Can She Do It?

Because I am always long-winded and I have an eventful week to cover, here is my effort at being concise:

The picture I took for my mother-in-law's Christmas present.  I couldn't wait to see her open it.  I got the reaction I was expecting...tears.

A surprise from my 3rd period on the last day of the semester.  Man, will I miss those kids.

As if the cake wasn't enough, they all wrote a sweet note in this enormous card.  They got the reaction they were expecting...tears.

Rachel, Kim and Angelina came over to bake cookies for the church's Cookie Project.  We made 10 dozen cookies - oatmeal raisin, chocolate pecan, and orange-almond shortbread - and quality control demanded that we taste-test each type.  I'm hoping this will be an annual tradition.  Such fun!  I hope they agree.  Turns out I'm quite particular about my baking!

I set all the ingredients out on the counter before they arrived.  It looks like chaos, but it was nice to have everything in one place.  I had an apron for everyone to wear.  Kim is modeling the mint green Williams-Sonoma professional variety.

Rachel is sporting the "Have You Hugged a United Methodist Today?" apron.  And yes, this is me busying myself by taking pictures while letting someone else wash the dishes.  Thanks Rach.

Angelina lucked out with my new "Made With Love" apron from Mama Ese.  The red ribbons are too cute!

Here we are before the madness began on Christmas Eve night.  Mom said she was cutting back this year, but I sure couldn't tell.  Not surprisingly, she caved and gave me the flash early, so I wasn't expecting much at all, but she surprised me with some fun gifts!  Thanks Mom!

In preparation for our dinner party, I was lighting a candle.  The picture might not show it well, but I caught my fingernail on fire while trying to use a cigarette lighter.  Who designed those things anyway?  There is absolutely no way to light it without having your finger right next to the flame. 

Because we couldn't decide which game to play at our dinner party, we decided to have a boardgame sampler.  We played Balderdash, Apples to Apples and, of course, Catchphrase.  The most outrageous answer of the night came from Luke whose fabricated movie description is pictured above.  It reads, "The ants on polar hill have come to bread-house black."  No, don't bother rereading it.  It will not make any more sense the second or third time.  We sure wish Luke and Kristin would come back from Dallas so we could have some laughs like this more than twice a year.

Andrew and I took a drive through the mountains today.  He is such a good sport letting me set up the tripod, test out settings, and run like a mad-woman to beat the self-timer.

And that's as short and sweet as I know how to be.  Stay tuned for my new photography website.  I hope to debut it on January 1st.

Mehwy Chwistmas!

Since we don't have kids, we haven't ever sent out Christmas cards.  You better believe that once we do, there will be a mass mailing of some pretty cute family pictures.  For now, I think Milly is worthy of a blog post - especially in her Christmas dress! 

Birthday Extravaganza

Reasons why this has been the best birthday ever:

1. We attended the Behold the Lamb of God concert at the Ryman Auditorium.  Not only was the historic venue incredible (though quite uncomfortable), but the talent and spirit at this event were just unbelievable.  If I thought Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God album was awesome, then the live performance was just beyond words.  The way he tells the Christmas story goes beyond a seasonal holiday celebration.  He tells the story of our faith.   Watching all the artists share the stage (Jill Phillips, Andy Gullahorn, Andy Osenga, Bebo Norman, Ben Shive, Randall Goodgame just to name a few - seriously, there were more) is a testament to the way Christian music should work.  No egos involved.  Just the joining together of talent for his glory.  If finances allow, we would love to make this an annual trip!

    

No cameras allowed in the auditorium so we asked somebody to take one of us in the lobby.

2. We ate at the Spaghetti Factory in downtown Nashville.  Since we were celebrating my birthday and all, I went for the combo dinner with spaghetti and spinach ravioli.  (Don't tell anybody, but I finished the whole plate and didn't feel one bit guilty!)

3. We stayed at the Union Station Hotel, a newly-restored historic hotel downtown.  It is one of those ritzy places where I hope they don't find me out and realize I am out of my league.  The valet was gracious and didn't make us feel cheap when we asked where the self-parking lot was.  He even walked me all the way into the hotel to show me around (though he didn't offer to carry my bag).  We saved about $8 by foregoing valet parking, but the self-parking lot was still $15 for overnight.  What?!@(#$*&^@#.  $15?  I know.  I agree.  Thankfully, we got such a good rate on the hotel that I was able to rationalize it. 

I could not believe the windows in our room.  They had to be at least 30 feet high with a view of downtown to boot.  

I may have blown my cover by setting the camera on a trash can for a self-timer picture (hence the bad low-angle shot)!  

4. When we got back in town on Friday, we had our small group Christmas party that might as well have been my birthday party too.  Stephanie gave me an old Vertical Horizon CD.  I mentioned it while on our Atlanta trip over a month ago.  I used to jam to that CD in my Jeep when I was in high school, but I somehow lost track of it over the years.  I don't know how she remembered that I said I missed it, but I have been wearing it out the last few days!  Kim gave me a cupcake from some place in West Knoxville called the Cupcakery.  I definitely wish I didn't even know it existed because I will now have to frequent that store.  Yum!  And Rachel gave me the "Friends" Willow Tree angel.  Love those things!  On top of all that, I won a $10 Starbucks giftcard during Dirty Santa.  (I may or may not have conspired with Andrew to accomplish that!)   

Me, Stephanie, Rachel, Kim, Angelina, Amanda

5. While I was fawning over laptops in the Apple store at the Mall at Green Hills, I found this blog post.  Mom, I had to quit reading it so I wouldn't make a fool of myself in the crowded store.  I printed it out to keep forever.  Thank you.

Obviously, I am one lucky girl to be surrounded by so many wonderful, thoughtful people.  Thanks to everybody who made my 25th such a special day.

Typical Sarah

I'm sure this conversation will not surprise you:

Sarah: You know where we haven't been in awhile?

Andrew: Where?

Sarah: Gondolier in Halls. I love that place because it is so cheap.

Andrew: And you get so much food.

Sarah: We should go sometime over Christmas Break. Like a spontaneous kind of thing.

Andrew: So you're saying we should plan a time to be spontaneous?

Quite an oxymoron, huh? I long to be a more spontaneous kind of person, but I obviously don't even understand that frame of mind. I don't know if I ever will.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

The new flash that I have been promising would change the quality of my indoor photos is now in my possession.  I actually have a good reason for asking for it early, and besides, mom is a total wimp when it comes to Christmas gifts.  (Sorry Mom but you know it's true!)  The problem is, it is much more complicated than I though it would be - as is everything else photography related.  So, here are the still awfully discolored pictures of our Christmas tree.

In case you can't tell because of the yellow tint, the main colors are red and silver.  And the scent perfumes our entire house!

Inside, this one has a picture of us from high school.  It's strange how young we look and how distant that period of our lives seems.

2004 - Our first Christmas Together.  A Wal-Mart Special.

In our first couple of years of marriage we went on lots of short three-day trips, and I always bought an ornament as a souvenir.  FYI - Waiting in line at Paula Deen's restaurant is totally worth it!

Made of cotton.  This is from one of my favorite places on earth.  Edisto Island.

This one is from another one of my favorite places on earth.  It takes me right back to the streets of Paris.  Only five months and I'll be there again!

Notice the red and silver theme is carried through the paper as well.  Three more presents to wrap, and this girl is ready for Christmas!

Ode to Amy

Oh how my heart laments your absence.  Whatever will I do to survive the hallways of Powell High School without you?  The loss of your effervescent spirit has left a noticeable hole in the soul of our school.

Even if you might have guilted me into dedicating a blog post to you, Amy, you know that things just aren't the same without you.  As I stood across the hallway from your old classroom at the beginning of the semester, I watched disappointment wash across many a student's face as they realized you had left.  And faculty meetings are totally boring without your comical interruptions.  Nobody else has the guts to call people out in front of the whole staff anymore.

Even though your crazy antics almost sometimes just might make be a bit uncomfortable (I don't have to remind you about last night, do I?), your presence is magnetic.  People just love being around you, myself included.  Without you I don't even have anyone to eat lunch with.  In fact, I would be embarrassed for anyone to see me eating my boring lunch alone as I sit in front of my computer screen checking email and reading blogs.  Chatting with you for a quick 25 minutes was such a wonderful part of my day.  Not to mention all the problem solving you helped me with.  Now Rachel is stuck being the person I cry to when I am upset at school.

I know my Mom hates that you aren't there anymore too.  She always told me to go to you when I needed advice, and your wisdom never failed to guide me down the right path.  You were the best mentor teacher I could have ever wished for, and I still think back to your teaching strategies as I struggle to do better with my 2nd period class.  

Perhaps the thing I have learned the most from you though is the way you love your husband.  When we first met, that was the defining trait I noticed about you.  I was lucky to meet you in the early years of my marriage because you showed me how important it is to lift Andrew up even when he is not around.  Sometimes us wives tend to rag on our husbands when we get together, but I have never heard you participate in that kind of talk.  Kirk is so lucky to have you, and I am lucky to call you friend.  

Lets not let it be another four months until we hang out again.  I can bribe you with lemon cake or cheddar bites if I have to...  

(For identification purposes, this is the Amy who is one of the few regular commenters on my blog.)

Dinner Divas

The Dinner Divas met tonight at Melinda's for our Christmas dinner.  We all chipped in for some Angel Tree gifts instead of buying yet another Bath & Body Works gift set for that person that you don't really know what to get.  (If you have ever purchased this for me, I can assure you I loved it, but honestly my $2 Wal-Mart body wash works just as well and lasts longer.  Just seems like a waste of hard-earned dollars.  I'll get off my soapbox now.  Haha.  Get it?  Soapbox?)  Anyway, we enjoyed some yummy food and lots of laughs thanks to Amy (who will have an entire blog post dedicated to her tomorrow after only a bit of pressure!).  

Thanks for letting me join you Dinner Divas (formerly known as the Lunch Bunch) even if it is only because I am a sucker for making desserts!

The Dinner Divas consists of some wonderful ladies, some of us teachers, others former students.  I will briefly describe each from top to bottom, left to right:

Melinda: I still have trouble not calling her Mrs. Lentz.  She was my SGA sponsor in high school and, as you can tell, was the prettiest teacher there.  Not surprisingly, she still is.  You should have seen the boys in my 2nd period class when they realized they have her next semester.  Lets just say they were a bit excited.

Amy: I'm saving it for tomorrow!

Kasey: One of my former students.  She was always interested in our class discussions...or at least she made me think she was!  She recommended that I read The Freedom Writer's Diary, and it took a few years, but I finally am.

Stephanie: I find her sometimes brutal honesty refreshing.  I only have the guts to be that honest behind the guise of my computer screen.

Leah: I've never had the pleasure of having her in class, but I know she would be one of my favorites...not that teacher have favorites or anything!  She has such a sweet, pleasant demeanor.  I'm sure she has heard this before, but I could only hope to have a daughter with a spirit like hers.

Logan: We are so much alike it is quite strange.  Tonight we were even wearing the same jacket!  Thanks to Logan's recommendation, I read Francine Rivers' Redeeming Love.  I just love students who share my passion for reading.  

Allison: This was a front row kind of student.  Oh wait, that's because I assigned seats!  She too at least pretended that she enjoyed my class.  Thanks for being so nice to me in my first solo year!

The Lord has provided me with some great female fellowship over the last weekend.  I am looking forward to spending some time with my number one guy in Nashville later this week though!   

Reminiscing

Lindsay, Me, and Brittany

It all started in Mrs. Hicks' kindergarten class at Powell Elementary School.  Who'd have thought we would still be best friends 20 years later?  We have had some great times together.  From rec league cheerleading to spring break trips to midnight car painting, we are never short on memories to reflect upon. 

The best thing I can say about these girls is that I feel like my true self when I am with them.  Like I can just completely let my guard down and be me.  I think it is rare to find lasting friends like this.  I love that we are all very different people - different styles, different opinions - but our shared life experiences will bind us forever.  It is kind of strange that now we all hold coaching positions: Lindsay with Clinton Middle basketball, Brittany with Carson Newman cheerleading, and me with Powell High tennis.  I guess you could say we all have a need to be in control of something!

I'll leave you with some pictures from our past.  (I don't think they read my blog, so hopefully they won't kill me for this one...)

We have been through some really bad hair together.

At a high school basketball game and not one of us is in orange.  Can you tell what we were concerned about?  Meghan (front right) was also apart of most of our high school experiences.  We have since lost touch, but miss her dearly.

At Campaigner Weekend with our Young Life leader.

Spring Break in Destin.  Thanks Mom for putting up with us and for letting us drive your Land Rover!

At Young Life's Pioneer Plunge (where we went without plumbing or electricity for three days).  And yes, if you saw me today at the grocery, I was wearing the same jacket I'm wearing in this picture from 7 years ago.

The best bridesmaids ever.  Mom will forever be grateful to Brittany for distracting me from the hole she burnt in my veil.  Betcha can't tell which one of us is most outgoing!

Here's to many more special memories.

Excuses, Excuses

For the record, I just found out the reason that the half-marathon training was so difficult.  Apparently my iron levels are extremely low, and my body is only getting half the oxygen it should.  The doctor said, and I quote, "This made your training twice as hard as it would have been for a person with normal iron levels."  What?  You mean I wasn't just being lazy and whiny?  I guess it's strange to be relieved that I am iron-deficient, but it makes me feel better to know it wasn't all in my head. 

Now, the hard part is figuring out why my levels are so low because I eat just about every food on the "Foods High in Iron" list.  For females, the norm is about 12-14 and mine is 6.  I don't recommend googling what that means because this is what I found: "I once had a woman walk into the ER by some miracle with an iron count of 6. She was near death."  I'm not kidding.  For now, I'm going with my doctor's cool, calm, and collected response.  The good news is once I get this all figured out, I should have much more energy.  Maybe even enough to do crazy things like staying up past 10:00!

**Because one of the primary symptoms is fatigue, I would also like to note that this excuses all of those times I have been labeled "party pooper" for going to bed early.  While we're at it, lets also excuse those times I fell asleep on the couch while we had company.  

Advent Conspiracy

This video has been on just about every blog I read. I usually skip the video posts because I feed my daily blog addiction during lunch and you can't connect to YouTube at school. After seeing it several times, though, I thought it must be worth a few minutes of my time. Please check it out.






After watching the video, I went to the Advent Conspiracy website and found this article by Shane Claiborne. Sometimes I still wish I could write him off as a fanatic, but that is exactly what he intends to be. A crazy, Jesus loving fool. If I was beginning to feel a bit proud of my pared-down, environmentally-friendly Christmas spending, I have now rightfully been knocked, well, more like pummeled, off my high horse.

Cole Family Pictures

Sunday I took a few pictures of Dad's whole side of the family for my grandparents' Christmas present.  There are 18 of us in all.

Yes, that is me in the picture.  I set the camera on the tripod on self-timer mode, clicked the button and ran to get in the picture.  I'm afraid I distracted little Lucy.  That's why she is looking off to the side.

I learned something about my style of photography yesterday.  (By the way, thanks for pretending with me and letting me act like a real photographer.  It makes me feel creative and artsy.)  So, I really don't enjoy taking posed pictures.  At all.  I totally understand the purpose of a picture like that.  I'm sure my Mamaw and Papaw will love it.  But if it was up to me, we would have been spread out and everybody would have been standing a little differently.  Holding hands here.  Arm around a shoulder there.  Sitting on a log in this corner.  Leaning on the fence in the back.  

This is much more to my liking.

As the first great-grandchild, Lucy Kate is deservingly at the center of everyone's attention.

This picture does not do her eyelashes justice.  You just wouldn't believe me if I tried to describe them.  Perfection.

Poor Mattie had to shave his four-month beard to work at UPS over Christmas break.  And the whole reason for growing it out was for his ski trip to Denver.  He might be a little more devastated than he is letting on.  (Mom, I hope I didn't just steal one of your blog posts!)

C'est Finis!

It's done.  Over.  Complete.  Finished.  In the bag.

Today I finished my last classroom observation.  For those of you who might be unaware, teachers must go through the evaluation process (including three classroom observations and a massive amount of paperwork) for each of their first three years.  Today was my last one!  I am so relieved.  I tend to get a bit worked up over them.  I guess I should have referred back to the "Why Worry" post from a few weeks ago.  Once they're over, I always wonder why I stress about them so much, but in the moment it seems to consume me.  Now, I don't have to go through this process for another five years!  Whoohoo!  (That's for you, Andew.)

McAffry Family Pictures

We McAffrys are serious about our pictures.  What's that you said weatherman?  30 degrees and windy?  Not a problem.  So off to Maryville we went.

This tough girl didn't even need socks.

I'm glad they're too young to remember this later.  Poor Jake's lips were quivering.

So predictable.  Just offer to show him the picture on the screen, and he will do whatever you ask.

You might be looking at the next Hannah Montana.

I'm loving the scarf action.

It's like having a little Maddie all over again.  They look identical.

I never knew how hard it was to take a photo of three kids - especially with no adult to hold the baby.

Quite the poser.

Just take a look at those lashes.  Adorable.

Can you imagine waking up to a view like this every morning?  (The mountains, of course.  I'm talking about the mountains.)

Six Word Memoir

I first heard of these in a newspaper article Mama Ese gave me this summer.  In an effort to get to know my students, I had them write one at the beginning of the year.  They are inspired by Hemingway's shortest story which reads: 

For sale: baby shoes, never used.  

I think I saw a few eyes rolling when I shared mine with my students in August.

So many books, so little time.  

This morning I was reading Jasmine Star's blog and she is giving away a pretty hefty prize to the person who writes the best one.  I wasted about an hour of my Saturday morning reading all of the comments.  Some are predictable, but many are moving.  Only one caused me some concern.  It was posted by Sheila and read as follows:

Pregnant?!  Thought then, cursed.  Now, blessed!

I clicked on the link to Sheila's blog just to make sure it didn't go to Blessings in Disguise.  Thankfully, I will not be needing any therapy for that one.  

As I began brainstorming, I first came up with this one.  Too bad it is seven words.

I love you more than bran flakes.

My final entry is going to be this:

My daily battle: dying to self.

Anyone up for sharing theirs?

Call Me Coach

I was notified yesterday that I am officially the new tennis coach at the high school.  It's not like there was much competition or anything.  In fact, I might have to do a bit of recruiting just to have enough players!  Much of the team graduated last year, so I'm thinking it might be a rebuilding year.  Or maybe I'm just setting really low expectations so I won't be disappointed.  Anyhow, I'm excited about the whole package.  Tryouts.  Ordering uniforms.  Practice plans.  Walking around with a clipboard.  Opening new cans of tennis balls.  (Don't you love the sound it makes?  And you just can't beat the smell of brand new, bright yellow tennis balls.)

So, I'm wondering...Coach McAffry, Coach McAff, Coach Mac, or just plain ol' Coach.  What do you think?

The Bran Flakes Obsession

Yes, we're back to the ValuTime Bran Flakes.  For months I wondered how one could possibly improve on the basic cereal, milk, and fruit combination.  Alas, I have found it.  Today I wanted to make something with my ripe bananas, and I found a recipe for Banana Bran Muffins from the Pastry Queen, owner of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe in Texas.  The recipe is printed in this cookbook.  Convincing myself that they were healthy because the recipe called for several cups of bran flakes and wheat flour, I ate two of them right out of the oven.  Why is it that muffins always lose that perfectly crunchy outer layer as soon as they cool down?  If somebody could solve this problem for me, I would be forever grateful.  For now, though, I will continue to stuff them down my throat while they are still warm.

Here is the play-by-play of me opening this incredible cookbook last Christmas.

I had no idea who the Pastry Queen was, but I knew immediately that this cookbook was made for me.

Sharing my delight with Mom who had just opened another cookbook.  

Imagining the excitement to come in my kitchen.  Thanks MaryAnn!

I just learned that you can freeze overripe bananas uncovered for weeks.  I will forever be prepared to make these at a moment's notice.

 

Voila.