Top 5 Most Popular Post and My Top 6 Favorite Posts

It's the time of year where you look back and reflect. It's also the time of year for countdowns. I like to look back over my blogging year and evaluate what my favorite posts were as well as my most popular posts of the year. If you missed any of these this year, I hope you'll go back and take a look.

My Top 5 Most Popular Posts of the Year:
(Pinterest played a big part in helping the popularity of some of these posts.)

5. Ornaments for Adoption: Meet the Family and a Giveaway
In this post, I introduced the Thigpen family for this year's Ornaments for Adoption. I hope you'll check back in January when I share how much money was earned and the ornament I made for the Thigpens.

4. State Love Canvas DIY Project
In this post, I shared how I made canvas paintings of Lee's and my home states. I don't do many posts like this because I usually copy other people's ideas because I'm bad at coming up with my own.

3. 10 Reasons Books are Better than Movies
This was part of my Page to Screen Series which also included my 10 favorite movies based on books, my 10 least favorite movies based on books, and 10 books I think should be movies.

2. Summer Reading List 2013
The popularity of this post surprised me because it was just something I threw together. It was just a simple list of a few books I planned to read over the summer.

1. 40 Book Challenge
This post is where I showed how I planned to implement the 40 Book Challenge in my classroom this school year. I recently gave an update as I'm halfway through my school year.

My Top 6 Favorite Posts of the Year:
(I could NOT narrow it down to 5. I had a hard enough time getting it to 6!)

6. Sexy Bear Sweater
I like this post because I feel like I'm sharing who I really am. I'm not a fashion blogger. I don't have great outfit advice to share regularly. This is what I look like more than anything else-dressed in comfy clothes! For some reason, I also just really love this sweatshirt.

5. Why You Gotta Be So Mean?
I had been seeing a certain viral blog post getting slammed by other bloggers. This happens too much. So, this is my passive aggressive response to all the hate.

4. Saying Good-bye to My Car
Okay, I don't really like this post. I actually HATE that I had to write it. But...it was such a big part of what happened this year and it affected how the rest of our year has gone. So, I had to include it.

3. My Top 10 Glee Songs
I love music and used to really love seeing what music they'd use next on Glee. I enjoyed reminiscing and picking my favorite moments from a show I used to really enjoy.

2. Are You REALLY Pro-LIFE?
This was one of my most serious posts and one I put a lot of thought into. I was also nervous about posting it because I know this can be a touchy subject. However, it's also one that really challenged me.

1. You Can't Go Home
I chose this as my #1 because this was a post that was truly from my heart. I'm usually not so open with my feelings, but I'd been wrestling with these particular feelings for a while. I wanted to share them because I always appreciate posts from people that show that they're human and their lives aren't perfect.

Happy New Year!

13 in '13 Final Review

At the beginning of 2013, I decided to set 13 goals for myself. I tried to update on this list every other month. For the upcoming year, I think I'm going to try and keep things simpler. Anyway...here's how the year ended with my goals:

 

13 Goals for '13

1. Make my blog more about me and less about "what everyone else is doing." {Read details here.}
Overall, I feel like I did this. I stopped trying to do everything. I stopped trying to do all the link ups, blog hops, giveaways, etc. I didn't take every opportunity that came my way. I stopped trying to blog every day. I took a couple of breaks from blogging. I'd say this goal was a success.

2. Cut down on excess in my life. I will be reading Seven: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker and I would like to participate as I read. {Read details here.}
This one's hard to measure, but I did read the book. I also cleaned out our apartment, cut back on the amount of time I spend using technology, and tried to eat healthier. I feel like I'm more aware of things and try not to live in excess whenever I can. I'd say this goal was a success even though there's always room for improvement.

3. Read through the rest of the New Testament. {Read details here.}
Having a quiet time is something I still struggle with. I think I read through 3 or 4 more books of the New Testament. I did not read the entire New Testament. I think in the new year, I'm going to pause on the NT for a while and read out of the Old Testament. My main focus needs to be reading the Word on a regular basis. I did not succeed in this goal.

4. Read a chapter from Psalm and/or Proverbs every Friday. {Read details here.}
I did not do this at all. This goal was a fail.

5. Plan each month's meals in advance. Look for new recipes and cook a variety of things. Eat out less! {Read details here.}
Overall, I did this. There were some months where I was lazier with the meal planning and cooking than others. However, I do feel like I tried to change things up a bit and branch out in what I was cooking. We also ate out less including one whole month where we didn't eat out at all.

6. Write a letter every other month to the children we sponsor through Compassion, Alan and Malaiyarasi. {Read details here.}
I think I might have missed one month, but overall this goal was a success. The main point is that I wrote to them more often.

7. Read at least 40 50 75 books. At least 10 of those books should be nonfiction. At least 5 of those books should be classic novels. {Read details here.}

I'm counting this goal as a success even though I did not read 5 classic novels. I think I'm going to give up on trying to read classics. I just can't do it. I did meet every other part of this goal, though.

8. Get healthy. Exercise at least 4 times a week. Make healthier food choices. {Read details here.}
Overall, this goal is not a success. Some months were better than others. I had some months where I was making very wise food choices and other months where I ate whatever I felt like eating. Similarly, I had some months where I worked out regularly and other months where I didn't work out at all.

9. Create the budget with my husband and stick to it! {Read details here.}
I did this once! I'm terrible, I know. This is going to be a big part of my much simpler goals for next year.

10. Go on at least 2 intentional dates a month. Have 2 nights a month that are technology free. {Read details here.}
Um....I didn't have any intentionally technology free nights, but overall I watched so much less TV this year and was on the computer so much less. We also didn't do so good on the date nights later in the year when Lee got a new job.

11. Do at least 10 things that I pinned on Pinterest. (Read details here.)
I'm going to say this was a success. I stopped counting, but I know I did several Pinterest inspired project this past year.

12. Learn how to effectively use my DSLR camera. (Read details here.)
I did this, but since I haven't used my camera much lately-I don't know how much I remember. The goal just said learn and I learned it once. Next time, I'm going to write down notes so I remember what I learned. :)

13. Create a cleaning schedule (AND STICK TO IT) so that the house gets cleaned little by little throughout the week instead of me having to clean all weekend. (Read details here.)
I didn't do this well at all. Most of the year involved me cleaning on the weekends. This is still something I'd like to work on doing. It's so much easier to do little by little instead of all at once, but I have a HARD time doing anything when I get home from work. 

So, overall I successfully accomplished 7 goals. I at least attempted or improved on the rest. I'd say the year didn't go too bad. Next year, I plan to have WAY fewer goals and I'm going to make them SMART goals so that I can truly assess if I completed them or not.


Did you accomplish what you set out to do this year? Are you going to make resolutions for 2014?

Merry Christmas!! Apartment Christmas Tour!! Going Offline!!

Christmas is upon us, so I thought I'd give you a little tour of our Christmas decor. Decorating an apartment is tricky. We don't have a fireplace and mantle. We can't hang lights outside. We barely have room for a tree. BUT I love Christmas decorations and we do our best to make it work.

Last year, I finally got enough pieces that I can set out my Willow Tree nativity. Up until last year, I only had a sheep and a goat. :)

With no mantle, I decided to hang our stockings from the book case. I also used it to display my Grinch drawings. 

Since I have plenty of wreaths, I figured why not hang some inside like on this closet door. 

Our table is all set and hasn't been used in months. :) I also want some Christmas napkin rings, but haven't been able to find any. 

I love this little sign we got on our honeymoon. 

This is another treasure from our honeymoon. 

I made this framed chalkboard earlier in the year and recently added a Christmas verse. 

Lee's shelf didn't need to miss out on my Christmas drawings. 

On top of the bookcase is the glittery Joy to the World nativity. 

A fun sign I made at a craft night with my friends. 

 More wreaths needed a place to hang.

A Christmas craft hanging on our door. 

An idea taken from Pinterest that I love. 

 

 The centerpiece on our coffee table

The Grinch and Max hang out on our loveseat.

 Lighted garland outlines our sliding glass door and beautiful blinds. :)

I love my gingerbread man spoon rest. 

And my gingerbread man hand towel. 

Last, but not least is our tree which we rearranged the living room for so that it would fit.

Anyway...I've decided that with Christmas approaching and due to my feelings of social media/blogger burn out-I've decided to go offline for a week or so. Social media-as I've shared before- can be both a blessing and a curse. It can become an addiction and it makes it so easy to compare your life to others. Christmas is a time for joy and comparison robs you of joy. I don't want to spend my Christmas ill because so and so is doing this or so and so has that. Christmas is also a time to spend with loved ones. Social media takes up time that could be spent on making memories. I want to spend time with the people I'm with, not online. I don't want to be that person who's always checking their phone. I'm going to have my husband hide my computer and I'm removing social media apps from my phone. I will be back some time after Christmas. We'll see how this goes. I have some end of the year stuff scheduled for the blog after Christmas. I look forward to seeing what the new year has in store for me and my blog.

Lastly, I want to wish you and your family a 

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

#santaselfie

My Top 5 Books of the Year

I read a lot of books this year and I've enjoyed adding book reviews to my blog. Reading is one of my biggest passions and favorite hobbies, so I'm glad it's spilling over into my blogging. I have plans for that to increase in the new year.

Today, I want to share with you my top 5 favorite books that I read in 2013. I would highly recommend these books to you and I've recommended them to friends and family many times already.

1. The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley

Book Description:
Matt Beaulieu was two years old the first time he held Elle McClure in his arms, seventeen when he first kissed her under a sky filled with shooting stars, and thirty-three when he convinced her to marry him. Now in their late 30s, the deeply devoted couple has everything-except the baby they've always wanted. When an accident leaves Elle brain dead, Matt is devastated. Though he cannot bear the thought of life without her, he knows Elle was afraid of only one thing-a slow death. And so, Matt resolves to take her off life support. But Matt changes his mind when they discover Elle's pregnant. While there are no certainties, the baby might survive if Elle remains on life support. Matt's mother, Linney, disagrees with his decision. She loves Elle, too, and insists that Elle would never want to be kept alive on machines. Linney is prepared to fight her son in court-armed with Elle's living will. Divided by the love they share, Matt and Linney will be pitted against each other, fighting for what they believe is right, and what they think Elle would have wanted resulting in a controversial legal battle that will ultimately go beyond one family . . . and one single life.

Book description and image via Goodreads

Why I Recommend It:
First of all, this story made me think. I love when books make you think about what you believe and what you think you'd do in certain situations. I love being reminded that everything in the world isn't so black and white. There are a lot of gray areas. I also loved how the main character's wife was brain dead throughout the book, but we got to know her through his flashbacks and her journal entries. I love when a story is pieced together slowly and you have those moments of "OH, that's explains it..." Then, the end had me in tears. That's when you know it's a good book.

2. Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefield

Book Description:
In the dark days of war, a mother makes the ultimate sacrifice Lucy Takeda is just fourteen years old, living in Los Angeles, when the bombs rain down on Pearl Harbor. Within weeks, she and her mother, Miyako, are ripped from their home, rounded up-along with thousands of other innocent Japanese-Americans-and taken to the Manzanar prison camp. Buffeted by blistering heat and choking dust, Lucy and Miyako must endure the harsh living conditions of the camp. Corruption and abuse creep into every corner of Manzanar, eventually ensnaring beautiful, vulnerable Miyako. Ruined and unwilling to surrender her daughter to the same fate, Miyako soon breaks. Her final act of desperation will stay with Lucy forever...and spur her to sins of her own. 

Book description and image via Goodreads

Why I Recommend It:
It's historical fiction, first of all, and that's one of my favorite genres. I love learning history through the pages of a story. I particularly enjoyed this book because the way the Japanese-Americans were treated during WWII wasn't something that was discussed in my history classes. It's another sad reality of our history that needs to be shared. This book was also told through a series of flashbacks. I always enjoy this type of story telling. It leaves you wanting more because you find out little details along the way and the story slowly gets pieced together. It makes it hard to put down. There was also an element of mystery to this story and I was trying to figure it all out. There are plenty of surprises along the way.

3. Wonder by R.J. Palacio


Book Description:
August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Book description and image via Goodreads

Why I Recommend It: 
I feel like I can't say enough about this book. With bullying being the new buzzword, I think this book is so timely. Everybody- preteen and up- should read this book. If I taught 5th grade or higher, I'd read it to my class. Unfortunately, I think it's a little too high for the majority of my class.  I love how the story is told from several people's points of view. So, you get a fuller picture of what is going on. It teaches an important lesson that I think we all need reminding of from time to time.

4. Orphan Justice by Johnny Carr

Book Description:
While the growing orphan care movement has been reduced to a focus on adoption, something few people can do, Johnny Carr shows readers how every Christian should play an active role in caring for orphans. Indeed, caring for the orphan requires us to care about related issues from child trafficking and HIV/AIDS to racism and poverty. Too often, we only discuss or theologize the issues, relegating the responsibility to governments. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something; Christians are clearly called to care for orphans, a group so close to the heart of Jesus.

Book description and image via Goodreads

Why I Recommend It:
This is the 3rd book I've read on orphan care or adoption and this one is by far my favorite. This book is not solely about adoption. It's about the lives of orphans and how different problems affect them. Each chapter is on a different topic and it discusses everything from abortion to racism to HIV/AIDS. I also enjoyed the practical advise at the end of each chapter. He listed something everyone could do, something many could do, and something few could do. Johnny Carr is so real in his writing and he's quick to admit his own faults in these areas. I could relate to a lot of what he said because we come from similar backgrounds. Maybe the best thing about this book is that it's easy to read. It's written just like having a conversation with someone. It's not written in fancy theological language that can be difficult to understand.

5. 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker

Book Description:
American life can be excessive, to say the least. That’s what Jen Hatmaker had to admit after taking in hurricane victims who commented on the extravagance of her family’s upper middle class home. She once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called “rich” by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual was born. 7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence. Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They would spend thirty days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe “seven sacred pauses.” So, what’s the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It’s the discovery of a greatly increased God—a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better existence.

Book description and image via Goodreads

Why I Recommend It:
This book gave me a new perspective on many things and caused me to change the way I did some things. No, I don't think we should do this experiment, but I do think we should all reevaluate our lives and our priorities. This book is a great place to start. Even if you consider yourself to be "poor" or think you don't have much, we all have more than the majority of the world. I'm very struck by how most people (myself included) never feel fulfilled. We always want more. Why is this? It's not a problem of not having enough stuff or not being successful. It's a heart problem. This book examines that in great detail.

Have you read any of these? If not, you should! What book(s) did you read this year that you would recommend?  

 

December Edition of Literary Junkies

First of all, I hope you'll head over to my friend, Erin's blog where I'm guest posting for her Testimony Tuesday. I'm sharing how God is working in my life through adoption.

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1. If you could write a book, what would it be about?
If I were to ever write a book, I'd want it to be a historical fiction. That is one of my favorite genres. Of course, the problem with writing historical fiction is that you'd have to do a lot of research so that your facts are correct. I'd want it to take place in either ancient Roman times because that time fascinates me or on the Titanic because I'm slightly obsessed. It would definitely be a romance.


2. If you had to read one book or trilogy for the rest of your life, what would it be?
My answer for these types of questions are always the same-Harry Potter (which is neither a single book or trilogy, but it's still my answer). I read that series about every year and a half to every other year. I always get swept up in the story even though I've read it many times. I still laugh out loud at certain parts or cry uncontrollably in others. It never gets old. 




3. Who is your current favorite book character and why?
I loved the character Auggie Pullman in Wonder. He was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to school until middle school. We all know how "fun" middle school is. He faces bullying and difficulty fitting in and people treating him differently. All he wants is to be treated like everyone else. I loved his bravery and how he rose above his circumstances. It was a very inspiring story and it's one I think every preteen/teenager and adult should read.


4. Is there a book you read every year during the holiday season? If so, what is it and why?
Um...no. Unless you count How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I love that story!

5. Do you have any books on your Christmas list? Name a few.
I don't. As much as I love reading, I don't buy a lot of books. There's a perfectly good library where I can get them for free! Free is my favorite. I only buy my favorite books or books I think I'll read again. I think I may have asked for an Amazon gift card which I may use for future ebook purchases.

6. What is a book you read and loved that you didn't expect to?
Um...I really don't read books if I don't expect to like them. I have read a few books that I thought would be cheesy and just fun, but ended up enjoying them more than I thought. One that I read this year and enjoyed more than expected was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I really don't know why I enjoyed this one as much as I did. I also read a book called Warrior by Joanne Wadsworth that I didn't expect to like as much because I hadn't really enjoyed the first book in the series.

**I hope you'll come back tomorrow when I share my top 5 favorite books that I read this year.** 

How would you answer these questions? Are you linking up?

Monday Mingling

Happy Monday! Today, I am happy to be co-hosting the Monday Mingling Blog Hop! Blog hops can be a great way to find new blogs if you just do a little looking around. I hope you'll link up and spread the word!

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Welcome to the Monday Mingling Blog Hop! Please take the time to introduce yourselves to our co-host! If you are new to this blog hop, please leave us a comment letting us know you are following and we would be happy to follow you back.Thank you for joining us this week, and don't forget to link back to us by grabbing our button. Happy Mingling!

<center> <a href="http://www.southernsunflowersandcoffeebeans.com"><img border="0" src="http://i47.tinypic.com/2ii7sye.png"></a></center>  

Megan  @ Make It Count Blog

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My blog originally started as a way to keep my family and friends updated on my life as I got married and moved away. Slowly, it has evolved into something more. I write about a variety of topics, but they're all a reflection of things I love: books, crafts, adoption, my faith, etc. My blog is called Make It Count becasue I want to take life as it comes at me and be sure each day counts.

Rules:

1. Follow both of your hosts via Bloglovin'.

(first 2 links below)

2. Follow your co-hosts via GFC or Bloglovin'
(next two links)

3. Link up your main blog URL, not a specific post.

4. Link back to us by grabbing our button.

5. Tweet, Facebook, and Pin this blog hop. The more you spread the word the more people will link up, and the more success you will have! 

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6. Be sure to visit other blogs! Don't just link up and wait for others to find you. 

Let's get this party started!!...

40 Book Challenge Halfway Update

At the beginning of the school year (which is July for me at year round school) I posted about how I wanted to use the 40 Book Challenge this year with my students.

I am now halfway through this school year, so I thought I'd share how it's going.

How did my students react?
My students really embraced the challenge. It's amazing how motivated students can be when you create a challenge. They want to add more books to their chart. They want to add more stickers to our class chart. We have a display in the hallway that they want to add to. They want to know that we've read more books than the other classes. I also always remind them that the only way to become better readers is to READ.

How are my students reading?
They have been doing great! We did have to have a discussion about them trying to read more on their level or slightly higher to challenge themselves instead of only reading books that were too easy. Every single one of my students has been reading whole books. They spend 20-30 minutes every day reading in our class. When they finish early or if we get interrupted, most of them pull out a book. When they had their midyear benchmark, all of their fluency and retell levels increased. I look forward to getting their quarterly benchmark test results to see if those improved as well. As a class, we've read over 500 books!

Any tips or changes? 
*You, the teacher, be excited about reading! I would share with the class when I finished a book. Whenever we finished a book as a class, we added it to our list. I read to them all the time.
*Teach your students how to find books that are a good fit for them.
*I have a sign up sheet for my students when they finish a book or two so that they can tell me about the book before I sign off on it on their chart and give them their sticker for the class chart.
*Instead of doing 1 star sticker for each book, we change a certain number out for different color stars. This helps them with some math skills. Overall, there's nothing that I would change.

40 Book Challenge Celebration
Before our break, we had a day to celebrate how well they'd done. We spent some time reading independently. I read a book to them. We had a guest reader and we had food! I look forward to the end of the year when we're going to have an even bigger celebration.

I'm well aware that cake decorating is not my talent. All that matters is that it tasted GOOD!

Sorry...I'm not sharing their cute little faces on my blog, but we each wrote how many books we've read and decorated it. I'm so proud of them!

If you're a teacher, how do you motivate your students to read? If you're a parent, how do you motivate your children to read? Were you motivated to read as a child?

Ornaments for Adoption: A Message from the Thigpens

Ornaments for Adoption 2013 will officially end after today. 

I am so pleased with how this year turned out. Last year, this was just a dream of mine that I might could actually help a family and raise awareness of this issue. Last year was a success and I dreamed of this year being bigger and better. I knew some things I wanted to do differently to make things go smoother and I already have ideas for improvements next year.

I have to say thank you so much to each of you who bought an ornament, spread the word, commented, and prayed for the Thigpen family. I sincerely appreciate it. I can't wait to run some final numbers and come back in January to tell you how many ornaments were sold and how much money was raised towards the Thigpen's adoption.

I also have to thank my friends who came to help me make ornaments when the orders just kept rolling in. Please be sure to also support the small businesses that donated prizes for the weekly drawings. You can find a list of those people here.

Today is THE LAST DAY to place an order. Unfortunately, I will not accept any orders after today.  Later this week, I will have one final drawing for a gift card. Everyone who bought an ornament's name will be in the drawing-even if you've already won a prize. It will be one final thank you to you for your support.

Today, I have a message to you from the Thigpens.

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 I would first like to begin by saying THANK YOU to Megan!! This precious lady has worked so hard and diligently these last 10 weeks, and the blessing that we are receiving from her labor wouldn't be possible without her humble obedience to the call Christ has placed on her heart. So Megan, thank you so much for being an obedient servant to our Lord, for sacrificing your time and money, for using your gifts and talents in service, for ministering to us through this ministry, and for helping us bring our little one home! We are eternally grateful!

To all of you have purchased an ornament, THANK YOU! I hope in the days and years to come, the ornament that decorates your tree each year will be a reminder of how you helped an orphan find a forever family and be taught the beauty and wonder of the Gospel. I hope your ornament will also remind you of the promise Christ made, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:18). And I pray that you will continue to find ways to minister to the orphan as you have generously ministered an Ethiopian orphan in need this Christmas season.

As we have only just begun our journey through adoption, I know there will be long days and months ahead of waiting. The Lord has been faithful to us all along through a miscarriage and the unknown of infertility, and I know that He will provide the patience and peace we need to endure. We can't wait to bring our little one to his or her forever home, to be called "Mommy" and "Daddy" for the first time, to teach him or her about Jesus and listen to sweet bedtime prayers, to hear little squeals and giggles in a playroom, to kiss away tears and make boo-boos better, and to hopefully one day watch our little one place his or her trust in the One who offers an invitation into a family and an inheritance far better than we can ever imagine, in Christ Jesus!

Until then, we sincerely appreciate all of your prayers as we dive in head-first into the piles of paperwork, begin meeting with a social worker, and eventually just wait... The support we have received from you all so far has been such an encouragement that will keep us afloat in the days to come! Megan, Ornaments for Adoption, and all of you are a beautiful part of our adoption story!! Thank you all again, so very much! We praise the Lord and give Him the thanks for the work He has done to make this possible! Merry Christmas!!

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Since part of my mission behind Ornaments for Adoption is raising awareness, please make sure you didn't miss any of the OFA posts from this year:

Meet the Thigpens
Update from the Brocks
Thoughts from Someone Who Was Adopted
Using Positive Adoption Language
Adoption is Love
Hosting Orphans
Transracial Adoption
Resource List
5 Ways to Help Orphans This Holiday Season