Snow Day!

Like I said last night, getting a text message that we were out of school absolutely thrilled me.  I'm usually the kind of girl who is looking forward to school, working hard and learning.  Not this time.  Although I tried so hard over the weekend, I couldn't help but dread it.  I've never been like that!  Fortunately, God helped us out and sent some "heavenly dandruff," as my Honors English II teacher from last semester liked to call it.  I am very thankful to have an extra day to relax and get things done here at home.

After sleeping in and getting a morning workout done, I dug into some of the Toffee Figgy Muffins I made yesterday.  They are a success!  So yummy, healthy, and moist!  Everything you want in a muffin, right?

 

No way!! I just received another message already cancelling school tomorrow, too!  This is great!  Even though it is not supposed to snow much more, the temperatures are the coldest we've had all year (and maybe last year, too).  Wind chills are also sub zero.

This was the noon-time weather on my iPhone.

We're walkin in a winter wonderland....

This is off my back porch.

This is down my street in one direction from the front porch.

And the other way!  I never get my hopes up for snow anymore, because our weather people don't always accurately (or even relatively close sometimes) predict the weather.  I woke up to go to the bathroom around 5:00 this morning, and decided to walk to the kitchen to get an ice pack to cool me down, and looked out the window to a very pleasant surprise! 

 

Time to get to work around here!

 

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Okay, I'm back.  Yeah, that seemed fast to you because I just saved this page and came back to it around 7 hours later.

This is a project that I had been wanting to do all winter, but couldn't find a cold stretch to make it last until today!  I started it last night so it would be good and frozen by today.  I used to do this when I was really little.  The idea came from either a magazine or show I used to watch that had examples with a couple drawings like this, but most of it was a bird feeder.  They froze bird feed and hung it up so the birdees wouldn't starve in the cold weather!

Last night when I chose this verse, I began to like it even more when I realized how ironic it was.  God "is a consuming fire," and I was freezing the verse and hanging it outside in the single digits.

All you do to make these simple decorations or deck ornaments, as I said in this case, is tear off some clear saran wrap, like what you use to cover food.  Decorate it, freeze it in a plate, bowl, or any container, stick a wire, string, or anything to use as a hanger into the water, and there you have it!  Everything freezes together, then you can bend the sides of the container when it thaws a little, and take it out and hang it up!

The verse on this one got frozen a little deep in the water, but it is Ecclesiastes 11:9.

Isn't he just precious?

Frisco is inside now; Dad bought a kennel to put him in in the basement to save him from the cold.

Dogs can photobomb, too!

I just love the innocence of a sweet pet.

 

Now it's almost time for that BCS National Championship game!

Last Friday of Break

I am very sad to say that today is my last real day of break.  Yes, I still have the weekend, but I would usually be off from school those days.

However, I am determined to live it up while I can!

Two verses that I decorated my AP government and politics binder for next semester with go great with that mindset.

"Be happy, young one, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy..."  Eccelesiates 11:9

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation always be full of grace..."  Colossians 4:5-6

This afternoon, Mom took me to "The Corner of Happy and Healthy" to get my flu shot.  I love the Band-Aid.

I have been trying to get rid of leftover and close-to-expiring foods, so today I made this smoothie as a late-afternoon snack before going out to dinner at Akita.  It has milk, lots and lots of grapes, a banana, a little frozen mixed fruit, and protein powder.  The grapes were the new thing I tried adding, and I will definitely have to remember that; it was fantastic!

After dinner, Mom wanted to go to TJMaxx, since we were so close.  I love going in there.  The items in stock are forever-changing, and there are a ton of things you may not find anywhere else (and not any cheaper for that matter).  This is an organic granola that I thought looked awesome; I mean, how can you go wrong with carrot cake?  I was right, it is amazingly tasty.  I came right home and ate it with some frozen yogurt and greek yogurt, which is shown mixed up below.  It has carrot, pineapple, granola of course, pecans, raisins, and a few other things that aren't obvious to me right now.  I just love getting new, healthy foods to try!

Not Quite "Love/Hate Relationship" with Storms

Everyone experiences different hardships in their life.  We may see some as much worse or much more menial than others, but they all affect us in our own way.  Praying for each girl on the cross country team last night, I had this neat analogy pop in my mind.

When I was a little girl, I hated storms; I feared tham like crazy.  I would cry and be so afraid.  When I woud have problems, pains, or things going wrong or not my way, I would worry, get angry, make worse decisions out of selfishness, and have a bad attitude all around. 
Now that I'm older, I don't always like when bad weather storms come, but they don't scare me; they are actually interesting and entertaining.  I find ways to enjoy myself and make the most of the change in atmosphere.  In the same way, as I have matured in my faith, I have come to appreciate the storms in my life, becuase I know that God sent them to "make all things work together for" my good (Romans 8:28).  I may not like the interruption that the difficulty may bring, but I have the power to go through it knowing the end result will be better than the beginning.  "The end of a matter is better than the beginning and patience better than pride."  Ecclesiates 7:8  I have learned to (at least give it my best shot to) be joyful in all circumstances, look for the good, make the most of every moment, and appreciate the low moments there to keep me humble, as well as the high moments.

If you are down in a rut, I encourage you to listen to this song by Casting Crowns called Praise You in this Storm.