Yum-o

Last weekend was a gooood weekend. It involved a lot of skating, friend time, and chocolate cake. There was really nothing bad about it!

My friend Kady and I decided on a whim that we wanted to make a cake. It took us about 73 hours to decide which mix to buy (did you expect it to be homemade?!), but finally we settled on one. It was fun and delicious mixing it up.

We waited ever so patiently for the delightful aroma to become a tangible reality. It was such a glorious reality. We daintily ate our way through one piece each, but soon realized…who were we kidding? We don’t have to share this cake with anyone else, so why eat modestly? We went back for “seconds”, which ended up being half the cake between us.

I love the magazine underneath the plate. How fitting.

Chocolate cake round two came on Sunday. Another friend of mine needed to make something for a “Pinterest potluck”, so she found a recipe on Pinterest for cappuccino cupcakes. Again, you start with a mix, but add coffee. They were so yummy. She bought chocolate covered espresso beans for the tops of the cupcakes, too- a nice touch. I thought they looked like eyeballs.

 

In the end, they looked really good.

 

I could still go for some more cake, though.

Seven Loves Lately

1) Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk. Mmmmm. Today I allowed myself this because I worked out with…

2) Kickbox Bootcamp. My sister found this on Netflix, and it’s so legit. I feel especially cool when I do the roundhouse kicks…watch out, Chuck Norris. I always finish these workouts feeling really good. You know what else makes me feel good? I love the feeling I get when I am…

3) Submitting job applications. I just finished my first one today, and am in the process of working on several more. Some are kinda intense, but I get a rush knowing this is an application for a REAL job. Like one I’ve spent about 4 years preparing for. Craaaaazy.

4) Making cards. I love having time to be crafty. Valentine’s Day is pretty high on my list of favorite holidays, simply because I have an excuse to make these:

I love writing letters and cards. Even though it’s old-fashioned, I’m up for being a pen pal :)

5) The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer. I’m studying this book with a group of girls and it’s fantastic. Each chapter leaves me more intrigued with God and His attributes. It’s given me lots to think about during the  day while I’m at school. I am thoroughly enjoying it so far! Here’s a good quote: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Thought-provoking.

6) Synchronized skating. I used to think it was dumb, or boring, or something…but now I have a completely different opinion. It’s so difficult to have everyone together all at once, so I really admire teams like this one. So cool.

7) Being done teaching full-time! I’m enjoying the extra free time that comes with this. I’m excited to get some ideas from observing other teachers, too. I will be so sad to leave my third grade kiddos, though…at least I’ve still got 2 more weeks. :)

Love and icicles

Well, Valentine’s Day has come and gone. The sugar should be wearing off the third graders, too. Boy, today was rough. So rough that I may or may not have come home and eaten two cupcakes and like 3 servings of puppy chow. If the kids get to have sugar, well then so do I! It helps.

I haven’t been on a date for Valentine’s Day in let’s see…what is it, like 3 years? Something like that. But don’t worry, I don’t celebrate “Singles’ Awareness Day”. That’s just silly. I’m not anti-guy, I just happen to currently be sans-guy. I think it is absolutely possible to celebrate friendships and family that you love, even with a significant other out of the picture. I had a pretty good Valentine’s Day celebration with a friend…a little seafood fettuccine alfredo and a glass of Chardonnay were just the thing. Next year it might be different, but I am satisfied with where I’m at right now.

I am actually loving winter this year, too. Maybe it’s because I don’t have to walk to class everyday and I don’t even have outside recess duty, but I’m finding myself being okay with this definite winter weather. Last year, it was not the case. This and this and this tell me so. It’s funny how our tunes can be so different from year to year. Makes me think about the future a little…(something I’ve been doing all the time, anyway).

I’ll leave you with this picture. This is one of the reasons that winter is so worth it. It’s just so cool. Literally and figuratively.

It really is winter.

We’ve finally gotten our first real taste of winter this year. It’s about time…all this 60 degree nonsense was making me think it was going to be spring around here soon. Not true. The groundhog did see his shadow on Thursday, so there will indeed be 6 more weeks of winter. The snowfall the very next day started us out well.

Snow means playtime for kids. Today, driving home from church, I saw roughly 20-30 kids sledding down a hillside. I remember as a kid tromping out to go play in the snow even before it quit snowing. But in my family, snow isn’t just fun for kids—it’s fun for adults, too. My aunt and uncle have been avid snowmobilers for quite a while now. The last time they had taken me for a ride was probably 5 or 6 years ago. Today I got to go with them again, and I got a chance to drive for the first time, too! I was a pretty slow driver, though…I think my top speed was 25 miles per hour. Ha! But my 15-year-old cousin is a bit more risky. She took me for a ride and I noticed we were going 80 for while. (Don’t tell my mom!)

The snow was so pretty and still pristine and untouched. It looked like pure white icing or marzipan or something. Was it just me, or did it smell like butter cream out there? Whatever. All I know is that now I’m hungry for cake.

After sledding and snowmobiling, my younger cousin and I began the snowman building. We wanted to do something different, so we turned things around just a little bit (pun intended). Here is our creation.

The only way this snow could get better is if we could get a snow day out of it! Bummer. At least I had some fun with it. Now it’s back to lesson planning in preparation for this week…I start teaching full-time. Wish me luck! (And maybe a snow day).

Inspiring

I think I’m addicted to potential.

Think about it…the prospect of something being able to be anything, really. A fresh clean slate. A pure, white sheet of paper. Potential.

My time, for instance. When I have several hours free, usually after school, I get a sort of exhilarated rush because of the countless possibilities. I could start a new book, or finish the one(s) I’ve already started. I could try a new recipe. I could make it a crafternoon. Or I could just sit and do nothing. So many options, so much potential.

A place where potential is collected…Pinterest. I can spend hours upon hours looking at pins, thinking about all the things I could do and become. But it’s also a place where potential can slip away from you. It’s like time goes by five times as fast, and suddenly all the ideas you’ve found cannot be done because your time is gone. It’s tricky.

But with that being said, I thought I would share some of my favorite pins.

I love this bag so much!

Source: http://www.vanessachristenson.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Vintage Pyrex…I want these all.

Source: http://michelleums.tumblr.com/page/34 via Kimberly on Pinterest

And of course there is t-rex stuff like crazy. Makes me laugh every time!

Souce: http://9gag.com/gag/361824 via Kimberly on Pinterest

This looks so beautiful and is so functional.

Source: http://www.marthastewart.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I’ve found tons of classroom ideas, too. Pinterest is definitely a useful site for teachers!

Source: http://www.mrsbrownart.com/4th.htm via Kimberly on Pinterest

Lessons learned

With all the newness that comes with student teaching, so too comes a need for lots of reflection. There is so much to learn.

About the "failure leads to success" outlook...remember that? Yeah, it's really necessary. Without the positive, the negatives can really bring ya down. I make mistakes like Betty Crocker makes cakes.

There is always something to improve on. But, the good news is, there will always be something that you can do better. Even after teaching for 10 years, 20 years, 40 years. Yep.

With all my reflecting, I've drawn the conclusion that this journey I'm on with teaching is a lot like my walk with God. There is always something God is working on in my heart, no matter how long I've been walking with Him. I'll never reach a point where I can say "I'm mature enough. There is nothing I can do to love God more." And just like with teaching, that is a real encouragement. I never have to feel the pressure of perfection, I only need to try my best. And also, I'll never have to wonder what I could improve on...there will always be something. What a perspective.