How fun are these??

Photo Memory Game
I will SO be making this for gifts!

Freezer Meals
Hey Sisterchicks, this looks like our next outing!

January's NEW

One of my new year's resolutions was to try or do something new every month. So for the month of January it was...

ZUMBA!~
I absolutely dislike, hate, despise, loathe working out. There are a million other things I'd rather do than work out: count my body hair, clean my baseboards with a toothbrush, solve algebra problems, watch M*A*S*H...you get the idea. But thanks to my pal Becky I decided to try it.

It's a cardio class that uses latin and hip hop dancing.

It is SO much fun! I can't believe I'm actually typing this! Granted, I looked like a fish on the beach flailing and flopping around, but it's a great work out. I've only been 3 times so far, but I'm already starting to pick up on the moves and don't feel so self conscience. What I like about it is that you don't get bored. You dance to one song, take a break then move on to the next one. If you haven't tried it, and you're not into working out, this is for you!

Funny, funny, funny!

FUNNY!!

My run in with the famous

I'm willing to bet you've never seen this man before. He is none other than Lee Jenkins.

He is an education guru. His whole philosophy is that kids have always had "permission to forget". We're not holding students accountable for what they've learned. You teachers know what I mean. We spend the first month or so reviewing concepts that had previously been taught...and we wonder why we can never get through our curriculum in a year?!

My school district has hired him for 4 different workshops this school year. I am on a special committee at my school that gets to attend these workshops.

They have been wonderful! Although the content of the workshops have been great, it's also been fun to talk with other teachers and get ideas from them.

I began implementing Dr. Jenkin's strategies at the beginning of the school year and the kids have just loved it! Every Friday, we take a quiz (it doesn't count towards their average). The quiz is 10 questions on topics they've had in 4th & 5th grade as well as topics we've covered so far this year and have yet to cover. Kids then chart how many questions they get right each week and I keep a total of the whole class. The goal is for the class to beat their score in an attempt to get an "All Time Best". If kids get an ATB, they get a celebration. I've got different sets of 6 celebrations. They roll a die to see which celebration they earn. These are little treats like a piece of candy, run around the room 3 times, take a funny class picture to hang on Ms. Brown's door...you get the idea. Nothing real big, just little things.

Well, today all my classes got their all time best. 3 out of my 5 classes rolled #4 which today said: "Ms. Brown has to talk in an accent the rest of class". I couldn't believe it! So for the majority of my day, I spoke with a british accent. They thought it was hilarious at first, but can I tell you that they have never paid more attention than when I was talking in that silly accent! They were hanging on my every word. I even had some kids ask: "Say my name, Ms. Brown" [giggle, giggle]. It was so fun!

Anyways, the reason for the picture was because I knew my kids would get a kick out of me having my picture with "Mr. Lee Jenkins" himself!! I've talked him up so much they think he's famous!!

Premiere Parties

The economy's bad, gas is up, it's cold and wintry...but all is well in TV land! It's the greatest time of year because all the good shows are back on. Combine that with my love of parties and you get the ultimate Premiere Party!!

First there was 24.

Thanks to the writer's strike it's been a whole year since we've seen the yummy goodness that is Jack Bauer! So what better way to celebrate than with the yummy goodness of cookies. These were enjoyed at my sister's house as we watched Jack do what he does best!!



Then there was Lost. It just doesn't get any better! Although, after watching the premiere this week, I am more confused than ever...but I love it! Keeps it fresh! And it didn't hurt that Sawyer was shirtless most of the time! I decided to go with cupcakes. Each cupcake had a different scene on top. These were eaten up quickly!

The Dharma Initiative logo

Oceanic Flight 815

The wild boar

Then some random island scenes

Inauguration Day

Well, today's the big day. Inauguration Day. I love all big events. All things pomp and circumstance. I love all the details that go into an event of this magnitude:

~The inaugural platform is constructed entirely from scratch for each inaugural ceremony.
~The Presidential Inaugural Committee put 5,000 tickets, priced at $25 apiece for bleacher seats, on sale on Jan. 9 at 1 p.m. and they sold out in less than a minute.
~Obama will wear bullet-resistant clothing, speak behind a protective glass shield and ride in the parade in the armored Cadillac limousine, with doors and windows so thick that he probably would survive a bomb blast, law enforcement officials said.

Go here for some more.

By the end of this day, we will have a brand new president. And while I definitely did not vote for him, I respect the office he will hold. I can't imagine what's going through his mind right now. How his life is about to dramatically change for the next 4 years. He can't call in sick. His life virtually won't be his own. I just can't wrap my mind around that.

This inauguration will definitely stand out in history. And I get it. I get why it's a big deal and why it's being hyped up the way it is. I just hate that people tend to view him as a savior. He's a man. He's human. He will make mistakes.

It also bothers me that he's being hailed as the first African American president. He's bi-racial. Again, I get it. I get that it's a big deal. Just frustrating.

But thankfully, GOD is in control! He has the final say! He has gone before the president and holds our country in the palm of his hand!

I will no doubt watch all the festivities of today. And I will be praying for our new president.

Please pray

In my New Years post, I talked about a blogger friend who has been a real encouragement to me. We've never met, but I know we'd be good friends!

She has prayed for years to have a child and this evening gave birth to baby girl, Harper Brown Stamps. Harper is in serious condition right now!

Please pray!

Ugh...

Thankfully my new year's resolution wasn't to update my blog regularly :(

All Things New

Happy NEW Year! Doesn't a new year always make us reflect and ponder our life? I've been thinking about "newness" lately. To be honest, 2008 didn't bring a whole lot of new to my life personally. (Except if you count the holes I put in my ears!) For the most part, it's been the same old, same old.

And I'm tired of it.

I'm tired of having to say the same thing when people I haven't talked to in a while ask me, "What's new?"

"oh, not much..."

I was surprised to see how much the Bible talks about NEW. There's a lot of verses here and I thought about cutting this list down, but I think it's great to see how important God thinks NEWNESS is:

Psalm 33:3
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

Psalm 40:3
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

Psalm 98:1
Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

Proverbs 3:10
then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Psalm 144:9
I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,

Isaiah 42:9
See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."

Isaiah 42:10
Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.

Isaiah 48:6
You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? "From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.

Isaiah 62:2
The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

Lamentations 3:23
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Mark 2:22
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."

Luke 5:36
He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.

Luke 22:20
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

John 13:34
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Peter 3:13
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

The one that is the most promising to me is this one:
Isaiah 43:19
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

How exciting and promising is that?! The second part says that the dry and barren places will have life brought to them! Do you have "deserts" or "wastelands" in your life? I know I do. Things that I've been praying for that seem almost hopeless at this point. But, in 2009, I'm going to cling to this promise that God is going to do a NEW thing in my life.

I also know, that I need to do my part. I know we all have the obligatory resolution of reading the Bible more and yes, I do need to do that, but more than just reading it, I need to study it. Make it apply to MY life and I got some great inspiration from one of my favorite bloggers, Kelly. She was in a wasteland of wanting to have a baby and had gone through all kinds of drugs and specialists. Here's what she decided to do:

So in April – not only did we take a break from focusing on trying but I took a break from TV and the internet. I needed to take all of my time and spend it with Scott and with Jesus. I needed it to be quiet so I could hear Him speak. At the time we were doing “Experiencing God” in our Sunday School classes and our chapter that week was on FAITH. I also had been praying for God to give me a book of the Bible to focus on that week and He kept saying “Hebrews”. And in Hebrews – there is a chapter that speaks of all the men in the Bible who had great faith and because of their faith – God did amazing things. During this time – I started to feel this peace and joy come over me that I could not explain except to know that God was holding my hand and whispering “Wait on me – have faith that I can do anything”.

By the way...she is due any minute now with a little girl, Harper Brown Stamps!!

So here's my resolution this year. It's actually 2 parts. The first part is that I'm going to focus on spending more time with Jesus. More quiet time where I can hear Him speaking to me.

And the second part is a little bit more on the adventuresome side. Every month, I'm going to try/do something NEW! It may be as little as trying a new food, but every month I will blog about my new adventure.

So, if you've made it to the end of this post, thank you! It means you're a true friend of mine or...extremely bored! Regardless, I would covet your prayers as I make 2009 a year to focus on spending more quality time with Jesus. I hesitate to make a resolution with such strict guidelines as to what time and all because I want to set realistic goals. But what I'm going to try to do is set aside the 7 - 8:00 hour. It's usually after I eat dinner and right before my shows come on and usually I just watch ET or some other trash TV. So if you're watching it, say a little prayer for me :) Why not make that the most productive hour of my day?!

I leave you with this video of a song by one of my favorite artist, Steven Curtis Chapman, called All Things New. Happy New Year!