Fall Food Drive

Fall not only means Football, and cooler weather (unless you live Georgia), but it also means warm colors and comfort food!!!

 Glad to be able to bring the crockpot back from retirement and make some 3 bean chili and cornbread!

 It also wouldn't be Fall without Apple Crisp! I would eat it all year long, but Fall just makes it that much more special.

 Before

 After !!!! (This was so good, accompanied by some Butter Pecan ice cream!)

 At Bay Creek, this week we had a Southeastern Co-op food drive that lasted 5 days.

Each homeroom was competing with the rest of the school and could win a pizza party.

I stressed to my class that if they brought in food I did not want them to bring it to earn a pizza party, but that they should be thinking about all the families that are in need that might not be able to have a big Thanksgiving dinner.

Other teachers have asked how I "motivated" my students, and obviously it didn't take much.

Below is the amount of food my students and I brought in only after 4 days of collecting. I even had some students walk around their neighborhoods collecting canned food to bring in. (One student brought in over 4 paper grocery bags full).

After a week of students being unfocused and lazy, along with having one student projectile vomit 4 times in a row as I stood next to her with my hand on her back, seeing my students get excited about helping those in need was just the pick me up I needed!

As of Thursday my class had collected over 300 items and led the entire school in donations! Whether we are announced as the winner or not, I am proud of my students : )

-M.W.

P.S.

Congrats to Hannah and Justin tying the knot tonight! So happy for you both and the new life you will begin together!

Crazy Day Seeing ColdPlay

As an early birthday present for Shane, this weekend we went to the long awaited Music Midtown festival to see a long line up of bands, including the headliner, ColdPlay. Two other coaches also happened to be going, so we geared up for what was going to be a fun day at the park in the city listening to good music and relaxing with friends.

I could go into detail about the day, but lets just say at one point Shane and I both were on the verge of getting into physical altercations with festival folk. It definitely attracts a crowd that could drive anyone who is not drunk, a bit mad. There were moments we both will never forget, like the time I stood in line for a bathroom for over an hour, only to tell a drunk man who had just had surgery, gotten his bladder cut in half , and tried to cut in front me that "Now that his bladder was cut in half, it was probaly the size of mine and that he could kindly go pee in the bushes if needed to." Thankfully Derek, a former N.F.L. player-6 ft. 6-and also a Mt. View coach and friend-stepped in being cool and collected to difuse the situation. I had many people push me, step on my feet, and at one point while walking back to our blanket on the lawn, had a drunk guy lunge out at my legs trying to trip/tackle me. Needless to say after the bathroom incident I was on edge, and made it a point to let him know just how funny I thought his little stunt was.

It was sad that the day was so full of crazy frustrations, including the sloppy drunk crowd, lawn full of used cups and beer cans, and constant cloud of smoke following us and everyone around smoking cigarettes, cigars, weed, you name it!

I think we decided an indoor concert would fit us better the next time around, but in the end ColdPlay as always put on a great show, and even a crazy day is a good day when we get to spend it together!!!

Below are some pictures from the day!

 The first stage.

 The butterfly up ahead is actually a fifty year old woman.

 Everyone trying to grab some shade before the sun went down.

 Shane and I hanging out before meeting up with everyone else.

 Garrett and Amelia

 Derek, Liz, and Bella (and baby Liliana)

 Finishing up our dinner

 Getting chillier!

 Waiting for ColdPlay!

 We stood for an hour while the other stage played to get a good spot for ColdPlay-only to abandon our spot during the 2nd song due some ignorant belligerent people in the crowd.

 Garrett and Amelia enjoying the humor of our surroundings

 The Main Stage.

 Almost time!

 ColdPlay

 After the concert-thousands of us hit the streets of Atlanta to head to the Marta station to jump on the train home.

Quite the experience!

Happy Birthday Babe! A night we will never forget! LOVE YOU!

-M.W.

Check it out !!!! MT. VIEW ON THE NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fox Atlanta Sports-Mt. View High School Pep Rally

A Long Week & A Rough Road to a Big Win

It was week 6 of the school year and I felt exhausted, stretched thin, and at moments like a complete failure. As always, the Lord gave me enough grace and strength to jump through the needed hoops and recover and readjust to any failures along the way.

My students have been extra squirley and talkative, causing me to have to raise my voice above theirs to get their attention. It was an exhausting week and I'm definitely losing my voice. Thankfully, the Lord sustained me enough and saved the last few drops of yelling I had left to give at the game this Friday to cheer on our Bears.

Earlier this week Shane said to me, "Why do I do it? Why do I do it to myself every week? I get my hopes up thinking we can win and then every Friday those hopes are completely crushed, and it is exhausting."

I tried to encourage him, saying something cheesy like "You have to be optimisitic. In the least, you have to be for your players, because if they sense you always think you'll lose, you will!"

It's now their second varsity season and pouring everything you have into a team that still seems so far behind the other state ranked teams in our region can make someone feel defeated and exhausted as they try to encourage and spur on what feels at times like a team of misfits.

This Friday we were scheduled to play the Mill Creek Hawks. A team that steam rolled us last year in the most humiliating game our Bears have lost to date. There were many emotions involved that made that game so humiliating, not only were they killing us with a 44-0 half time score, but this is the school that many of our players came from and played for.

Needless to say, us fans sat in amazement as we looked at a scoreboard this Friday that said 6-0 in our favor nearing the end of the second quarter. Our hopes were definitely high, and with our team in the lead, we knew it could make a loss that much more devastating! From the outset of the game I noticed something different about the players on the field, there was confidence and calm on the football field, not something I expected at a game like this, and I could only hope that the entire game would be something none of us expected as well.

We ended up with the biggest win this team has ever seen! For more details read the article link below, and check out some of the not-so-great pictures (accidentally had my flash off) below that I took after the game, as students, families, and fans stormed the field with tears of joy and shouts of jubilation : )

Gwinnett Daily Post Article

The final score! (9-7)

Fans Flooding the Field. Couldn't help but be brought back to those memorable games at Wheaton-loved seeing how much this meant to all the parents and the school. 



The crowd being riled up by Coach Hardy.

Listening to the head coach before the team prayer.

Shane and Brad Palmer, our Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Lots of hugs and handshakes.

Letting it all sink in.

Shane and his DBs

DB Pride

It was a great night, full of joy in the moment, and hope for the future.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .  .

On the weekends, I try to make something sweet for us to have around during the week if we have a hankering.  Shane loves anything cookie dough (especially in his ice cream), and I found a recipe on a blog for these cookie dough truffles!!

They ended up being more work than I thought with the chocolate candy coating seizing up due to the condensation on the frozen dough, something I wish they would have mentioned on the blog!

 Hopefully in the end it was worth it!

-M.W.



Still Taking School Pictures. . . .

This was Shane's school picture last year. . . 2010

Crazy how a year can change things....

2011

How could I resist the fun?

I told my colleagues that I looked "old" in the picture, because my teaching fatigue clearly shows, and I am starting to notice lines around my eyes. With my colleagues all being in their 50 somethings, they weren't too happy about my comment. I told them that they all had children, and that once I had children I would be okay with getting and feeling old : ) But I'm definitely not okay with it yet!!!!

Here are some things I have recieved from my students:

When I am having a rough day, and feel like all I did was fall behind, miscommunicate, or spend the day raising my voice to talk over chatty misbehaved middle schoolers, I sometimes look at these and take a deep breath.

Then I realize that both of these were made by students who had only had me a few days- !!!

I don't think they really knew what they were getting themselves into!

Hopefully, through all of my failures, they will at least have learned something at the end of our 180 days together !

-M.W.

P.S. Mountian View had our first WIN last night against the Lanier Longhorns.

Final Score 34-17

GO BEARS!

Labor Day Weekend Update

 Labor Day is finally here!!! Shane and I both had long weeks and were definitely in need of some good R & R! Sadly, the Bears lost their second game of the season against the Archer Tigers. Both Mt. View and Archer both opened up the same year, so they are our truest rivals. We beat them our first year, almost won last year, and couldn't manage to pull off a win this year. It was a pretty hard blow to the players and definitely to the coaches. We had some bright moments in the game, but the number of simple mistakes made during the game overshadowed those moments. If you think of it, pray for Shane and our coaching staff as they try to stay positive in the midst of what feels like another losing season.

. . . . . . . 

As much as life has been very busy lately with school and football, I have tried to still try out new gluten free recipes on the weekend when I get a chance. Last weekend I tried another recipe from the baking cookbook Racquel bought me, and decided to try out a muffin recipe in case Shane and I needed to grab something quick throughout the week or in the morning.



I chose the chocolate chip! Couldn't help but feel like it was reminiscent of a cookie, but it was definitely a nice sweet treat to grab throughout the week! This cookbook has yet to dissapoint!

 I also was FINALLY able to tweak a Gratin recipe to my liking-Shane and I practically ate the whole thing in one sitting! Soooo good!! ( Roasted Red Pepper and Pepper Jack Gratin).

At the end of a long week-this is where we always want to be : ) Saturday sleeping in/naps are crucial for survival and this picture says it all!

-M.W.