Royal Wedding Thoughts

Okay, so I really had no plans to watch the royal nuptials of Prince William and Kate M. I'd barely been listening to all the media coverage that has been constant since the couple's engagement. People were talking about waking up at 4AM to start watching coverage of the ceremony, and I was thinking 'Y'all are crazyyy'. Then late last night I was like 'What the heck, I'll wake up for the thing'; I asked my soon-to-be step-mom when the thing really started because in my words 'If I'm gonna waste sleep over history then I want to cut to the chase and skip all the pre-gaming.'

So I snapped awake this morning at 5:30, clicked on the TV and got sucked in. Yep, I was mesmerized even as all the royal family was arriving. I don't know, maybe I just felt like there was something slightly magical about the whole thing, just slightly.

I fell in love with Kate's dress (and her sister, Pippa, looked stunning in her dress as well), and my favorite moment was when Kate got to the altar and William turned to her and you could tell he was letting her know she looked beautiful; both were flashing smiles at each other, definitely a sweet moment. I thought the two kisses (first time there were two) they gave on the balcony were perfect. I was very pleased and glad I decided to lose the sleep and watch the whole thing. That is all. Cheerio :)

Source: Foxnews.com

Reflections

Some days I feel defeated. True story-teaching can be really defeating. (And for all you full-time teachers out there, you probably agree even moreso since you do it 5 days a week). The victory is found in the hope that God has called me to do it, so I know everything’s gonna be alright. If God is for me then who can be against me? That’s right, no one. But still, some days it feels like the doubt overshadows the faith. And then God comes on the scene in all his amazing ways that still blow me away. Let me just fill you in on some reflections from this semester of interning:

I went on a field trip in March with my OSTE’s Kindergarten class; I rode with a parent to the final destination while the students rode the Amtrak train. I am so glad and so thankful I got the opportunity to travel with this parent. We talked about where we were from, where I go to school and where she went to school, her kids, magnet schools, and then I mentioned Daystar. She exclaimed that she used to live right near Daystar and she knew of Pastor Allen. I also mentioned Urban Ministries and we started talking about Grace Community Church in Greensboro and the awesome work they do with the homeless and her knowledge of the church. She told me about where she spent a lot of time with her grandparent who lived in the Burlington area and she explained how the area has changed over time. She told me all about her grandmother, now her kids’ great-grandmother and how she is still going strong in her 90’s. We had been driving around downtown Burlington looking for coffee and happened upon two places that were closed before we hit one that was open. When we reached the second shop, I insisted on paying for a coffee while she insisted right back that she was going to pay for me. She looked at me and said something to the effect of ‘Considering you go to Daystar, I assume you know of the Grace of Jesus Christ’. I smiled widely and said ‘Yes mam I do’. This parent who bought me a cup of coffee and took the time to have great conversation with me just made my day! And the funny thing is, God knew that was exactly what I needed. He knew that I needed to see the classroom from a different perspective. I believe that deep down, most parents want was is best for their child and they love them immensely. Each child I teach and will teach is someone’s child. It made teaching so much more personal for me to have this interaction with this particular parent and I’m so thankful for it.

Reflection number 2: The day I got to spend with 11 EC students at a festival, wow! I’ve always said I could never work with Exceptional Children, but after taking the time to learn and interact with these brilliant kids, I have completely reversed that statement. This was a diverse group of students and their personalities and needs were all different; it was a blessing to see these students so curious, engaged, and they loved to just be around me and hold my hand or ask questions. Again, God knew exactly what I needed. It definitely revived me and my desire to teach.

All of this reflecting noted, I am officially done interning for my junior year (How crazy is it that I graduate in about one year!!), and will be interning and student teaching in 5^th grade at the school I interned at during my fall semester. Wooot J

Banana Chocolate Chip MultiGrain Waffles w/ Peanut Butter

I know my last 2 posts have been recipes... but food and cooking is amazing! My blog becomes a recipe archive for me in case I can't find one I want to make :) So here's another one for ya:

Banana Chocolate Chip MultiGrain Waffles w/ Peanut Butter

This one resulted from me using up several things I had in the pantry.

- I used a pre-made pancake/waffle mix where you just add water but you could use your own mix recipe if you have one. So, just make that mix like you would normally.

- I also had a dry cereal that is a combination of grains, soy, and flaxseed, to add some fiber and healthiness to the pre-made mix; I added in 1/4 cup of that. You could use plain flaxseed or bran if you had it on hand.

- Then, after I combined my pre-made mix with the dry cereal and water, I added in 1/4 c. chocolate chips. You can add in as little or as much chocolate chips as you want. I add them so there is just enough in the batter, so the waffles won't be too rich.

- After you mix the choco chips in, grab that ripe banana or two that is sitting in your fruit bowl and mash them up. Add that mash to your batter and mix to make sure everything is combined. Again, you can add in as little or as much banana as you want. I don't like to be overwhelmed with the taste of banana so I used one banana for about 1 & 1/4 c. of dry mix.

- Now, it's time to cook those waffles (you could do this with pancakes if you so desire).

- Take warm waffles and spread with peanut butter (I use a peanut butter that is low in sodium and sugar, so the waffles are not too sweet w/ the peanut butter).

Enjoy!