Over Zealous

Is it December yet?


It's not?


This Wednesday, ya say?


Then it's safe to put these in the mailbox to go out tomorrow then, right?

Yes, tomorrow is Tuesday.



You're crazy... I did not order these a few weeks ago.


No, I definitely didn't already frame one in a holiday themed frame that is red and green and says "Happy Holiday" and other cute festive phrases and put it on the top right shelf of our entertainment center as decoration.... it's not even December yet!


Love,

The Over Zealous One

A List... about Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)
The Fellowship of the Believers

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
 
1)  These verses of the Bible have been on my mind a lot lately. 
 
2)  I feel that these verses can sum up exactly how christianity should look today.
 
3) Sometime I feel that we decide to overlook "selling our goods and possessions" and "giving to those who have need."
 
4)  Sometimes I think this is left out of christianity altogether or is only a minimal focus when it should be a huge part of our lives.
 
5)  Sometime that makes me sad.
 
6)  The best part is, that in thinking about everything in this list, I want to change that.
 
7)  Another good thing is I know that there others out there that want to chang that, too.
 
8)  I love that God wants us to take care of those who have need.
 
9)  I love even more that God wants us to accomplish that by selling our own goods and possessions.
 
10)  That way.... there really isn't any excuse.  Beautiful!

Oh My Goodness...

..... look at that face :)

Love,



My Top 10 (a continued list)

I started a list the other day of my Top 10 favorite things (right now).  I had to do the whole "to be continued" thing because I can't shut my fingers, I mean stop my mouth, I mean stop my fingers. 

Huh?

Here are the final five:

6)  Adobe Photoshop Lightroom - this is a photoshop program that I think is much easier to use than regular photoshop.  It has sweet options like creative presets.  You can even "copy" the effects you put on one picture and "paste" them on another.  That's just crazy talk!  It makes it really easy for any regular Joe (or Joanne) to make any picture look professional.  This software is great for anyone interested in dabbling with photography for fun OR because, you know, it's just not enough to make cakes, and songwrite, and paint, and take 18 hours worth of classes, and breath... photography must be in your repertoire.  I certainly don't know anyone like that though. 

7)  McDonald's smoothies - whoever came up with this is a genuis.  If you like smoothies at all you need to get one from McDonald's because 1. they are cheap... and 2. they taste great.  It's just that simple.  Also you should watch that machine they use to make them.  It's not just a blender as I assumed.  It's a magical machine where all they do is push one button and it mixes all the ingredients and ice for the perfect amount to fit your cup perfectly.  But don't stop watching there.  The next thing to happen is that the same machine that just made your smoothie will clean the blender by spraying it down.  Viola!  Ready for the next smoothie order please!  I was amazed... but I'm also easily amused.  So, I'll let you be the judge (not of me, of the smoothie machine).

8)  Grandma's Attic - not my grandma though.  This is the name of a local thrift store here in BG that has furniture, house decor, paintings, kitchen supplies, trinkets, books, bedding, toys, and lots of electronics to dig through.  I'm a little obsessed with that place.  Always good finds.  Always a million things to look at.  Always a hundred things to want to buy.  Nothing in there is super fancy and the whole place has a very down-to-Earth vibe that makes you feel like you are really in your Grandma's Attic.  Ironic?  No.  Don't go in there expecting fancy but I wouldn't have it any other way!

9)  Power Teaching - This sounds like a nerdy teacher thing to be into BUT it is!   I'm not ashamed because it is also super cool.  It's also called whole brain teaching for those of you who may be familiar with that name.  It is energetic teaching that uses multiple learning intelligences and connects the body and the brain while learning.  I love it and hope to use it in the future!  Here's a video clip of an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yygIwC3PSvk


10) My Canon Zoom Lens - Okay so this also has to do with photography but I finally invested in a zoom lens. I'm obsessed with with taking photos of small things like insects and flowers and really getting right in their little buggy and petal faces. For that, my friends, I need my zoom lens. With that lens I took these pictures:

Look at all that dragonfly-ish detail... you can even see algae on that turtles back!  I love it!  I'll let the pictures do the talking (about my love for my zoom lens) from here on out.

Love,

My Top 10

Top 10 Things I am LOVING right now (I have to include "right now" because... well... I'm fickle)

1) Satin Ice Rolled Fondant ~ I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none type and in my repertoire I like to dabble in a little cake decorating and I have found that this brand of fondant is just swell.  It has great flavor and is super easy to work with.  I'm a fan.

2) Irresistible Revolution ~ This book has caused a stirring in my soul that I am so thankful for... it's really thought-provoking and the authors "voice" had me cracking up.  I could go on all day about this book but I will spare your ears  eyes.  I'm a rambler.

3) Angry Birds ~ Not just any angry birds... angry birds that you launch out of a catapult at structures to kill green pigs.  That desciption alone has probably hooked you, I know. It's an app that is available for the iPhone or iTouch that is highly addicting.  I'm warning you now that if you start playing it you might never want to stop.  I beat all of the levels in a matter of days because... well... i'm committed.  Plus I was in a race against my husband.  I won.  It's the small things, ya know?

4)Pet Zoom ~ Okay, so maybe we (my husband and myself) are the type of couple to see a commercial/infomercial for a gadget and maybe we can look at each other simultaneously without speaking and maybe next thing we know we are at a store buying things we don't need looking around all frazzled wondering how we got there. Maybe.  But this one works so I'm not going to feel guilty.  It's a brush for pets to help get loose fur out without hurting/annoying them.  We have a cat two cats three cats (don't get me started) and only one would even tolerate brushing before.  But now with Pet Zoom they all love to be brushed and we get so much extra fur off that I don't even understand where is all comes from.  Seriously, sometimes I just stare at the giant ball of fur in silent awe and confusion with my mouth open... it's a huge waste of time, I know (don't get me started).

5) Buffet & Hutch ~ We got a new buffet & hutch from JC Penney online and I stinkin' love it.  It ain't fancy.  It's pre-made and it's simple in design and it's red.  I love red furniture.  Besides all that I love it because it's handy.  We ran out of room in our cabinets a long time ago the day we moved in.  There was absolutely no space for all my cake pans, decorating supplies, ingredients, and icing tubs once I started that hobby up.  Now that we have the hutch it all fits neatly inside and it makes my heart smile.  No more cake pans all over the guest bedroom and office and kitchen.  No more bags of flour and sugar and tubs of icing sitting on the kitchen table for weeks on end.  It's cute and practical and I'm pleased as punch with it.

I'm long winded... or however that translates to blogging so...

to be continued...

Time Travel

I got to take a step back in time today.  A step for all mankind all the way back to first grade.  It was a flashback of giggling, and recess, and glue, and crayons.  A world where getting in trouble and having to write your name on the board sends the world crumbling around you and getting to wear your hair in pigtails (or "dog-ears" as I called them) and play 101 Dalmations on the playground with your best friend at recess makes life worth while (at least for me it did... 101 Dalmations was the bees knees in my first grade glory days).  The only difference this time around was that now... I was the teacher.

I guess that makes it more like I stepped into the future.

Huh?

Anyway...

Needless to say, I'm observing a first grade classroom this semester.  Possibly one of the most entertaining first grade classrooms of all time, but I guess that's debatable.  One thing I know for sure... there is NEVER a dull moment. 

When you are a first grade teacher there is always someone hugging you, yelling your name, picking their nose, eating it, telling you their address, telling you a random story about squirrels, and asking to go to the bathroom.  All at the same time.  It's fun.  And stressful.  And fun.

On a side note I've decided that first graders like to go to the bathroom so much because its their first real taste of freedom... sweet sweet freedom.   That and some are still working on that "no more accidents" goal.  Go ahead and add that to the list of things that keeps it interesting.  And stressful.  And interesting.

All in all my first day of observing was a success... unless you count the kid that I made have a balling-crying/wheezing/tear-streaming fit at the end of the day. 

But I don't.

No matter how much it will haunt my dreams.


love,

1 year old nephew

This is a picture I took of my nephew... in a tractor wheel.

He just looks like he belongs there.

Except when he is in my arms... then he looks like he belongs there.

Except when he is in his own parents arms because, well, they're his parents.

Not me.

I've got to remember that.

Sometimes I forget because I love him so much and its so nice to sniff his little toddler head.

This kid makes me baby crazy like I've never been.

Did I just type that?

It's not time for a baby.

 It's time to wait, time to get back to college, then time to graduate, then time to get a job, then MAYBE, just maybe, I can think about things like babies.

Maybe.

Until then, I'll just stare at this picture... and melt.

Need a mop ASAP.

A Kitty Haiku

My name is Jekels.

I'm afraid of the vacuum.

Feed me already.

This is my husband...

Ain't he cute? 

We have some important things in common...

but mostly...

we are opposites.

(Insert obvious saying here... something about attraction ;)

Tonight we had a conversation, it went like this:

Me:  What are you doing? *noticing his change of clothes*

Him:  Going to work out. *we have a treadmill in our office/gym*

Me:  I'm gonna come watch you.

Him:  Why??

Me:  So maybe it'll motivate me to workout.

Him:  I don't want you to "watch" me work out.

Me:  Why? We used to go to the gym together... I've seen you work out.

 All I wanna do is hang out with you tonight (insert pouty face) *look I whine sometimes... ahem*

Him:  Ok fine... you can come in there... but you have to listen to the music I choose.

Me:  Nevermind.

:)

This is my husband...

He's cute...

and he knows how to work an angle on his wife.

Proclaim it Proclaimers!

Music Pick of the Day: I'm Gonna Be(500 miles)
Artist:  The Proclaimers

Are you kidding??  How can you not L-O-V-E this song?  I hope you haven't quite forgotten about this 90's beauty because it may be a timeless masterpiece to say the least.  My first thought is... what are those accents?  Irish? New Zealander? Scottish?  I'm gonns guess Irish... what about you?  I'm not trying to be punny, but those accents really accentuate the awesomeness of this tune.  And please tell me you watched the music video!  Are they twins?  Twins with the exact same eye glasses prescription?  When you see someone playing music with coke bottle Buddy Holly eye glasses, you can bet it's gonna be entertaining, but multiplying it by 2!  AND speaking of multiplying it by two, they do exude exemplary mathematic skills (and I expected no less).  500 miles + 500 more miles IS 1000 miles.  Lyrical genius?  I think yes.  Not to mention the mushy heart-warming aspect of having a man offer to walk 1000 miles to fall down for you... okay not necessarily these men.  I'll let you make that choice.  I have endless love for this song... and I'm not afraid to Proclaim it!

Oh Ting Tings...

Music Pick of the Day:  That's Not My Name
Artist: The Ting Tings

Boppin' Drums + Hoppin' Sound Machine + Kickin' Lyrics = Ear Bud Happiness

Have you ever been cruising in your El Camino and heard this song come on the radio?  Of course you have!... and if you haven't, your ears may be sad, and I want your car please.  Sad ear syndrome can only be cured with a heavy dose of this song.  It's like half the time I'm listening to this song I'm not even sure what she's saying, but I just don't care who knows it!  I'm too caught up in jumping around and shaking what my mother gave me.(?) Plus, making up your own lyrics is much more enjoyable when in a confused state, and a time honored tradition for me.  Not only is this song capable of enducing spontaneous aerobic activity, BUT it has been known to turn a frown upside down.  Oh Ting Tings... you're neat.

love,
Amanda... that's not my name!...........ok, maybe it is.