Oh For Joy--A Music Review

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I hope you laughed a lot and ate way too much pumpkin pie! :)

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is that it officially marks the beginning of the Christmas season. After the fourth Thursday in November, it is generally acceptable to play Christmas music and put up red and green decorations everywhere, and nobody can complain because it's after Thanksgiving.

As part of my planning for this glorious holiday, I went on itunes a couple days ago and filled my wish list with new Christmas music to buy after Thanksgiving. The only full album I bought was David Crowder Band's Oh For Joy.

First of all, if you are familiar with DCB's music, then you already know it's going to be great. If you're not, let me tell you a little bit about it! The album is short, sweet, and to the point (just like me! haha. short jokes.). Eight songs in total, and while none of them are original songs, the arrangements definitely bring something new to the table. "Angels We Have Heard On High" bursts out sounding like a hoedown, complete with fiddles and banjos (the band does hail from Texas). But if you're not a country music fan, don't let that turn you away. There is something for everyone here, all the way to "Carol of the Bells" performed on electric guitars.

All in all, this really is a great album. If you love Christmas music, go get it! Seriously. It's only $6.99 on itunes. How can you pass that up?

A Little Inspiration For You

If you have not listened to the music of Gungor, you are really missing out. Really.

So for today, I want to share this video of one of their many amazing songs. It's a little on the longer side, but I really encourage you to listen to the whole thing if you have time.

P.S. If you ever get the chance to see them live, do it! I was fortunate enough to see them last month and they blew me away.

Enjoy!

Privileged

This year, my school is undergoing a lot of changes after receiving a large grant. A brand new astroturf football field has been installed, and the baseball and softball fields are in process now. Portable buildings are being taken down, new classrooms and courtyards are being built... it's going to be a pretty snazzy place when it's done. I think it is great that our school is upping its game and making it a better place for students to learn. But it frustrates me when I still hear students and teachers complaining about the poor quality of the school's technology, or the lack of electives offered.

It can be easy to think that in order for students to be successful, the schools have to have the latest technology. However, that is not true.

All of these pictures were taken at schools that I saw during my trip to Honduras this past June. None of them had electricity--that means no computers, no Active Boards, and no lights. They had windows to let in light, and school only meets during the day, so why would they need electricity? None of these schools had turf fields either. A dirt field or an open clearing will do just as well. But, amazingly enough, the kids that we saw were still learning.

I hope that this post doesn't come across as overly cynical. I understand that technology can be a very useful tool in education. I just want people to realize that it is a privilege, not a right.

What's in your bag?

NiceGirlNotes is my favorite new blog. The author, Roo, is adorably hilarious. I'm sad I only just found this blog, but I found it at a good time! This week, NiceGirlNotes is hosting the What's In Your Bag linkup, a fun way to snoop without feeling guilty :)

And now, without further ado.... my bag!

I love my purse. My dad bought it for me in Cambodia when he was visiting Rapha House, an awesome charity that saves girls from the sex trade and helps them recover. The girls learn life skills, including sewing. They make these purses and sell them for an insanely cheap price. And, in addition to the cool back story, I think the bag itself is so cute and fun. Who doesn't love elephants? :)

I was surprised after emptying my bag how few things were in it. Normally I would have receipts and candy wrappers and spare change floating around in the bottom, but this was legitimately everything that was in it.

Here are all the items in a general left-to-right, top-to-bottom order (more or less):

1. Burt's Bee's Lip Balm (the "replenishing" kind.. nowhere near as good as the original)

2. Trident Original Gum (possibly my favorite gum!)

3. My keys

4. My wallet from Honduras (look at me being all cultured!)

5. A Red Cross flier about giving blood (i'm not by the way)

6. My ghetto phone

7. CD Case for what is currently playing in my car

8. My iPod

9. My Kindle, inside its pink case

Well, there you have it! Apparently, these are the things that are important enough for me to carry around all day. Or at least this day. If you liked this, look inside other people's bags or play along yourself! Here is the link: http://www.nicegirlnotes.com/whats-in-your-bag-linkup