Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Third Grade Prayer

My favorite prayer request today?

"I want to pray for the people in Texas. There is a bad swarm of flies down there somewhere."

:)

Friday, October 17, 2008

Marriage.

This weekend, Tyler and I are going to a marriage conference with Dana & Corey. They went last year and it sounded like an amazing time, so we are going with them this year. It is at their church, so we won't have to travel (HALLELUJAH!) and we are looking forward to spending time with them. Dana is one of my best "Cincinnati friends" (and just plain friend) by far, and we're going to see each other next weekend as well, so I have LOTS to look forward to. We taught together last year, and this year she is staying home with her precious baby girl, Malia, so we don't see each other near as often. I am also looking forward to holding this darling creature tonight:
Be jealous. Be VERY jealous. :)


Thursday, October 16, 2008

Watching the debates... or not.

I watched about 5.4 minutes of the debates last night. Why? Because they made me cry last time. They are so darn mean to each other and it kind of breaks my heart. We're still humans, after all, even if we don't agree. This brings me to my next point.

Barack Obama. He's much too "Rico Suave" for me. Maybe he should be a judge on
America's Next Top Model as opposed to running for the next leader of the free world-- he surely seems better equipped for that. I'm just saying. I also don't find him to be worthy of much respect due to the fact that he supports abortion. A friend of mine directed me to a link that I thought said it way better than I ever could. It is a true (I checked thoroughly) email written by a Christian pianist named Huntley Brown and it shares his thoughts on why he can't vote for Obama. I agree wholeheartedly with him. If that brother was standing here with me today, I would surely shake his hand. If you would like to see what he has to say, click here.

All I can say that if Senator Obama does indeed win this election, he can count on my prayer support everyday, and that is the truth.

We have had many political discussions, or should I say total outbursts, here in third grade over the last few months. Most have been hilarious when looked back upon, but during the time of the actual riot, for lack of a better term, it's pure chaos here. Here is how the first throw down went.

Student A: I can't believe Barack Obama wants to kill babies when they are in their mommy's tummies!
Student B: Barack Obama does NOT believe in THAT! He believes in CHANGE!
Student C: My dad HATES Barack Obama!
Student D: I'm not voting for John McCain!
Me: (Furiously trying to "shhh" everyone in hopes that parents won't be calling right and left over the next few days asking what in the WORLD she is teaching.)
Student E: MY MOM SAYS BARACK OBAMA IS A TERRORIST!

Or, my other personal favorite.

Student A: Barack Obama is bad for letting babies get killed in their mommy's tummies.
Student B: That's not true! He said it wasn't true! He said it's a RUMOR!
Me: (Again, trying to make these children keep their opinions to themselves as opposed to getting phone call after phone call after email after phone call...)
The next person who says anything about Barack Obama or John McCain gets their color changed!
Student C:
Well, I think anyone is weird that votes for Obono. (Yes, he said Obono.)

Needless to say, Student C got his color changed. :)

And finally, I had one of my sweet little ones ask me this question yesterday: "I don't understand why [Barack Obama] wants to bring the troops home and why he wants to kill babies.The troops sign up to honor in the war and they don't WANT to come home and the babies don't have a choice to die. Why would he do that?" What do you say to that? I don't know, baby. I just don't know.

I didn't intend for this to turn into an anti-Obama blog and I'm sure I will meet with some adversity because of it. Let me just say, I do not, by any means, agree with everything John McCain has said or supports. I know some might say that I am naive for not supporting Obama just because he supports abortion, but there are other things. I just won't get into them here or now. I am passionate about this because I feel that God very clearly expresses himself in the Bible about abortion and I'm not getting the picture that He and Obama see eye to eye.

Here is a little something from my perspective on abortion, according to Scripture...

Psalm 139:13-16 The Message
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day.


And now, a delightfully funny political comparison. But please keep in mind-- this woman is my GIRL. And not just my American Girl Doll...





Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Oh, my.

Well, needless to say, I have not been bitten by the "blogging bug". No entries since July? July. Really, seriously, Rachel. Come on. One word: pathetic.

May I confess something? (Of course... I can confess whatever I want. It's MY blog. HA! Don'tcha love that sense of entitlement?!)

I want to be a blogger. I want to be one SO bad. I read these eloquent blogs from different people and I think, "I want to write like that!" Could I really do it? Probably. Not that I'm all that eloquent or articulate, but I do have funny things to write about. Like when one of my third graders yelled, "MY MOM SAYS BARACK OBAMA IS A TERRORIST!" I could write about the fact that I usually am on the brink of falling down the stairs at least once a day. Maybe that's not so funny, but it is if you are there and see me trying to balance three different bags, a purse, a lunchbox, sometimes a coffee and whatever other assorted items I may be trying to lug down three flights of stairs. I'm telling you, it ain't pretty. I have yet to fall down the stairs, but I assure you, it will happen. Stay tuned.

I digress...

Here's the deal with me and blogging. I am a huge creature of habit. I love the fact that I know what my schedule is everyday after school and it rarely changes. Not only do I love consistency and concrete plans, but I also am insanely busy. I feel as if I can barely handle teaching, my extra commitments, cooking, cleaning, and being a good wife to Ty. If things aren't planned or if they don't go according to plans, I fall apart. There. I admit it. Rachel falls apart. I think I'm doing better than I used to regarding with "going with the flow", but still, it's not pretty. Yuck. Nothing like admitting your own insecurities like writing them out for the whole world to see.

You're probably wondering, "What in the WORLD does this have to do with blogging?" Or maybe you've stopped reading by now. I wouldn't blame you. I have a tendency to ramble... as I am right now. Oh, Lord, bless those who are still reading for being my true friends... or for being truly nosy. ;)

Okay, blogging. Focus, Rachel. Here's what you've been waiting for... drum roll, please. (If you are not doing a drum roll on your lap, please do not read ahead until you have perfected that delightful sound. Thank you.)

I am not a good blogger because there is simply not time to do it and do it well.

There it is. Pretty anticlimactic, huh? Really, it's true. When I do things, I like to do them completely and I like to do them WELL. Examples, you ask? Well, I can't just vacuum the kitchen floor and leave it be. If I'm going to vacuum, I'm going to Swiffer, and then I will decide that the Swiffer doesn't do the trick (really, it's not a great product), so I will get the rags and the bucket and my Method floor cleaner, and I will was the floor on hands and knees. If I start a project at school, I will not leave until it's finished. I have been known to call my poor and unsuspecting husband (who thinks he is in for a pleasant and quiet evening with his wife) screaming and crying about the fact that it is 7:00 and I am still at school because I have so much to do and if he knows whats good for him, he will open that box of macaroni and cheese and eat ONLY half of it so that I will have something to eat when I get home. Poor man. He didn't know what he was in for when he took those vows.

Have you ever read the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff? I am that mouse in it's truest form. I think Ty could vouch for that. I do identify with that poor mouse. One thing does lead to another and before you know it, POOF, you are doing way more than you thought you ever would. For the record, that's how sin works too, but I won't get on my soapbox just yet. :) I'm afraid blogging would be like that for me. At this point, I think I have two options.

  1. Delete this blog and never even THINK of reentering the blogging universe again.

  2. Use it as an opportunity for me to get over this insane obsession of doing everything "right" ALL the time.

I think I shall choose option number two, unless anyone (and by anyone, I mean Ty) is opposed to that. Blogging is too fun when I choose to do it. I will shoot for once a week, maybe more, depending on my busyness factor and whether I feel like it. I'm just here to tell ya, if E! News is on, I probably won't choose blogging instead of paying attention to the latest news about Madonna and Guy Ritchie's divorce (seriously, was anyone REALLY surprised?) or the Jolie-Pitt twins latest pics. (I do confess that I love celebrity gossip and I check People.com on a regular basis... call it a guilty pleasure). If a new issue of Real Simple or Everyday with Rachael Ray has just arrived, please don't expect me to put those down to write in this blog. I'm a busy girl and yes, I am also busy doing things I want to do. But... blogging is something I want to do. I will try to get better and I will try to be interesting... try being the operative word. I can promise you one thing, though...

I will not give Ms. Numeroff material for her next book, "When You Give a Girl a Blog".

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Happy Rachel's Favorite Holiday!

I have slipped for the last few days and not updated. Sadly, my week off is over. I really have loved having five days of complete freedom! I got a lot done around my house, which was so nice. I am finishing off my tasks today. It will feel great to have a completely clean house!

On Thursday, I had a really lazy day. It was kind of a crummy day, so I didn't get to lay out in the sun. :( I laid around and didn't do much... it felt good, but it made me even more tired. I don't think I'll do that again for awhile. I did do laundry; at least I accomplished something
positive! Ty came home and then headed over to Tom's shortly thereafter since I was headed to Bible Study. That is what's hard about Thursdays. I love, love, love my Bible Study, but he gets home and I have to leave very shortly after that. I am in a Bible Study with some friends from school called "Stepping Up: The Psalms of Ascent". Beth Moore wrote it and I am just a little obsessed with her studies. I just bought her new book on the apostle Paul and I am looking forward to this fall when I actually have time to go through and study it! However, the study that I am in right now is amazing. It's a detailed study of Psalms 130-143. These Psalms were designed to lead you up and out of whatever you might be going through. God has placed me in this study for a good reason, and I am enjoying all that I am getting out of it!!

Yesterday was the FOURTH OF JULY! You might not know this, but it is my favorite holiday. Tarah, no comments please. ;) I just love that it's smack in the middle of summer. I also love barbecue's and fireworks! It was great that T was able to be home yesterday. It gave us a nice long week
end. We spent the day together, played a few games of Disney Scene It (I won each game by a LARGE margin!), and went over to Robert and Viona's for a barbecue. We had a great time! She had some AMAZING appetizers that we munched on, we sat and talked for awhile, then went outside to grill. While Viona grilled, we talked and Tyler played "golf" with Wesley. They are two peas in a pod. It was very fun to watch. :) We had some awesome chicken, grilled veggies, bread, corn... you name it, we had it. It was great! Then, we enjoyed some Barefoot Contessa chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing that I made. I am proud to say that everything was indeed made from scratch. I was so proud of myself, and I think they turned out really well! We ended the evening with a few games of Sequence (one of our favorites) while Wesley tried to go to sleep on the couch. He was having a rough time because of all the fireworks, poor guy. He ended up getting up and saying over 30 memory verses to us before we left! This little boy is amazing and SO precious. I can't even stand how cute he is. Before he went to bed, he said to his dad, "Daddy, I am very concerned that Mr. Tyler and Miss Rachel aren't spending the night." Then, as we were leaving, he presented me with a plum and said, "Miss Rachel, I would be happy to offer you this plum. I would also be happy to offer myself a plum." Too cute! Here is a short video of Wesley telling us some of his Bible verses and then a few pictures of us decorating the cupcakes with red and blue sprinkles!









Today, I have cleaned the floors. It is not fun, but very neccesary. Tonight, we are going on a date night. We are going to Red Robin, to see Wall-E, then to Starbucks. I'm pretty excited. I hope you all enjoy your weekend. Happy 4th of July!!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

If you need painters, we are AWESOME.

Day three is over and I am feeling a bit sad. This will be my last week off in a long, long time. I have so enjoyed this break and I think that next year, I will take the whole summer off and just enjoy myself. However, I am enjoying this summer with the darling kids I nanny for, so I will just take it for what it is... a fun summer that's just a tad busy! :)

Today was rather simple. I woke up, got ready for the day, and my precious friend Laurel came over. She was kind enough to help me paint my new classroom today! We painted for about 2 1/2 hours straight and finished! I must say, it looked GREAT! Neither of us had ever painted before, so we were kind of nervous, but I think we did an excellent job. It was tiring, but we got a lot done. We painted the room white, but when my kids come, we are going to make a border by using their hand prints dipped in primary colors! It should be very cute and very "elementary". :) The room was already white, but it was kind of a dingy white... it needed a fresh coat! I will put a picture up of the final result in a few months. Painting was a lot of fun and it was great to spend that time with Laurel just talking and catching up. She has quickly become a dear friend and a huge blessing and I love living by her!! I will have to take her out to lunch soon to say "thank you" for all her help today!

You may be wondering why I always say I will post pictures eventually. Well, this is because I am kind of afraid of this computer. We have a Mac and it is still uncharted territory for me. I could upload my pictures to my old Dell without fail. I was very good at that and I would totally be able to post pictures from my old computer. However, the Mac is still very confusing to me, so as soon as I figure it out or make Ty sit down long enough to teach me, you will see some real photos. :)

After painting, I came home and relaxed. I was exhausted. After a while, Grant and Em came over and we grilled out, then finished up The Departed because Grant and Em had already seen it. I had seen it, but I had just forgotten about how it went. It was a pretty good movie... a LOT of expletives, but a very clever screenplay.

So, that was about it for today! Tomorrow will probably be even more low key, but I love days like those. Maybe I will even get a chance to lay out in the sun.

Until then...

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Healthy Living

Well, day two of my big week off is coming to a close. The weather was better today; yesterday, it was quite rainy. Cincinnati has been void of humidity lately, which has been GREAT! It just makes me sad that my hair straightener has been sent away to be repaired, meaning that I have had to wear my hair curly for just about a week now. If I could wear my hair straight, it wouldn't be unmanageable for once! Just my luck. :) T says he likes it better curly anyhow and I don't have anyone else to impress!

This morning, I slept in until 10:15. It was glorious. To be honest, I don't even remember T getting up to go to work. I must have been really tired. It is so nice to wake up at a leisurely pace. I cleaned the house this morning, used more of my great Method products, and got ready for my day. I met my friend, Judy, for lunch at a great place in Fairfield called Roosters. I love eating chicken wings, and Roosters has the BEST chicken wings... they are huge! Five fill me up quite adequately. We had a great time catching up! I work with Judy and her daughter, Lindsay, is getting married in about a week. I miss that time of life. Don't get me wrong, but the months and weeks leading up to my wedding were some of the best of my life. Sometimes I get a little nostalgic at the fact that my wedding is over. However, if you were able to attend, I think it was a pretty great time. :)

After lunch, I headed over to my friend Viona's house. We meet every Tuesday and she is mentoring me. She is an incredibly amazing woman of God and such a blessing to me. I also work with Viona and she has quickly became a precious friend. I look forward to our times together so, so much. We are going through one of Beth Moore's books, Get Out of That Pit. I am learning so much from Viona and I look forward to many more times together. Viona and her husband, Robert, also have a precious little one named Wesley who has also quickly become near and dear to my heart. Honestly, I think he is one of the most (if not THE most) darling little boys I have ever met in my life. We are going over to their house on Friday evening for a 4th of July BBQ, so I will post pictures so you can see his darling-ness firsthand. :)

I have realized lately that it might just be physically impossible for me to pass a Target and not go in. However, today, I passed one and just kept going! Small victories for Rachel! It might also be due to the fact that I just was in a Target yesterday... but, whatever!

I went to a health seminar tonight with my friend Sherri who sells JuicePlus. JuicePlus is a whole food, not a vitamin supplement, that offers you more than the FDA suggested serving size for fruits and veggies everyday. The seminar was not a plug for JuicePlus, but specific guidelines for nutrition. I am so glad I went! I learned a lot about how to eat, what are common nutrition myths, and practical guidelines to eating healthy. I am really excited to start taking my JuicePlus and gradually change some things about the way I eat, namely cutting out ALL refined sugar and white flour. Is it the easiest thing? No. Is it impossible? No! Here are some things that I learned tonight:
  • 1 in 3 women will have cancer in their lifetime.
  • 1 in 2 men will have cancer in their lifetime.
  • 1 in 6 women will have breast cancer.
  • The average American child is consuming 5 POUNDS of sugar per week! Gross!
  • There are 17 teaspoons of sugar in a 20 oz. Coke.
Those cancer statistics are mostly due to diet and nutrition!! Yikes! I think that it's our responsibility to know these things and how we can keep our bodies healthy. Leanne (the speaker) talked about how the first choice for recovery and prevention is nutritional excellence and she also gave me a good phrase: If it doesn't rot or sprout, throw it out! She showed us a meal from McDonalds that she has saved for the last four years... and it has not grown any mold or decayed or ANYTHING! It was actually very disturbing how many preservatives are packed into the foods we eat! She spoke on the importance of eating a lot of plant foods as opposed to animal foods. All in all, it was very stimulating and I hope to go back to another seminar with Sherri soon!

Tyler and I watched
The Departed tonight until he got too tired and had to go to bed. Poor guy. He's been working so hard lately. That leaves me all alone out here writing to you! I have another day ahead of me in just a few short hours, so I think I will sign out for the evening. I will leave you with another great quote I heard tonight from Leanne: "Americans are overfed and undernourished!"

Love, the new health-lovin' Rachel ;)