Month: March 2018

Easter’s On It’s Way!

/ theraisleyrundown / 2 Comments

Easter is close at hand! It’s time to celebrate and appreciate the death, burial and RESURRECTION our our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  I can’t emphasize enough how important Jesus resurrection is to my life story! I am humbled to think that God loved me so much that He allowed His son, Jesus, to die to pay the penalty for my sins so that I could live forever in Heaven with Him. It is amazing to think about God’s love for us. Wow!

Now, just because I am a Christ-follower does not mean that I don’t appreciate the spring festivities of the Easter Bunny and all of his sugary goodness! In fact, Easter Candy is the best candy by far! Now, I’ve been on a bit of a diet, so I haven’t had candy since January, but I am definitely making an exception at Easter time!  In case you haven’t had a lot of experience with this….FEAR NOT…I have made you a list of the best Easter candy around!!

  • Cadbury Mini Eggs. This is the BEST. CANDY. EVER. I love the candy shell and the extra sweet chocolate inside.  I could eat a personal sized bag of these every single day for the rest of my life…if it wouldn’t make me fat and diabetic! I really wish this candy had no calories.
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs.  I love chocolate. I love peanut butter. Now, when you put them together in the shape of an egg…my taste buds are in LOVE! For some reason, these taste better than the normal Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. It could be a mental thing…but they are AWESOME!
  • Solid chocolate Easter Bunnies. There is nothing more fun than biting the ears, head, and fluffy tail off of your very own, solid milk chocolate bunny. It’s not only delicious…it’s fun!!!
  • Jelly Beans. Jelly beans have come a long way since I was a child. There are so many wonderful flavors from which to choose!!! I’ve even seen bags of only the red ones! There are spicy ones, fruity ones, tropical flavors, super sour ones and so much more! Jelly beans are an Easter “must-have.”
  • Milk Chocolate Eggs. Similar to the Reese’s Peanut Butter egg, I think the shape of the small chocolate eggs has something to do with their goodness!! I mean, they are so much like Hershey Kisses, but in the shape of an egg with pretty pastel foil wrapping. What is not to love about unwrapping and eating one of these tasty and pretty treats?!

Well, I’m going to end my list right here for fear that I’m gaining weight just thinking about all this sugary goodness. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter Season celebrating the death, burial, and RESURRECTION of our Lord! For all of my teacher colleagues, enjoy a beautiful spring break and get some rest!

Listfully yours,

Vicki

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

You Might Be A Teacher If…

/ theraisleyrundown / 2 Comments

As I was planning my upcoming spring break(3 weeks from now), I noticed some very unusual things on my Spring Break Bucket List. That made me begin thinking about how teachers are definitely a breed of our own for so many reasons.  Today, I think I will share my quirky teacher habits in Jeff Foxworthy fashion.

You Might Be Teacher If:

  1. You get excited when you can go to the bathroom any time you want!  Let’s face it, teachers are on a bathroom schedule. Those students of our cannot be left alone, so we get to go to the bathroom on a schedule. For me, those times are 7:45 a.m., 11:20 a.m., and 2:40 p.m.  If I ever have to go to the bathroom in between times, forget about it. I can’t.

 

 

  • One day of your spring break is filled with all the doctors’ appointments that you cannot fit in during regular school weeks. We teachers keep crazy hours and have so many meetings after school that we often cannot get in to see a doctor. If you plan well, you can probably see 4 doctors in one day over spring break!

 

 

 

  • You plan at least one lunch with your teacher friends at a real restaurant during vacation from school. During school, teachers are lucky to get 20 minutes to eat. Sometimes teachers have to supervise children with disgusting eating habits while trying to consume their own lunch. Eating out with our friends over spring break makes us feel human! We can eat slowly, talk lots, and ignore everyone else around us. Ah, the bliss!!

 

 

 

  • You get excited to read a book just for fun…and not a children’s book. Oh, it’s so nice to meet you, Beth Moore and Ted Dekker! Oh look….there’s James Patterson, too! I’ve missed you all so much!

 

 

 

  • You avoid Wal-Mart and Target in July because you might see school supplies WAY TOO SOON!!! Enough said.

 

 

 

  • You geek out over fun office supplies such as colorful pens, cute post-it note holders, and Post-It filing tabs! I personally have enough colored pens to last a lifetime…but that won’t stop me from buying more!

 

 

 

  • You have one wardrobe that you don’t mind getting paint, chalk, or slightly snotty fingerprints on….and another wardrobe that you wear out with “grown ups.” Let’s face it, there are lots of gooey things involved in teaching elementary students. Dress for success.

 

 

 

  • You view every empty jar or plastic container as a future art project or storage solution. I can’t throw away a nice plastic lunch meat container or those cool plastic containers that Crystal Lite comes in! Oh, and don’t get me started on those large cool whip containers! I love those!

 

 

 

  • You can tell the moon phase just by people watching. People act and drive the worst during a full moon.  Ugh.

 

 

 

  • You cheer like you just won a huge lottery jackpot  when you hear the announcement, “The faculty meeting for today has been postponed/cancelled.” We dearly love our administrators, but please put it in an email. We’re exhausted. If you ever want to hear a collective cheer, be in a school when that announcement is made. We really do sound like we just won the super lotto jackpot!

 

 

Now that’s just a hand full of the endearing little quirks that we teachers possess! If you know a teacher or are related to a teacher, I think you’ll see some familiar things on this list. If you happen to be a teacher, embrace your quirks because that’s what makes us a special breed! We are wildly wonderful wizards of wisdom and whimsy! We make the world go around a lot better than it would without us! I am thankful for all you teachers out there! Happy Spring Break!

Things That Make Me Thankful

/ theraisleyrundown / Leave a comment

Gratefulness is not just for the month of November. Actually, gratefulness should be part of our daily lives. It is said that if a person learns to be grateful for what they have, they will eventually remove all traces of entitlement, greed, and jealousy from their lives. The spirit of gratitude is best friends with the spirit of joy, and if you happen to be a Christian, gratitude pleases God immensely! I Thessalonians 5 15-18 even say thankfulness is God’s will! “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Do you want to be in God’s will? Be thankful!

 

After you read this post, I’m going to need everyone to get a small notebook or a fancy journal and begin listing what you are grateful for.  If you are artistic…draw it! If you are poetic…write a poem about it! If you love photography…take a picture, print it out and paste it in your journal. Don’t just read this! Do something to make yourself dwell on the gifts you have around you every day!  Since you know I love lists so much, it should be no surprise that I’m leaving my partial list of things that make me feel grateful!

 

  1. My husband. After my first marriage ended 15 years in, I was sure that God would never give me a second chance at love. I was wrong. He gave me Scott and I am forever grateful.

 

  1. My Son. I have a talented, intelligent, funny, independent, cheerful, kind hearted, and God-honoring son. I am truly blessed.

 

  1. My Church. My current church has done more to challenge me to be a better Christ-follower than any past church I’ve attended. I am grateful.

 

  1. My friends, Teresa, Dawn, Ann, Stefanie, and Cortney. I hate to name names and forget someone or hurt someone’s feelings, but these 5 ladies have been my closest friends, my biggest cheerleaders, my attitude adjusters, and my sounding board for years. They are my 2:00 a.m. friends….who would take my call at that hour if I needed them. They know some of my worst character traits and love me anyway. They know my biggest fears and failures and they still stick to my side. They even put up with my weird sense of humor.  I am so thankful for them and blessed!  This is not to say I’m not grateful for my other friends. I am so lucky to have many great friends in my life! They each mean so much to me! They make my heart bubble over with gratitude.

 

  1. My Job. I love my job. I am thankful that I get to do something amazing to earn an income which helps keep my family supplied with food, clothing, and shelter.

 

  1. My medical benefits. I have amazing health insurance. I can go to the doctor when I need to go and yes, I’ll have to pay my share, but I never worry that I’ll run out of money and never be able to pay for my care.

 

  1. White Chocolate. Okay….I had to get something quirky on this list. I LOVE white chocolate and when I eat it I’m even more grateful for my taste buds.

 

  1. Dogs. Dogs are a gift, straight from Jesus to humankind. Dogs make me so happy. I am grateful for all the cute ears and happy little faces!

 

  1. iPhones. I don’t even know how I survived with a phone attached to a wall or to a phone that only makes calls.  I love this little miracle called a smartphone!

 

  1. Cameras. I love taking pictures. I love the creativity. I love the memories. I love capturing beautiful moments and keeping them forever. I am thankful to have some great camera equipment.

 

Folks, I could literally go on all day. When I first jotted this list in my journal, I was able to write down these 10 things in just minutes. If you really train yourself to look for things to be thankful for you will find it becoming easier and easier. How about that close parking spot at the grocery store when you’re feeling exhausted? How about that cool morning that makes you feel awake and alive? How about those gorgeous trees and flowers in your neighborhood? How about when your spouse or friend takes you out to dinner and you were dreading having to cook that night? How about when a friend calls you on your way to work just to chat? Here’s a great one for Charleston SC…how about those mornings you leave at just the right minute and traffic is moving smoothly? Even the little things are huge blessing for which to be thankful!!!  Now, go out there and keep a list of all the little and big things that make you feel grateful and develop your attitude of gratitude!

 

Listfully yours,

 

Vicki

Things I Don’t Understand

/ theraisleyrundown / 3 Comments

Think about how much knowledge there is in the world. Really think about every possible profession that you know of and think about the specialized knowledge that those professions have. Think about how your own body is a miraculous creation of cells, organs, bones, synapses, electrical impulses, and DNA coding that makes us each a unique individual. Now, have I made you think enough to realize how much you DON’T actually know. It can be terrifying to feel so small and insignificant, right!?! Well, today I’m going to share a dozen of my favorite mysteries of the universe. Here goes.

  1. Why is there Braille on a drive up ATM?  If you need Braille, you shouldn’t be driving.
  2. Why does Amazon send small items that you purchase in gigantic boxes? I recently ordered two high-speed memory cards for my camera that fit in the palm of my hand and Amazon shipped them in a shoe-box sized box. Yesterday we received two desktop organizing trays in a box that would hold two office-sized microwaves. It seems a little extreme.
  3. Why do we think criminals will obey MORE gun laws when they break the ones we currently have? All joking aside, I think we need more Jesus changing people’s lives.
  4. Why can’t directions for assembling things have words AND pictures? “Back in the day” when I had to assemble something that I purchased I would read written words and see diagrams for putting these items together. Now, we have switched over to directions with only pictures and obnoxious arrows pointing to things on the picture that don’t even exist on the item being assembled. I just want my words back. I’m not a caveman with no language skills.
  5. Why am I called intolerant when I don’t agree with your opinion…but when you don’t listen to my opinion you somehow are NOT being intolerant? Just think about it.
  6. Why do people loot and trash their own cities when their sports team wins a big championship? What kind of message are they trying to send? Is that some kind of reward for winning? I just don’t get it.
  7. Why am I so tempted to touch the surface that has a “Wet Paint” sign? Do I really think in my heart of hearts that someone would lie to me about that?
  8. Why do I get slightly annoyed when someone calls me when they could have easily texted me? When did I quit loving to talk out loud? That’s totally not me!
  9. How is it that the first 50 years of my life just flew by so quickly and the past week has felt like a century is passing ever-so-slowly? My time sensor must be off! Someone, please rescue me from this long week!
    Why are the pockets on ladies shorts, pants, and skirts so tiny? I love pockets. I need room for my keys, a lip gloss, and maybe even my iPhone 6. Is that too much to ask. Stop giving me these tiny, shallow pockets that won’t hold anything and incidentally, will dump out the contents whenever I sit down. That is all.
  10. Why are ladies’ belts so cheaply made? Men get these gorgeous leather belts to hold up their pants and shorts. What do women get? We get these flimsy belts that are NOT made of leather but have price tags that are only appropriate on leather belts. I need a belt to not only hold up my pants but to also hold my holster at my side when I conceal carry. Will someone please tell the fashion industry that it is possible to make sturdy, leather belts for women that are also pretty? Thank you.
  11. Why does my kid laugh at me when I use the “talk to text” feature on my phone? Is that an old person feature on a phone? I feel certain that everyone is allowed to talk to text if their phone is capable of this magical feat! Or was this feature indeed created for the older person who can’t type that fast on that a small phone keyboard?
  12. Why are the pockets on ladies shorts, pants, and skirts so tiny? I love pockets. I need room for my keys, a lip gloss, and maybe even my iPhone 6.  Is that too much to ask. Stop giving me these tiny, shallow pockets that won’t hold anything and incidentally, will dump out the contents whenever I sit down. That is all.

There are literally thousands of things that I do not understand. This list could go on and on for weeks and weeks of this blog. In fact, the rest of my career could be spent on this topic. However, I’m going to leave you with these mysteries to contemplate and if you happen to have any answers to these, feel free to drop that information in the comments!!!
Thanks for reading!

Listfully yours!
Vicki