5 Hobbies in a Hat

I don't talk a lot about my boyfriend on here (intentionally) but he really is very good for me. Something he suggested earlier (along with blowing up the TV) really stuck with me.

Aaron was curious what would happen if I took a week and, instead of watching TV, I took that time and really threw myself into something. He asked me if there was something I have never tried before that I really wanted to do. Well, not that I can think of... but there are things I used to do that I have been putting on the back burner.

Because of this, Aaron suggested I write down 5 of my long-lost hobbies and put them in a hat. I will pick one and then for the next week I will focus all my free time on that hobby. No TV. Probably no Facebook. Limited Words with Friends.

Ok, so my 5 "hobbies" are: Creating my own art, working out, scrapbooking, reading, and organizing my living space. Sure, you can say working out and organizing really aren't hobbies, but I need both! Blogging is a hobby, too, but I've been doing well with it this year.

And the winner is...

Reading! It's going to be a peaceful week. :)

I'm blowing up my TV.

It all started with a statement from my boyfriend. "I just wonder what would happen if you blew up your TV."

We were talking today and he mentioned (like he has a few times before) it concerns him I don't seem to have a hobby. Sure, I paint, but I am always doing that either for a class or because I've been commissioned. I don't work on my own art. I like to read but I never do except for my Bible a little before bed. I scrapbook but my supplies have been in the closet for years. I like to sing but I'm not in a choir anymore. I actually would like to get my apartment organized and get in shape but I can't seem to find the time.

Well, God dropped plenty of time into my lap this week (4 snow days to be exact) and do you know what I did with them? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I sat on my couch and watched TV. Not what was on the TiVo... no, I got through that in half a day. I watched LIVE TV. The kind where you can't fast forward through the commercials. I never do that. But given 4 days inside that is exactly what I did.

Here are the things I needed to do: Take down Christmas decorations, clean apartment, wash laundry, wash dishes, finish a painting, start another painting, write lesson plans, and research topics for my Master's paper.

I took down my tree and washed some clothes and dishes. Oh, and I baked a cake.

So today when Aaron made his comment I could not be more on board. I'm starting tonight. I don't care that it's the Super Bowl and that it's in town. The Cowboys aren't playing and the best commercials are always online the next day anyway. My TiVo will catch Glee. I have work to do.

Skripper

I learned a new word last week.

The #1 reason to remove all receipts before bringing bags to school for the students' clay project:

Before you ask, yes, a student found it. I threw the entire staff under the bus and said all the teachers had donated bags. Then I reminded the students that most of the staff are married... and they are being responsible adults by protecting themselves.

Resolution 2011: Do Less

I've been gone a while but now I am back. Hello again.

The sermon today (like many days) particularly hit home. Our pastor challenged us to do less. The three specific challenges were 1) Worry less, 2) Stop trying to please God, and 3) Do less. Number two may sound confusing, but when we break it down... God sees Christ when he looks at us. He doesn't love us more when we do good deeds, just like he doesn't love us less when we sin. Our good works do not get us into Heaven, and our sins do not send us to hell.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (New International Version)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Or...

Ephesians 2:8-9 (The Message)
Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

The reason the "do less" sermon impacts me is because I am not comfortable being still. I become anxious when I am not busy. I think I fill my life with activity to keep my mind "busy" and not worry. A therapist once reminded me that we are human beings, not human "doings."

All this "busyness" is not healthy. It has brought me worry and pain. I have neglected family and friends because of it. I am spread so thin that I cannot do anything to the best of my ability. I often think of the art I could create if I committed to painting full-time. I have made the comment that I would be a better teacher if I wasn't in graduate school... to become a better teacher! It doesn't make sense.

2 Thessalonians 3:11 (New American Standard Bible)
For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.

So this year, instead of tacking on more, I am doing less.

Less worry
Less judgment
Less procrastination
Less alcohol
Less commitments (this is going to be tough)
Less TV
Less iPhone games
Less Facebook
Less high-sugar food
Less high-fat, high-cholesterol food
Less cussing
Less negativity
Less gossip
Less "busybody."

Child-driven Education

Teachers: Take 18 minutes out of your conference period and watch this. Don't argue with me, just do it.

Child Nutrition

According to this picture, we are feeding our children what, exactly?

Could have probably added a little orange to that yellow...