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Showing posts from 2012

Swirling, whirling thoughts and prayer request

So many thoughts are bumping around in my head.  I haven't written in a while and my mind and spirit can tell.  It is a sort of catharsis, or therapy even, to just punch out on the keyboard what my mind can sometimes not even categorize to file away.  So many things have changed in what feels almost like a whirlwind that I have no control or power over.  I have a job.  After 7 years at home I am now, once again, part of the working world.  And WHEW  had I forgotten what that world was like. These last 7 years I have changed so much.  I have confronted my abuse and found a way to deal and cope.  I have removed temptations from my life in the safe environment of my own little nest, and found great relationship with and comfort from my Lord and Savior.  But I had no idea how sheltered from the World I truly was. God gave me a gift that I wasn't even aware of til not.  Not only was my home a nursery for my growing and developing children; it was also a nursery for mu growing and

A man with a bag....a challenge to apathy

As I was driving to robotics training out at TSTC today, I witnessed something truly amazing and rare.  At the intersection of Steinbeck Bend and Lake Shore drive, in the middle of a grassy island separating the intersections, there was a gentle old man.  His body was worn; his back slumped, and his gait arthritic--but he boldly wore a smile as he gingerly carried his plastic bag.  At first I was concerned.  What was he doing?  Why was he in the grass at the middle of this intersection and why was he carrying a bag?  And then I witnessed what America used to be about...that thing that made us all want to stand and salute our flag as one nation UNDER GOD....that thing that brought us all together after 911....that thing that somehow, somewhere along the way, the younger generations and even the nation as a whole lost sight of.  What am I talking about?  I am talking about an elderly man in the middle of a Central Texas intersection in the midst of the deadly Texas heat carrying a garbag

The Sub Tub: Be prepared for a substitute teacher

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As part of my MCC certification course I was assigned the task of making an organized resource for a substitute.  I am a pinterest junkie and I had seen the idea of a sub tub.  This is a hanging file folder tub with assignment choices, seating charts, procedures, pictures of where work should be turned in for each class and important locations of supplies etc, classroom rules, a map of the school, important phone numbers and even student pictures (if you feel really creative). I know that I will have 2 classes this year, 7th grade life science and 8th grade earth science so I needed resources for both preps.  So this is how I went about conquering this task... I began by choosing activities that any sub could handle with little or no science experience--22 for each subject.  Yeah, I know that is allot but there is a method to my madness.  Every activity in my tub should take about 30 min of class time.  Since kids are a bit rambunctious anytime there is a sub, I figured 30 min shoul

How to prepare for the Composite Science 8-12 TEXES certification exam

My goodness!  It has been a while since I have written.  It has been a wild few months with some great achievements, a new job, cool training, lots of studying and some awesome experiences.  What I feel to be one of my greatest accomplishments is passing the composite science TEXES exam.  So, I thought I would take the time to blog about how I prepared for it. I know that when I was getting ready to take the test, I was a bit discouraged with the lack of reliable resources about how I should prepare. Let me begin with a bit of background.  Everyone will approach this test from difference backgrounds, experience etc.  If you are right out of college with a good understanding of Chemistry and Physics as well as basic Biology concepts you may be able to barely pass the exam--but pass none-the-less.  However, if you are like me--several years removed from any sort of formal education, you are going to have to work for it.  I graduated Baylor in 2003 with a BA in Biology.  I had 17+ cours

Help Paint Waco Blue 2013

This year's Paint Waco Blue Campaign has been a real learning experience and a successful fundraising campaign for our local Family Abuse Center.  To expand the campaign next year I am looking for donors/sponsors who would be willing to purchase pinwheels for one, of not multiple PinWheel gardens next year. According to the official Pinwheels for Prevention site : Join us in preventing the abuse and neglect of our nation's children by participating in Pinwheels for Prevention™, Prevent Child Abuse America's campaign introducing the pinwheel as the new symbol for child abuse and neglect prevention nationwide. The pinwheel represents Prevent Child Abuse America's efforts to change the way our nation thinks about prevention, focusing on community activities and public policies that prioritize prevention right from the start to make sure child abuse and neglect never occur. Nearly 900,000 pinwheels have been displayed since April 2008. Join us by bringing Pinwhe

Tim and the Keith Family: What happened and how to help

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Many of you have seen information posted on social media sites about lil Tim Keith but the information is choppy and in different locations.  I have decided to compile it all here so people can learn about what happened and then how they can help this sweet family. Joey, Eva and Tim were an integral part of The Church at Tree Lake deaf ministry and family up until just a few months ago when they moved to Washington D.C.  They were sorely missed.  Just this month the family was met with tragedy.  5 year old Tim was struck by a taxi in New York City as the family was enjoying a vacation.  Here is an article that appeared in the New York Daily News: "A deaf 5-year-old boy was fighting for his life after he was mowed down by a cab in Brooklyn — as his horrified parents, who also can’t hear, looked on. Timothy Keith ’s mother and father were inconsolable after their first family trip to the city turned to heartbreak Saturday. With tears streaming down her face, Timothy’s mother

Soft Launch: Paint Waco Blue/April is Child Abuse Awareness month

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Add this ribbon as you social media profile pic for the month of April. As many of you know, I am a child abuse survivor. This year I have felt led to organize a grassroots awareness campaign for the Waco area.  Most people have heard about Breast Cancer Awareness Month and eagerly wear pink in support of survivors, but very few people know that April is Child Abuse Awareness month (and interestingly enough ALSO my birthday month!).  Would you be willing to wear blue this April? I am calling my efforts:  Paint Waco Blue.  Since this will be it's first year in existence, we are starting small with the sole goal of increasing awareness of the silent epidemic of child abuse in Waco and the surrounding areas.  The campaign will consist of various 'blue' items for purchase, a blue hair extension a new limited edition eye shadow event at The Dollhouse in Hewitt, a discounted photo shoot from Heartisitc Photography if you wear blue, and an informative presentation by the

Marshall Speaking Engagement

Today I visited with the entire fourth grade class of South Marshall Elementary school.   I made the connection via an old mascoting sponsor and my sister’s coach’s wife—Amy Purifoy.   It was a great day.   I was asked to motivate the students to write.   I really struggled with my angle for weeks, but when Jason and I took our 10 th anniversary getaway God granted me a great topic:   Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me…=FALSE!!!! Upon arriving and setting up this morning, Mrs. Purifoy introduced me to the kids and I started things off right—I immediately gave the children sugar.   Mind you, my presentation was at 8:30—first thing Monday morning.   So after passing around the bucket of gum, and trashcan for their papers I asked the kids to write down 5 words to describe their gum to someone who had never chewed gum, didn’t know what it was and had never even heard of it.   They did great.   I got some really good vocabulary from them—words like tart, smo

Airrosti...there are no words (OK there are a few)

Today was my release  appointment from Dr. Hill, my airrosti provider.  I cannot effectively put into words the relieff I feel from having gone through this treatment program.  I have spent YEARS (you can read the prior blog post entitled Da y 7: End of fast and Airrosti for the background on that) suffering in pain and only finding doctors who wanted to either medicate me, electrocute me, or stick a huge needle into my spinal column.  I had five 1-hour Airrosti sessions and I now know the cause of my pain, how to retrain my body to stop creating the pain, and where to go if the pain returns--no narcotics necessary. Upon first visiting Dr. Hill I was amazed at the force he had to use to straighten out my fascia and relax my muscles.  It was intense!!!  I used to poke fun at my husband because he REFUSED to rub my neck, sometimes even if I were in tears, because he said it hurt his hands.  I just thought he was being a big baby.  But then I got to truly experience what it took to do t

Reposted from email: Father of Columbine Victim and his speech to Congress

Columbine student's father 12 years later Definitely worth the read! Guess our national leaders didn't expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful. They were ill-prepared for what he was about to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, teacher, politician, sociologist, psychologist, and so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript: "Since the dawn of creation, there has been both good and evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of vi

New Life Resolution Day 8: Quiet Time Reveal, The Power of the Living Word

So today is the second day that I am post juice fast.  I still feel awesome.  I am eating mostly fruits and veggies with a tad it of meat when I go out, Like Wednesday night dinner last night at Erath.  But I am avoiding junk food.  God called me to quiet time with Him this morning.  My quiet time is an everyday goal but I will be honest and admit that it far too easily falls by the way-side. I sat down this morning with my Bible and prayed for God to reveal his will for me to me and this is what I found.  I opened to the middle of the book of Daniel and I was intrigued by the fasting vision Daniel had of a huge war with rules that sounded uncannily like our governments today.  I read 2-3 chapters and decided that I needed to start at the beginning.  What I found litterly made me call out to God and immediately call my husband. Daniel 1:8-16 8-10 But Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king's food or drinking his wine, so he asked the head of the pa

Day 7: End of fast and Airrosti

So I ended my juice fast last night. I ate some salsa, guacamole and chips. I was having a hard time concentrating and yes I could have just pushed through but I am not my only responsibility. I have 2 precious little girls in my care and when my fog started to effect my driving I figured it was time to pull the plug. In all I lost 10 lbs in 6 days...not too bad...but weight loss was not my primary goal. Don't get me wrong, it was a great side-effect of the fast but not the greatest. Let me tell you what!!!!!! I feel AMAZING! I woke this morning and the only thing that sounded the least bit good was pineapple and strawberries with a cup of coffee and a dab of soy milk in the coffee for creamer. Not too far of a divergence from my fast diet except for the caffeine and the fact that I actually got to chew something. The fog has lifted and I am soooo very energized. Normally with my swelling and arthritis normal, everyday tasks can be difficult for me to accomplish. I am usually let

Airriosti visit 2/Juice fast day 6

Good energy today.  Feeling good about my decision to make it a 10day fast.  Thirty days is just not feasible for me as this time.  I plan to eat healthy for 1-2 weeks and may be revisit a longer juice fast depending on how I feel.  It is doing good so far though--I just miss chewing! I had my 2nd airriosti visit today.  OUCH!  Airiosti is a intense form of deep muscle manipulation that focuses on the fascia surrounding the muscles.  I have had severe neck pain for 5+ years.  I have bulging discs and twisted vertebra--I was told that these were the source of my pain.  WRONG!  Countless muscle relaxers, a neurosurgeon and one epidural cortisone shot later I found myself here, at Airriosti.  I am so very thankful that I ended up here. I wont lie to you, it HURTS.  I get nauseous and have almost fainted.  I am terribly sore the day after even when I follow orders and ice, but the pain is diminishing.  I can fall asleep at night without a heating pad or some crazy construction of pillows

Morning of day 5

So I am definitely waking and rising alot easier.  I have never been a morning person, I am actually that person who grumbles moodily until I ingest copious amount of coffee and sit unbothered for some number of minutes.  But not this morning.  Jason woke me to tell me it was time to get up and I thought, ah maaannnn, but then got up and at em with great ease.  Made our juice, had my quiet time, stripped 2 beds, tended to a sick kid all before I normally would have had a chance to drink that first cup of coffee.  I can live with this. Yesterday evening was BAAADDDD HARD!  I wanted to eat anything and everything.  I DO NOT like KFC and even their commercial on tv was making my mouth water. I know myself and as of now I fear that I am going to have a hard time not binging when I break this fast.  But for now I will just worry myself with today. Cheers!

Green Smoothie/juice fast Evening of day 4

Not gonna lie.  It has been a hard day.  I want to eat everything, even the mediocre corn dogs the kids had this evening.  I had juice for breakfast and lunch and then a smoothie for dinner.  I think that I am favoring the juice.  The smoothies just seem to have too much pulp for my liking. Went to church today and crashed when I came home.  I seriously napped for 4 hours.  I am ready for the fatigue to lift.  When is it supposed to lift?  As I sat down this evening to my smoothie I told my hubby that I didnt know if I could do 30 days.  I am not really struggling with the physical pangs of hunger but I am struggling with emotionally wanting to just EAT!  I like food.  I like to eat...no, I LOVE to eat.  I guess that is how I got to be a whopping 300 lbs. Asking for your prayers...

Green Smoothie and juice fast morning of day 3

It is the morning of day 3, and so far so good.  I am still in the early stages of detox.  I am tired, lethargic and I had a monsterous headache yesterday but I have n ot really been hungry.  As of this morning I do not have a headache, that is good news.  I have been combining green smoothies and juice.  I am using this method mostly to cut cost.  It takes ALOT of produce to get 12 oz of juice.  I am juicing the less palateable veggies and then putting that juice into my smoothies.  I am also drinking some of the juices straight, like the famous MEAN GREEN juice. Some of the things I am using are spinach, squash, eggplant, pineapple, ginger, lemon, lime, orange, apple, bananna, celery, bell pepper, blackberries, grapes, carrots, pears, etc... Thus far 6lbs lost.

Fast begins tomorrow---surpise from hubby

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So my fast begins tomorrow morning.  Jason went grocery shopping tonight to get all my fruits, veggies etc and got me a great suprise.  We were unpacking all the goods and Jason kept acting weird.  He kept laughing at me.  I thought he was making fun of me for doing the juice fast/smoothie fast because of the Jim Carey In Living Color Skit  that he showed me the other day. So I made a big deal about him not making fun of me.  I wanted him to tell me why he kept laughing and the he asked me where my blender I had set out on the counter had came from.  I was sooo confused.  He unplugged my blender and started to put it up.  I was freaking out.  I had no clue what he was doing and then I looked down!  All along I had been standing next too, touching and evening at times moving the box of a brand new juicer!!!!!  So he WAS making fun of me all along but not for wanting to do this fast--because I am a big fat doof!!  I love my man!

New Life Resolution--Green Smoothie fast preplanning

I have come across lots of information lately that has all pointed towards whole foods, raw foods and low animal based foods diet as the ideal diet for autoimmune dosorders.  I have watched things like "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", "FoodMatters" and "Forks over Knives" among other things. I have a fibromyalgia diagnosis, but it seems to be partially if not completely, in remission.  I have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.  I am considered pre-lupus---and I am only 30 years old. And as of today I am considering a visit to the doctor for a test for Cushings disease. I have been on methotrexate for 3 years, muscle relaxers for 3 years, antidepressants for 4 years, blood pressure meds for 2 years and things do not seem to be getting better.  I am going to greatly humble myself here and admit that my weight teeters at 300lbs.  Yes, you read that right.  There are alot of mitigating factors but I cannot deny that I am solely to blame, period.  I got myself in