Yummy Salsa Recipe

So I guess food must be on my brain, but I thought I would share this yummy Salsa recipe with you. My mom is a caterer so pretty much any recipe I get from her I can bet it's going to be awesome! Here is my mom's salsa recipe. I made it today for our New Year's Eve night with friends tomorrow:

3 cans black beans (drained)
3 cans whole kernal corn (drained)
1 green bell pepper-chopped into small pieces
1 yellow bell pepper (you can do a red one if you want to add some more color)-chopped into small pieces
1 bunch of green onions-chopped into small pieces
7 Roma Tomatoes-chopped into small pieces
1 Large bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing (my favorite is the Wal-mart brand)
Mix all ingredients minus the dressing. After all are mixed pour the entire bottle over all the vegetables. Then dip with tortillas! So good! I personally like to make it a few hours before I serve it so it's really cold..I think it's better that way!

Late night snacks

It's ll:30 at night and I had a craving for my favorite snack in the world...apples and Jiff Crunchy Peanut Butter! I could eat the whole jar of peanut butter! I seem to have a craving for this only at night. My husband thinks I'm so weird for eating so late at night, but my stomach just starts going crazy and I just have to have some apples and peanut butter! So hopefully I'm not the only one who gets these late night hunger pains? What's your favorite late night snack?

I'm glad I put down the other book

I just finished Uncensored Grace by Jud Wilhite. Honestly, I hadn't planned on reading this book but it was given to me and so I put down my other book to check it out....I was hooked after Viva las Vegas (Chapter 1). I would like to write all about it, but I am a little nervous that in writing this post I won't choose the right words that this book undoubtedly deserves. So I'll do my best to tell you what I just read...

I just read some of the most beautiful faith journeys I have ever heard. I just read about how the uncensored grace of God is moving in Las Vegas. I just read about how wonderful it is to be a part of this "ragtag group of followers known as the church."

I underlined and marked up the book just hoping and praying I would remember them tomorrow as I go through my daily routine. I love how he ended it....."If it can happen in Vegas, it can happen anywhere!"

I thought to myself, "He's right.....there is no excuse." I'm glad I put down my "official Christmas read" to read these stories of grace.

Random Acts of Kindness foundation

I found this Random Acts of Kindness website today from the Two Writing Teachers. It has some awesome ideas for creating an atmosphere of kindness in the classroom, your community, your home, etc.... I think I am going to use the Valentine's Day idea for my classroom this year. I think it's awesome that they started an organization like this....it has tons of cool ideas!

Tender Tennessee Christmas and Lambies

Here are just a few pics from our Christmas trip to visit family in Tennessee. It was a great time...lots of sweet people that we love so much. I heard the Christmas song, "Tender Tennessee Christmas" for the first time while we there on one of the local radio stations and thought I would give a tribute with this post title.

I would also like to add that the blankets we are holding were a gift from my dear sweet mother-in-law. I don't know if she knew that I am perpetually known around our house for always being cold and always needing to wrap up in a good blanket....but she got us all lambies which are these incredibly soft blankets made by Bath & Body Works....be prepared...it is an oversized Lamb Chop, but it is handsdown the softest, warmest thing I have ever owned. If you are looking for a great Winter gift Lambies are awesome!

Atlanta Lingo

I found this magazine today at Whole Foods and thought it was great for anyone who lives in Atlanta but is not a native Atlantan. I am from Carrollton, GA which is just an hour west of Atlanta but my husband is from Knoxville, TN so when we moved here he wasn't too familiar with the Atlanta lingo. "The Newcomer" magazine had a great article in it explaining some of the lingo....here's just a few:

-Big Chicken-An Atlanta landmark, this 56-foot metal rooster that soars above a KFC in Marietta has been in existence since the 60's.
-The Connector-The stretch or highway where interstates 85 and 75 overlap.
-The Hooch-The Chattahoochee River serves as a source of power, drinking water, and recreation.
-The Perimeter-I-285, which circles the city of Atlanta and is meant to be used as a bypass (but really isn't on most Atlanta traffic days)
-Spaghetti Junction: Complicated intertwining of I-85 and I-285 loops and bridges

There's just a few, so if you are visiting or moving checkout the Newcomer Atlanta site...lots of great info!

Uncensored Grace

I put "the Tipping Point" down for a few minutes to read "Uncensored Grace" by Jud Wilhite. It came in the mail yesterday thanks to my blog friend Lori. Her husband wrote the book! I've only got a few pages left. I'll give a good review later, but I wanted to share this part of the book with you....one of the better things I've read in a while:

"No matter how well-grounded my assessment of someone may be, it is still incomplete. So if I'm going to be wrong anyways, I choose to err on the side of grace. I choose to suppress the initial categories I want to put people in-rich, poor, together, not together, druggie, yuppie, rocker, loser, winner, cool, uncool. I choose to remember that I don't know their struggle or their pain. I choose to err on the side of grace because someday I'll stand before God, and I pray He'll err on the side of grace with me."

Beautifully written and stated.

The Fray - You Found Me

Really love their new song.

Teething Bling

Thanks to Ainsley's suggestion, I got my sister this awesome jewelry for both her and sweet baby Kennedy. It's safe and can even be cleaned in the dishwasher! She loved it! You can visit the teething bling website here. It is created by Smart Mom jewelry and is just an awesome concept! If you have any friends with babies going through the teething process it's an awesome gift!

My husband...mi esposo...mi corazon...mi vida

This blog entry is just for Brett. I think of him so much around this time of year because we got engaged right before Christmas and I remember feeling so happy and just full of joy that I was going to get to love him the rest of my life. Brett is such an amazing husband and has such a heart to lead and point me and others closer to the heart of Christ. He makes me laugh like no one else and makes me think deeper and harder about what it means to forcefully advance the kingdom. His heart is pure and I love living life with him. He's a good one:)

TWLOHA

Thought this was a cool pic/t-shirt. Then I linked to the organization that is behind it...pretty cool purpose behind TWLOHA.... especially if you know anyone who struggles with depression or struggle with it personally. Check it out.

The Tipping Point

ok, I have looked and looked for my Christmas break read. Here it is: "The Tipping Point" by Malcom Gladwell. My husband read this several years ago and has put this on his top 5 books of all time list. I recently read this interesting article on teachers and education by Gladwell in the New Yorker and thought it was time for me to read this book B. raves about.

If you've read it...what are your thoughts?

Last day before Winter Break

Here are my kids on the last day before Winter break with the books they got in their stockings:)

I am Second

This might be one of the sweeter testimonies I have heard. B. pointed me to this site...I am second. Really cool idea....really great testimonies. Check out this one by Jason Castro.

Intentional acts of books from a 10 year old

So many of my students say and do things that mark my life in different and unique ways....today was one that I won't forget.

Let me give you a little background info. on Juan P. and my classroom. From the beginning of the year I make my classroom library a huge deal and well....I just make books a big deal. If a book is lying on the floor my kids almost gasp as if something has died. My students are all English Language Learners and so reading is something they don't get too excited about...so I do everything in my power to make it the most exciting thing ever! I freak out over new books, gasp at the sight of a precious book on the floor, and bring new books each week for my kids to eww and ahh over!

So Juan P..... Juan is a sweet boy (can sometimes be a goof-ball) who loves to be friends with everyone. Like the rest of my students(I am at a title 1 school where every child is on free-reduced lunch) Juan's family struggles financially. His dad works at the chicken plant and his mom just got sent back to Mexico.

Every month I give my students Scholastic Book Orders because it's an opportunity to get them excited about books and the books are usually sold at a much cheaper price. Every month I have watched Juan study the form up and down, up and down but he never buys anything. 2 weeks ago I gave the order form and he walked in the next morning with the order form filled out and his money in a sandwich baggie. He counted out the change and handed it to me and said, "This one Mrs. Moore...I want this one!'"
I replied, "Ewww...."Boy at War" great choice Juan! This is so exciting! It's your first book order!" He said, "Yup....it's a Christmas present."
"Awesome! What a great gift!"

I sent the forms off and didn't think anything else about it. Well....everyday after that order was sent off Juan would ask, "Mrs. Moore, when do you think those books will be in? Do you think it will be here before Christmas?"
"Yes Juan! They will get here! I'm sure of it." I would say.
Today they came in. I passed out the books everyone ordered. Juan received his and a few moments later Juan comes up to me and says, "Here."
"What's this?"
"It's yours Mrs. Moore. I bought "Boy at War" because you love books and you love World War II because your grandad fought in World War II."
"Oh." (with big tears in my eyes)
"Thank you Sweetheart...you are so thoughtful." (and then I squeezed him so hard he probably couldn't breathe!)

P.K. has been teaching about intentional acts of Christmas lately...well....i can't think of anything more intentional than my sweet Juan. He has it figured out and he's only 10.

intentional days

P.K. has challenged 12Stone with intentional acts of Christmas this year. Everyone has gone crazy with it! Today he challenged us to spending 3 intentional days, times, dates, etc....with our families. It was such an amazing message about what it means to "disadvantage" ourselves for the sake of our families...and of the kingdom.

For my blog friends....I hope you can take at least 3 if not more intentional days with your families over this Christmas season.

rule of 3

The rule of 3 is a writing strategy I teach my students in writing workshop. In all my years of writing I have never heard of Rule of 3 until this year and now I see it everywhere! Rule of 3 is when the writer writes something in a sentence to stress the point even more. For example: instead of just "The girl is pretty" the writer could use the rule of 3 and write that "The girl is beautiful, pretty, and kind." It's just a quick way to get students to add more detail to their writing.

Like i said, after I taught this strategy this year my students and I both found Rule of 3 in tons of books! Everyday I would have a student come in and say, "Mrs. Moore, I read Rule of 3 last night! Look!"

Flipping through the small pages of my Bible a few Sundays ago I too found the Rule of 3! From Isaiah! That's right! "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty." I was so proud to find that Isaiah figured out the rule of 3 first:)

Just pay attention....when you talk to a friend, listen to your pastor, read a new book, or watch an old episode of The Cosby's..you'll hear the Rule of 3!

New Blog Read

I recently stumbled across this blog and love everything this pastor's wife has to say. She is wise, funny, and has lots of good thoughts. Check it out.

http://leadingandlovingit.wordpress.com/page/2/

stuff going on

I haven't forgotten about this blog....I just haven't had the time in my life. I'm hoping the Christmas break coming up will give me some free time to blog about a lot of cool things going on. In the mean time....everyone must go check this sitehttp://www.inspiresharegive.com/ out from 12Stone. Amazing stuff going on this Christmas.