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. 

A Simple Text Message

For Teacher Tip Tuesday, I have decided to share a little of what my day was like today. Of course this is without sharing immense amounts of details, but let me just say CRAZY does not even begin to encapsulate this day! Lots of kids in the time out room all while my aides and I are trying to juggle and keep the remaining students learning. After school when the day was done and I ran back to my classroom to pick something up for a student (who was still there and didn't leave til after 4:30!!!!), I glanced and noticed my phone that was still safely on my desk. (Somehow it is really interesting to me that life can explode in a classroom and then your phone is still safely on your desk in plain view!)

Anyway, when I finally looked at my phone I realized how meaningful a moment of encouragement can be. I subscribe to a text message that our church sends out daily. It really is neat and can really offer a great nudge in the right direction. Today's text was: 

"'Thank you!' Say it often today. Thank God for 'being born on 3rd base' and let Him expand your heart of gratitude and generosity this week"

After having had a frustrating afternoon where I had almost been bit (3 times), my hair pulled, and being spit on, I was reminded of why I am here. Why I teach. Why I step foot into my classroom each day. I was reminded that I did not need to just be grateful for a job, but truly grateful for the opportunity to teach my young student, even in this moment. I got the privilege, just as I do each and every day, to teach my student compassion and forgiveness. I may not always recognize these feelings, but truly I am blessed to be teaching a great group of little guys! 

In addition to this I am grateful for the support of co-workers who quite often ROCK! Yesterday I got an encouraging text from a former aide who just wanted to let me know that she would be praying for us! How amazingly blessed we all are! I was born on 3rd! (The reference refers to that taught by my pastor over the weekend... listen to it here! (Thanks John for your amazing words, they are truly from a place far above!) Basically, we are given much and often do not even realize how much we have, even aside from the material items.)

So to my fellow educators, I highly suggest something that can remind you the reason you do what you do. Day can get busy and cluttered with small and minuscule details. Frustrations come as often as the sun's rays, but focusing on those negative thoughts are not where our minds need to be. For me it is staying focused on God, for others it may be just a reminder of the higher goal is. Either way, as teachers we must find ways to encourage ourselves. The following are some ideas to give yourself a start! 

• A daily text from a friend or a family member to help encourage you. Or even an SMS text from an automated site. It's amazing how even the automated stuff can sometimes hit us just right!     
• You could set your phone to remind you at least one time a day to be grateful. Use the calendar, a fancy app, or even a sticky note posted to your computer screen. You could even start a group of people at your school to help encourage one another! Like this one! 
• Find encouraging quotes, like the ones here, to write down and put in your lesson plan book, around your desk, in your car, wherever you will see it! 
• Work on memorizing a quote or a Bible verse to help you keep calm, stay focused and be grateful for the opportunity you have been given to teach GREAT minds! Some great quotes can be found just by doing a simple Google search. Here are a couple links for that - Encouraging Quotes for Teachers, Encouraging Quotes, or even Desktop Quotes. 

Whatever it is you choose, I speak from experience, it helps in times of stress and frustration.  I hope this list helps you! If you have a suggestion to add, please feel free to comment! If you are not an educator, but if you now one, never be afraid to say you are praying for a teacher. Send a word to encourage them during the day, by email , text or even a note! If you are a parent, it helps to send a thank you note to your child's teacher. If you dont know a teacher, say a quick prayer every time you see a crossing gaurd or pass a school. Every little bit of encouragement helps! 

PS. Thanks to those who sent those GREAT message of encouragement to my phone this week! You have no idea the impact. You know who you are! 

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Taco Beans and Rice

YAWN....So slepy tonight! Its been a long day... i've been up since 4:30 this morning and i can totally swear i hear my bed calling! Can't wait! But i also do not want to neglect my blog! I guess the name of this little corner of the blogging world sums up my last few days. 

Tonight, I thought i would review what I have planned for meals for this week and then I thought i would share my lovely Saturday "girl's day" with a good friend! 

First, the meals we are going to eat... Our lunches will be from the lovely Girl Who Ate Everything. This week we are trying out her Fruit and Nut Salad in which I am using my candied walnuts (left over from my Christmas giveaway treat) and without the apples (mostly because I forgot to chop them up and include them into the baggies!) It will definitely be tasty either way! Maybe later on in the week i will decide to get rid of a few apples to put on the side! 

For our dinners, I will share a recipe that i have changed and altered based on my preference. My preference in this case would be: PROTEIN! It is originally a vegetarian recipe, but i add ground turkey. Without further ado...

Taco Beans and Rice

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What you will need:

1 1/2 lb ground turkey

3 large bell peppers (I like red, yellow, and orange) 

1 bag of chopped onions (approx. 2 cups)

1-2 15 oz. cans of kidney beans, rinsed

1 packet taco seasonings

2 cups brown or white rice, frozen or cooked by you!

Shredded cheddar cheese

Restaurant Style Salsa - as much as desired (mild, medium or hot - you choose)

Optional: 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, Cilantro, tortilla chips, sour cream

Here's what to do: 

1. Brown the ground turkey in a dutch oven, making sure to break it into small pieces. While this is browning, chop the bell peppers. Once the turkey is beginning to brown up a little more and most of the pink is gone, put in all chopped onion and bell peppers. Let the turkey and veggies cook for about 5-7 minutes. 

2. Once the veggies have softened a bit you can add the kidney beans and the taco seasoning and let simmer  for another 10 minutes. 

3. Serve over rice and top with cheese and salsa. 

Optional: Skip the rice and scoop up with tortilla chips instead. You can also top with sour cream! 

Enjoy! 

Here's what it looks like:

Hubby said this was a particularly good batch. I think it was cause I happened to add a little bit of taco seasoning cause I had an opened package and an unopened package that I put in this time. He likes the spice! 

Ok... BIG YAWN!!! Off to shower and find my bed! 

PS. I did a little blogger planning yesterday! Excited about what's to come! Even got a pretty good idea of what I might do for a link up party! Gonna let it fester a bit to see which idea I like best! (Plus I gotta figure out how to do it!)