JOY: Chores and Cookies! :)

So much JOY to report this week!


There are 2 things:
1 The first is my husband. He has brought me much joy tonight. I came home in a rush. running about 25 minutes later than when i had wanted to be home to make sure to pick up our apartment for our weekly life group that we host/co-lead. Well, as a was walking up the stairs i was thinking of the laundry list of things i was about to spend the next hour and a half doing before i could blog! I knew the dishes needed doing, the laundry i had laid out needed putting away, our dining room table needed to be cleared and coats/jackets needed to be put away. I also needed to make sure we ate something and then i could relax a little. Well, hubby stayed home today and worked from home and surprised me with almost the entire apartment cleaned. He even changed the sheets on the bed! He had already vacuumed, done the dishes, straightened the living room, put away laundry, cleaned the bathroom and I think a few other things! This made me feel like i could actually relax and not feel completely rushed! That is a feeling i have not been familiar with all week or even for a little while (at least on a school night!) So my joy comes from the fact that he thought about me. He realized i may have needed a few minutes to relax and that brings me so much joy! Words cannot even say how much joy that brings me! Plainly put, he ROCKS! Thanks to my handsome hubby!


2. The second even that brought me joy is one of my co-workers. This week has already come with its little bit of drama and when i shared my feelings with another member of my team, she obviously knew i needed a little pick-me-up! The next day she waltzed into my classroom holding a box of Girl Scout Cookies! Its funny because right before the kids had come into the room (coming from PE) and were all talking about how my co-worker was holding Girl Scout Cookies. Despite the heads up from the kids (which in my mind i blew off as just kids talking), I was touched! This co-worker of mine is always so kind, compassionate and always ready to lend a listening ear. Words cannot express how blessed I am to have this person to work with. I know she knows how grateful I am, but it cannot be said enough. So, you know who you are, THANKS A BUNCH! BTW the cookies were the Lemonades and boy are they YUMMY!


So what brought you joy today? Or even this week?

Case of the Mondays and a Link UP!!

Wow, its been quite the Monday! Does anyone else find that Mondays may actually be calmer than Tuesdays? This is usually the case, but today my kiddos were not in their normal Monday form! Neither was theri teacher for that matter! I admit it, today was a day where i did not want to go. Truly i wanted to throw a tantrum instead of getting in my car... but alas, I went and it went OK. I just had a case of the Mondays!

So here's something exciting... I'm linking up about LOVE! 

Visit Funky First Grade Fun to see what other bloggers have said they LOVE! 

K so i am not completely able to figure out how to snag the document from the link up page. How does everyone do that? Help! So, my loves will be typed out. :( 

Here are my loves ... 

I love to watch movies with... 

My hubby! He's a good person to snuggle with when the scenes get too intense! 

I love to read books (place)...

By the pool or in bed! Especially on vacation by the pool! 

I love to shop for...

Shoes, clothes, and so much more! 

I love to collect...

Lately it seems that chapstick is my collectible item! 

I love to listen to... 

Country music! 

I love to eat...

Pasta, but pasta does not love my hips! I can only eat it sporadically. Ugh!

I love to talk about ... 

Anything really! My day, my students, crazy events, latest pinterest finds, blogging (its really new to me!), and so many more topics! 

I love to make... 

Anything! Cooking has really become a hobby of mine in the last few years. Also, I love to bake! 

I love to travel to... 

Anywhere! The next trip is already planned, Arizona here we come! Can't wait for baseball season! 

I love to teach... 

Literacy, Science, and Social Studies. I really enjoy teaching reading, but absolutely love using GLAD strategies for Science and Social Studies units! Anyone else use GLAD? 

I do hope you enjoyed my loves! Care to share yours? Link up! 

An Experiment to Share!

About 3 months ago our church began what was called a 60-60 experiment. It was truly a new idea for me. The goal in mind was to create a constant connection with our Lord. Here's the concept: for 60 days, we (as a church) would check in (AKA pray) every 60 minutes while we were awake. We were given different questions weekly to ask during these check in times such as: "how can I love in this moment?" and asked to turn the moment God-ward.

Today I thought I would share some of my reflections on this experiment. Let me begin by stating that this is definitely a good idea for some, but not for all people. I then begin to wonder how is it that those that don't/can't/or the "its too difficult for Christians" have that constant connection with God? What is it that helps to check in with our Lord and Savior? Well, I then revert back to the concept of habitual recollection that I once heard about. Habitual recollection is the concept that whenever your mind is not focused on something particular or when there is a pause, your mind would habitually remember to pray or speak to God in some way. This could also include having God incorporated into all your thoughts as well. This is something that I have tried to work on and feel that before the 60-60, it wasn't as effective. I was ready for something new.

The 60-60 experiment was a welcome idea for me. At first it was difficult but I was truly committed to giving it a real try. I found an app on my iPhone that helped to remind me of whatever I could type in every hour at a certain time. I chose to have my phone remind me at 10 minutes to the hour. By the end of the first week, I had definitely noticed a difference in my attitude. I felt excited to go through my average days to see what the Lord would put in my lap when I was in at least more of a constant connection with Him than before. Over time I cannot say each day was filled with me stopping each hour to connect. The truth is as a teacher, life can get CRAZY hectic and so often at the end of the school day i would look at my phone and see several reminders to "Talk to God." (See photo below of a that build up of reminders) And so at the end of the day, I would. Before I would write an IEP or beginning prep for the next day or week, I did. I prayed for my students and my stress level and really so much. I would also pray for personal situations as well.

I really enjoyed the 60-60. I feel it has helped me to stay connected to God in so many ways. It has even helped to create more of a habitual recollection for me and given me that umph to continue. So, my phone will continue to remind me to check in. I feel that i check in more often than before the experiment and now i am working on both, habitual recollection and staying connected! Let me know if you gave it a try, even if for a day or two. I would love to hear your thoughts! Also, for all you teachers out there, how do you incorporate prayer into your day? There is nothing like a teacher who prays. I hope you would become a praying teacher if you aren't already!

One Month Down!

Ok! I'm back! 

It' not like me to skip more than on e day of blog posts! So needless to say, it has been a busy and stressful week! Thank God for the weekend! I have already enjoyed making my own schedule and attempting to get stuff accomplished at my own pace. One of those things is blog posts! So here it is! 

Yesterday, was 1 full month of blog posts! So I thought I would share a few of my stats and reflections. This will also go along with my favorite blogging tools thus far! 

Busy as a Honey Bee Current Stats:

Followers: 9

Audience: Americans, Russians, and 1 German! :)

Highest # of page views for one post: 68 (it was my post entitled "Link Party: A gift for the baker or cook!")

Page views all time history: 1,076

Published comments: 14

When i entered this place entitled the "blogosphere" by many well seasoned bloggers, /i felt terribly overwhelmed. I felt completely inexperienced and unprepared, but i knew i REALLY wanted to get started. And so I did and here we are! I truly understand what it means to other bloggers to get comments and people to visit your blog. It feels a bit like I suddenly have a voice and at least a small portion of the world cares to read it! In one word, blogging has been .... REWARDING ... thus far. I don't anticipate that it will change. I am highly motivated to get my stats up and am working on some petty cool posts. Time and energy are truly the keys to blogging! One other thing that helps is a memory that remembers to take pictures in my classroom! 

So, in my month of blogging, what has helped me the most? Here are my top 5 items. 

1. My composition book - this is where i plan every little thing that has to do with my blog. I write down websites, blogs to add to my reader, where to find things i like, notes, thoughts, ideas for posts, and even where i write down my blogging schedule for each post. Here's my composition book! 

2. One other thing i have become addicted to is my Blogger Dashboard! This site is great. It shows stats, an overview, lists posts, and helps to really make blogging a little bit easier. I am totally guilty of checking my dashboard often. (Guess i just like to see that people read what I am writing. You can see blogger in the background in the above picture. 

3. Another tool that has helped me is Leelou Blogs. On this site i searched through all the templates and really tried to find one that was not commonly seen and one that also fit my blog and personality. I currently love my little template and think it will suit this blog for a while. Thanks to Leelou Blogs for the help! 

4. Other blogs have truly been an inspiration for me and this little part of the blogging world!. I am often reading blogs and some of my favorites include Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits, The Girl Who Ate Everything, Somewhat Domestiated, Six Sisters Stuff, I'm Mrs. Keller, and The Teacher Wife. All of these blogs are visited daily by little ol' me! I love to read about everyone's adventures and really find many many ideas from these blogs as well as a long list of others! Thanks to all these ladies for the daily musings! 

5. And last but TRULY not least - I LOVE LOVE LOVE PINTEREST! This site ahs really truly helped to inspire me even more. I have found recipes to try and alter to suit my husband and I (we try to make all recipes healthier, or at least I do for us!) I visit this site or my app on the iPad or iPhone everyday! It is terribly addiction and I have fond 1 too many projects that i wish i could complete. I have been inspired and don't know where this website has been! It is just what many crafty people want! If you would like follow me on Pinterest  and check out my boards by clicking below! 

Well, that's it ... Happy One Month to Busy as a Honey Bee! 

Have a great day! 

Finding joy in Yoga

This week was tough! Again I am reminded of how caught in the moment I can get! If a day is terrible, then I am wrapped up in that feeling and I am learning that I have not learned to move on as much as I thought I had!

Regardless, I still have joy. 

This week an individual yoga session with my sister-in-law brought me joy. She has become a yoga instructor and while my husband was helping to fix her stereo system in her new yoga studio, she gave me a one and a half hour class. It was really neat to practice some breathing exercises. I realized how much I truly still have such stiff lungs! (I had pneumonia in 2006 that has left some scar tissue in my lungs) I even got to work on my splits! Yes, that's right, this girl is really close to being able to do the splits both ways. It is something i have worked really hard on and though it takes a lot of work to get there, I can do the splits! It was exciting to spend time with my SIL and also "see what she has done to the place." 

If you are in the area, she has a new yoga studio located in Orange. Here's the link for more information: Path of Light Yoga. She's an awesome instructor - she has made me sore for days and I loved how she challenged me! I realize how much I need to be doing yoga more regularly, rather than infrequently as it has been.