I’ve had with the program is starting it. I’ve never even tried. Until yesterday.

Yesterday I finally completed Day One Week One. Today I will complete Day Two Week One. I finally have the motivation and a goal in sight to help make this program work for me. If you know me, or even if you don’t, please ask me if you think about it how this is going. That will give me extra motivation to keep it up.

Have you ever tried Couch to 10k or something similar? Did it work for you?

M2M Scavenger Hunt

2009-11-05T10:25:00.004-06:00

I have recently started reading Lisa's blog, A Preacher's Wife. I love the way she encourages all of those, 'married to the ministry'. Currently she is doing this little scavenger hunt to help pastor's wives get to know each other. I thought I would join in on the fun! Check out her blog to learn more about this fun activity. Happy hunting!

1. First Name- Alyson

2. State and Country of Residence- Music City, USA (Also known as Nashville, TN)

3. Husband’s Ministry Title- Senior Pastor

4. Length of time in Current Ministry Location- Right at 1 year

5. Children? Not yet! We haven't quite been married a year.

6. Number of unique homes in which you’ve lived during your marriage. Two homes already. At this rate, I should be a moving pro in no time! :)

7. Cook Sunday lunch or eat out? Eat out! Why make Sunday any different than any other day?

8. Typically on time for Sunday School or not? I go to the young adult class so we always start late which means I am always on time.

9. Favorite TV Show. I LOVE TV! Grey's Anatomy, The Office, The Hills, Top Chef, Project Runway, Flipping Out, ALL the Real Housewives, etc. etc.

10. Something you watch/like/do that you would never tell the church people. I absolutely love Marshall Bruce Mathers III aka Eminem aka Slim Shady.

11. Most annoying church-related pet peeve. I think this relates to life in general, not just church, but when people will talk to everyone but the person they are having an issue with.

12. One thing you need to throw away but can’t bring yourself to do it. A project I did on Hamlet my senior year of high school.

13. The one food you can not live without. All things chocolate.

14. Parsonage or have your own home? We have our own home.

15. Freak when the doorbell rings or always ready for a visitor? I love having a clean, organized house. So...always ready!

Summer Recap

2009-07-22T22:02:00.003-05:00

Wow this summer is flying by! I feel like school just let out yesterday. I had envisioned a summer of relaxing by the pool with Matt. Going to the gym everyday and hiking in the park. We haven't even been to the pool all summer! Hopefully we can find our way there in the next couple of weeks.

So if I haven't been doing the things I envisioned, what have I been up to?
The last week of May I went to Ft Lauderdale for the weekend to work. I occasionally babysit for a family who lives there. It's a way for me to make a little extra money but not have to work too often.

The first week of June I went to camp with the youth from our church. I had a great time! It reminded me of the days I was a camp counselor and youth sponser...I have always loved camp! It was great to be able to connect with some of the girls and get to know them better. I hope that I can continue to grow some of those relationships I started there.

The day after I returned from camp I headed back to Ft Lauderdale. This time it was a much longer trip. I was there for over a month! One of the weekends we went to Cincinnati for a graduation. I had never been to Ohio before so it was fun to get to go there. The best part of the trip was the week the family went to Hawaii for vacation. Matt was able to come down and vacation with me in FLL. We felt like we were staying at a fancy resort. It was a wonderful time away together.

I got home from Ft Lauderdale the first week of July. About 10 days later I flew to Chicago to meet the same family for their annual family reunion. We stayed in the Drake Hotel on Michigan Avenue. I really like Chicago and would love to go there with Matt for a few days, mostly just to eat and shop. :)

Whew! That brings us to today. For the rest of the summer I'm taking 2 days of professional development per week. I'm also going to get to spend a little time with my family. I'm very excited about that!

School starts August 14th which means I have to report the 10th. I'm teaching Child and Lifespan Development and Family and Parenting. I have only taught Child Development once and never taught the other. I will be calling on all of my friends with children to give me 'real world' examples and experience!

Soon I'm going to try something new on my blog. It will ensure that I'm blogging more regularly instead of once every couple of months or so. :) I'm excited about it and can't wait to get started. Just need to work out a few of the details and such. Stay tuned!

Growing Up

2009-04-22T09:07:00.002-05:00

Last night I felt like a wife. I know I’ve been married for about 5 months but for some reason, it hit me. I am a wife.

Yesterday, when I got home from work, Matt wasn’t home yet. I had run some errands and got home later than usual. I briefly had an internal struggle of whether to go to the gym or not. ‘Not’ won so I tried on some of my summer clothes instead. Thus confirming I should have gone to the gym…

Anyway, I picked up the kitchen, started the dishwasher, and decided to make dinner. I was making chicken enchilada casserole, just like my mom used to make. Matt got home, kissed me in the kitchen and then went on to finish his phone calls. I caught a glimpse of myself in the kitchen mirror, and that’s when it hit me.

I had a conversation earlier this week with someone about not feeling like a grown-up. We discussed when that feeling sets in because neither one of us felt we had gotten there yet. To be honest, it’s scary! How could I be married?? How could I be that much closer to being a mom?? It seems so far away!

But last night, mixing up enchiladas, I felt it. I am a grown-up. I am a wife. And one of these days (far, far, away) I’ll be a mom. And you know what? That gets less and less scary every day. :)

Wordle!

2009-02-17T11:03:00.006-06:00

Yesterday I had in-service at my school. Usually in-service days are filled with boring, seemingly pointless meetings. I get stacks and stacks of information that I never use. However, yesterday was different! During one of the sessions we were looking at improving literacy and different, creative ways to get our students interested in vocabulary.

One of the sites that they presenter shared was Wordle. I was blown away by this site! Basically you take a list of words, an article, anything you want and paste it into the box provided. When you click ‘create’ it generates a graphic of words. The words are sized according to their significance or the number of times they were used. Once your graphic is generated you can change the font, the color scheme, the direction of the words, etc.

I think this is a great tool to use with students when looking at an article. It can help show them what the main topics are. I also think it’s cool to use with the Scriptures. You can copy and past a set of verses or chapter from the Bible and see what words pop out.

However, the coolest feature is that you can type in the URL of any blog, blog feed, or any other web page that has an Atom or RSS feed ! It then generates a wordle for that site. (The one at the top of this post is from my blog. Click on it to make it bigger.) I had a lot of fun typing in different blogs I read and looking at their wordles.

I thought this was too cool not to share and I can’t wait to hear what you think of the site! Have any of you checked it out before? If so, why did you use it? If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do! I would love to hear your thoughts on other uses.

February to February

2009-02-16T17:15:00.004-06:00

A year ago yesterday I met my husband Matthew Joseph Costner. It is a day I will never forget. Matt and I had been talking on the phone for a few weeks and I decided to fly to Nashville to visit some friends, aka meet Matt face to face. As some of you know from reading my 25 random things, I knew I loved Matt before I ever met him. When our eyes met across baggage claim at BNA that was it. I never understood how people could fall in love so quickly until it happened to me.

Each day I know Matt my love for him continues to grow. I couldn’t have hand picked better qualities in a mate. He is kind, adventurous, passionate, and sensitive. One of the things I love most about Matt is that he is always challenging me to excellence. Whether it’s in the gym, my walk with the Lord or my Mario Kart skills, I know he will be there supporting and encouraging me the whole way.

The past year has been a whirlwind. I moved to Nashville, got engaged and then married to the man of my dreams. I can’t wait for the next leg of our journey and can only wonder what it might look like. One thing I’ve learned so far is that I can never expect too much! Even my biggest expectations have been met.

Random Facts

2009-02-04T08:31:00.004-06:00

I finally caved and did this for facebook so thought I would share it with my blog friends as well. The rules were to write out 25 random facts about yourself. Hope you learn something new about me!

1. I am a preacher’s wife!
2. I knew I loved my husband before we ever met face-to-face. (no, we didn’t meet on eHarmony)
3. I pick my laundry detergent solely based on the smell. I could spend hours in that aisle at the store.
4. I have 2 amazing brothers. We are all very different but get along famously.
5. I love my job. It’s rare for me to look back at a day and be able to say I didn’t enjoy it. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
6. I love to read but don’t make time for it. I’m hoping to just read a ton this summer by the pool to make up for the rest of the year.
7. Exercise is slowly growing on me. I thank spin class and Matt’s pleading for me to join him.
8. Baking is one of my favorite things to do. I consider cupcakes my specialty, even if no one else does.
9. I’m currently addicted to Mario Kart for Wii.
10. I have the best in-laws of anyone I know. Except for Matt, his are great too!
11. I LOVE international travel. I have been to 10 different countries so far.
12. One of my goals is to see the seven wonders of the world. (The new ones announced on 7/7/07.) I’ve seen two. Five more to go.
13. I have way more gray hair than is necessary for a 26 year old.
14. Grocery shopping is one of my favorite household activities.
15. Doing laundry comes in a dangerously close second.
16. The number of quilts I own worries me. I love them all and would never get rid of a single one, which causes my husband to worry…
17. I love watching football and basketball. I’m the type of person who yells at the TV.
18. I shamelessly watch shows like The Bachelor, The City, True Beauty, Paris: My New BFF, etc.
19. I like getting up early in the mornings.
20. Sometimes I talk in my sleep.
21. I was once in a rock band, The Screaming Nones (we spelled it that way because we thought it was 'cool'). We won the school talent show. I still have no musical talent.
22. Matt and I have a ‘happy dance’ we do any time something good happens, no matter how big or how small.
23. I don’t do well in cold weather.
24. I miss my family and friends in OK. I wish I had more time to visit.
25. I am blessed.

The Truth About You

2009-01-27T20:20:00.002-06:00

Check out this review I wrote of "The Truth About You" by Marcus Buckingham for Thomas Nelson. I finally did it!

With the title "The Truth About You" I expected this book to provide a clear-cut answer to the question “who am I?” Instead it guided me on a journey that ended with ME providing all the answers to that question. Before I continue, I have to say this book isn't just a feel-good-about-yourself read; interaction is required. Actually, “book” is the wrong word - it’s more like a toolkit that includes an interactive book, a DVD to get you motivated, and a note pad to help reveal your strengths.

Marcus Buckingham takes no time making his most important point, you know you best. He cleverly redefines 'self-discovery' by looking in detail at five rules to live by. For instance, Buckingham explains why so many people are unhappy in their work. He explains the difference between abilities and strengths. He gives examples of how weaknesses can even be things in which we excel.

What I appreciated most about this 'toolkit' was that Buckingham didn't sugar coat the advice he gave. He highlighted and emphasized individuality. He encouraged me to own up to my weaknesses and not try to change them.

I am in the process of creating a lesson plan using this kit in my classroom. I teach mostly Juniors and Seniors in an urban high school. I believe completing the activities Buckingham has provided will give them great insight into what gives them strength.

I also think this would be a great gift for motivated graduates at any level. Like I said in the beginning, you can't just read this book and expect an epiphany to occur. It requires action.

Have you read this book? Do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are?

Playing Ketchup

2009-01-20T14:03:00.005-06:00

I am no longer looking at the light at the end of the tunnel; I am officially through the tunnel! As of this past weekend, Matt and I are done with all of our wedding stuff. Aside from putting everything away and writing the rest of our thank you notes. :) I’m hoping now that things are settling down I can be a little more consistent with updating my blog. I feel like there are a lot of really cool things going on right now! I thought it would be easiest to just make a list:

1) I know, I know I have to write my review for “The Truth About You”. I’m working on it. I PROMISE it will be up by this time next week.

2) This week I started attending a women’s community group. My friend, Jessica, invited me to join and I’m so glad! I have been praying for a group of women I can live life with here in Nashville. I am praising the Lord for answering this prayer! We are reading Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? By Phillip Yancy. I am really enjoying this book! More it later...

3) I feel like I’m kicking this year off with a lot of reading. I got a ‘read the Bible in a year’ Bible (yes, that is the technical term for it) and I’m going to try to read through the scriptures this year. Who else is doing this/has done this in the past? I would love to hear about your successes and challenges!

4) I am SO excited about the Lifeway conference for Ministers' wives! You can read more about it here. The rest of you who are married to a minister should really consider joining me at the conference. It’s going to be amazing!

Whew. That’s enough for today. Now I see why I should just blog more often. I’ll finish my list of updates later this week!