Goals

My two favorite months are August and January. I love these months because they mark the beginning of the school year and the beginning of the calendar year. I just love the feeling of a nice, clean, fresh start.

I was really inspired by Dave Ramsey's podcast on January 4th, 2010. So inspired that I listened to it again today. Here are some of his points that really stuck out to me:


On average, resolutions last about 45 days - That's about to Valentine's Day.


So what should we do? Don't make resolutions - set goals! The difference is that goals are specific and determined. If you wanna "change your entire freakin life," not just 45 days of it, then make goals!


Goals should:
1.) Be Specific
2.) Be Measurable
3.) Be YOUR Goal
4.) Have a Time Limit
5.) Be Put in Writing


To read more about what Dave says about the importance of setting goals, read his Goal Setting 101 here.

My goals are pretty personal, but I will share parts of them here. All of my goals can be pretty much be put into five "BIG" goals (in no particular order):

1. Grow Closer to the Lord
2. Be a Better Wife/Mom
3. Take Better Care of Myself
4. Be a Better Steward of my Money
5. Be a Better Teacher

I realize that these are not very measurable, but I promise they will be. My plan is to make smaller, measurable goals that fit into these bigger goals. I am still trying to flesh these goals out. In the meantime, I will leave you with these quotes:

Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed." Cavat Roberts


"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." Benjamin Franklin


"Decide what you are going to do differently this year. Otherwise this is going to be just another year. What kind of wimpified existence is just another year??" Dave Ramsey

Suggestions Please...

I want to start blogging again (when I find the time!) and I want my blog to be nicer looking. Any suggestions??? It seems like everyone else's is so cute!

Dear Abandoned Blog,

I am so sorry that you have been forgotten recently. I was busy giving birth to our beautiful son, caring for said son, moving to another apartment, and teaching a week of summer school. So you see, it's not that I have not had a lot to blog about, just that I have had so much to blog about that I haven't had time to actually do it! 

But I promise that I will try to do better. If nothing else, I can at least post pictures and videos for friends and family : ) 

Sincerely,

One Tired Woman

By the time this posts, I will be out of school for the summer!!!!!!!!!!

Well, almost. I still have a lot of cleaning, cumulative records, and progress monitoring folders to take care of. But that is all work I can do ALONE in my room, listening to music and relaxing. 

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my job and I am soooo grateful that I survived another spring without being pink slipped. But.... after spending 36+ weeks with these kids, we're both ready to go our separate ways (especially some of them!). It will be nice for the kids AND the teachers to have almost 2 months off to refuel and recharge. 

Now I just have to finish getting everything ready for this baby to get here...

Some Things the Lord Promises

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.



Psalm 37:4


⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



Philippians 4:6-7


Warning - Rambling Follows. I am not trying to preach at anyone, I just want to share some things I have been meditating on recently.

Lately I have been making more of an effort to incorporate Scripture into my prayers. I have found that the more intentional I am about it, the easier it gets. Sometimes verses pop into my head (or rather, my heart) while I am praying and I know it has to be the LORD because they are sometimes verses that I do not know very well or have not thought about for quite a while.

I will not unload on you all of the things that I have been struggling with lately, but let's just say that I have been kind of anxious lately. As I was praying about some of these things, the Lord really laid Proverbs 3:5 right out in front of me. I couldn't even remember where exactly it came from and had to look it up. The next day I was praying through that verse again, when I felt the other two verses laid on my heart.

To me it pretty much breaks down like this.
The Lord asks us to do some things, and promises us things in return.
1.) Trust in Him, not your own measly thoughts, submit to him in every area = He will make your paths straight. Notice how it doesn't say he will make your paths easy. The Lord never promises us an easy road, but I for sure want to be on his straight path!
2.) Delight in Him and you will have what your heart desires. I have heard people twist this one around A LOT. About 99.9% of the time, my heart of flesh desires things that are ABSOLUTELY not good for me. But that's the problem. When I truly delight in the Lord, the desires of my heart will be his desires, not the fleshly ones that bring destruction.
3.) Don't be anxious! Pray with thanksgiving and give it over to him. In return, he will give us this awesome peace that we cannot even comprehend! This is one of those verses that pretty much explains itself. And I don't know about you, but I want some of that peace!!

So here's what I'm praying for right now:

• That the Lord would help me trust in him completely and help me to stop trying to think my own way through things.
• That he will help me seek him in all my ways (everything I do).
• That he will show me how to truly delight in him.
• That he will help me be obedient by being anxious over nothing
• That he will help me to remember to submit my requests to him and to do so with thanksgiving.
• Above all to know that I cannot do any of this on my own and need his strength to work miracles in little old me every step of the way.
• That he will give me patience to know that all of this happens on his timetable - not mine.

And because of his Word, here's what I know I will get in return:

• He will make my paths straight.
• He will give me the desires of my heart.
• My heart and mind will be guarded by a peace so awesome that I cannot even understand it!

Job History

After reading a few of my friends' posts on the subject, it really got me thinking about my own job history. Just in case you were interested, here it is...

1. BabySitting (age 12 - 22) - I know this is not an official j-o-b, but it was such a part of my life for so long, I feel like I have to count it. I was the girl who had a babysitting job at least a couple days a week all through high school. It kind of tapered off my first few years in Bowling Green, but after I started to meet more people I even got a few weekly jobs during college too. 
2. Sales Associate at Rue 21 (Sophomore-Junior Year of High School) - My first "real" job. I started out making minimum wage (a whopping $5.35 an hour at the time!). I ran the register, cleaned out fitting rooms and basically folded lots and lots of clothes. 
3. Waitress at Frisch's Big Boy (Junior-Senior Year of High School) - I LOVED this job. If you're not familiar with the chain, it's kind of like a steak'n'shake, but not. Basically just an eat-in burger joint with nothing on the menu over $8.99. I worked with a wide range of people - a couple of guys I was friends with at school, a couple of college kids, and a bunch of middle-aged ladies. I really enjoyed waiting tables because I loved to talk to people and be friendly and I felt that I was pretty good at my job. I hated all the side work (folding silverware into napkins, a lot of cleaning), but I loved those tips! On a good night I could make a pretty good chunk of change, but on a slow Monday night I may only make a couple bucks an hour - and my base salary was only $2.13!!
4. BabySitting Teachers' Kids (Senior Year of High School) - My senior year I took yearbook as an early class. This meant that I got out an hour earlier than the rest of the high school. This was also the same time the elementary students released. So everyday after school I ran my own little afterschool program for 8-10 of the teachers' kids. I loved it. Hard to believe I still didn't know I was supposed to be an educator, huh? 
5. Sodexho at Commonwealth Stadium (Senior Year of High School - Freshman Year of College) - I was a suite attendant for the private suites at all the home UK football games. I had three suites - one owned by Budweiser, one by UK (for the president and other important people), and one owned by Alltell. I made $8.00 an hour, but earned WAY more in tips. After each game, the suite owners tipped me between $50-$150. Also, random people you would stop to help would sometimes slip you bills anywhere from $10 to $50 - just for getting them a coke or running out to the scoreboard tailgate (like ten feet away) and getting them a hot dog! And the last game of the year, as my "bonus," I left with about $800. I also got to meet some neat KY celebs like William Shatner, Montgomery Gentry, Tubby Smith, Tim Couch, and two governors. Oh yeah, and I served breakfast to ESPN's College GameDay crew. 
6. Camp Counselor for the YMCA (Summers 2004-2006) - I worked for the Y for 3 summers and loved (almost) every minute of it! The other counselors were great (for the most part) and I really enjoyed working with the kids. This job was part of what encouraged me to go into education.
7. Group Leader for Community Ed (Spring Semester Freshman Year of College) - Worked at an after school program at Natcher Elementary. Crazy kids. I wasn't there very long, but boy, do I have some stories I could tell you from this place! 
8. Resident Assistant in Southwest Hall (Sophomore Year of College) - The best and worst job I had in college. I loved most of the people I worked with and we became a real tight-knit little family. The job part of it, though, I didn't like too much. A lot of work for not a lot of pay. That's fine if you love what you do, but unfortunately, I didn't. 
9. Substitute Teacher for Warren Co Schools (Junior and Senior Year of College) - To get my foot in the door. I subbed elementary, middle, and high. I am thankful for this job because the money was good, I had weekends off, but more importantly, it really helped me get more comfortable in front of a classroom. It also gave me more confidence talking with teachers and principals. And it made me see a lot of things that I wanted to do and things that I would never want to do in my own classroom. All of these things were very beneficial to me!!
   
10. Childcare at Living Hope (Junior and Senior Year of College) - I worked in the nursery for weeknight events. Nice for a little extra spending money and I never complain when I get to hold precious babies! 
    
11. Sales Associate for Dunham's Sports (Summer before Senior Year to Summer After Graduation) I worked with a lot of people of all different ages which made for a lot of drama on occasions. I really enjoyed working with those who were pleasant and worked hard. The others - not so much. My days were mainly spent hanging clothes, straightening clothes, or helping people try on athletic shoes. 
12. Community Advisor at The Gables Apartments (Summer before Senior Year to Summer After Graduation) Kind of like being an RA, but not as much work. And I didn't get paid, but instead got free rent. This was definitely worth it since it was only a few hours of work a week, but translated to over $300 a month. 
13. 4th Grade Teacher at Alvaton Elementary (August 08 to Present) My DREAM JOB, really. I am so grateful that the Lord led me to Alvaton. I love my kids and I love the principal and staff. I really do feel like I am part of a big family! And most of all, I enjoy teaching. Even though it is always a challenge and some days I feel like I could pull my hair out, there really is nothing else I would rather be doing. 

Going Bananas

Confession time...

I love bananas. But I especially love bananas when they are at that perfect stage where they are not mushy, but they are not too hard either. You know, right before they start to get a little too ripe. And bananas are really good for you too. A great source of vitamin C and dietary fiber, not to mention good calories for energy and loads of potassium. The potassium is especially good for mommas-to-be since muscle cramps, especially those awful charlie horses, can be a real problem! 

Anyway, here is what drives me bananas. I am really working hard on only grocery shopping once a week. If you want to eat a banana everyday, this is next to impossible! Monday I went to the store and only bought three bananas because I knew they wouldn't last more than three days. I even bought three that looked a little greenish. Tuesday's banana was okay, but not great. Today's, Wednesday's, is already looking spotted and feeling too mushy. I don't even want to think about Thursday's. I may just eat it tonight to keep from having to suffer through a bad banana. 

So what I  want to know is, has anyone discovered a way to keep bananas fresh? Do any of those baggy thingys really work? Any tips at all?? I know this is a silly post, but I'm desperate over here!