Moore Tradition & MU Football!

Hello All :) I hope you've had a fabulous week! This week has flown by for me and I'm glad for a couple of reasons: 1. Wedding Shower 2. Family festivities. 3. MARSHALL FOOTBALL STARTS! Time to tailgate with great food and friends!

One of my very best friend's is having her wedding shower this evening! She's the most deserving girl in the world and I can't wait to see all the goodies she gets! Her house is going to look marvelous!

What I'm reaaaaaaaaaally excited about is the family festivity that us Moore's like to call a "family tradition." I'm ALL about a tradition, especially with them! Once a year, my Great Uncle Bill from Kentucky drives in for the weekend in his big camper and parks it right at...get ready.. VIRGINIA POINT. Yeah baby! He always brings his golf cart, which my cousin Zane and I usually take full advantage of. If for some reason you're in the Kenova area tonight- hide ya kids! We tend to have a little too much fun with that thing. Once he gets here the cooking out begins and doesn't end until he leaves! Everything from food, campfires, and fishing, to hitting some golf balls into the river. Never a dull moment with the Moore clan!

Also, football season has arrived! Some of my best memories are made on game days with friends. I'm hoping for a WINNING season this year! Go Herd!

Off to the shower I go! Hope everyone has a great, safe weekend!

5 Ways to be Happier :)

My dear mother forwarded this email to me yesterday after she had received it from a co-worker. I found it so uplifting that I wanted to share it with YOU.

A tip for each day of the week

 

Monday

Focus on "Get to" instead of "Have to" - While driving to work focus on what you "get to" do instead of what you "have to" do. With gratitude realize that you don't have to do anything. Youget to go to a job while so many are unemployed. Gratitude floods your body and brain with emotions that uplift you and energize you rather than stress hormones that drain you.

 

Tuesday

Don’t Expect your Boss, Co-workers and Customers to Make you Happy - Realize that happiness is an inside job. Our happiness has less to do with forces outside of us and more to do with what's inside of us. The way we think about work, feel about work and approach our work influences our happiness at work. For instance, just by making yourself smile you produce more serotonin in the brain-which makes you feel happier. You'll also be happier when you focus on what you are giving instead of what you are getting.

 

Wednesday

Don’t Seek Happiness - Ironically if you want to be happier don't seek happiness. Instead share your strengths and decide to work with passion and purpose and happiness will find you. The research shows that people are most energized when they are using their strengths for a bigger purpose beyond themselves. Whatever your job, decide to bring passion to it and find purpose in it. I've met bus drivers, mortgage brokers, janitors and fast-food employees who are more passionate about their jobs and happier than some professional athletes making millions of dollars. Every job will get mundane and "old" if you let it but purpose and passion keep it fresh and make you happier.

 

Thursday

Focus on Excellence instead of Success - When you focus on success you can easily fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others, looking over your shoulder, feeling envious, playing office politics, and competing against coworkers instead of collaborating. However, when you focus on excellence you measure yourself against your own growth and potential. You strive to be the best you can be. You simply focus on getting better every day and this makes work more meaningful and rewarding.

 

Friday

Celebrate Together - While we shouldn't depend on others to make us happy, by building a positive team or support group at work we will be happier. So instead of expecting others to make you happy, you proactively create the positive relationships that enhance your engagement, productivity and happiness. One great way to do this to huddle with your team/group at the end of the week and have each person share their accomplishments, victories, and great moments of the week. This will produce great feelings on Friday that inspire you and your team to come back to work and make a difference on Monday.

 

I am blessed with a job and co-workers that I love dearly so work stress is pretty much irrelevant to me. However, while reading this I found myself applying it to school. I hope you can take these 5 Monday-Friday tips and apply them in the areas of your life you see fit!

 

Have a great day!

Quick Healthy Bars on the Go!

Most every one's schedule is so hectic that it's sometimes easy to forget to eat or pack a snack. Because of this we choose the easiest, quickest route which usually results in fast food or snacks from the gas station. Yes, I can be guilty at times, too! I wanted to share with you all a few of my favorite bars that I grab before heading out of the house!

1. Cliff Bars

These babies are so yummy and are packed with protein. Beacuse of the calories, I tend to use eat this as a meal replacement rather than a snack. The peanut butter crunch is my fave!

2. Fiber One Bars

A bar has 9 grams of fiber and 140 calories. This is one of my favorite snacks. You can even find these in the Great Value brand at walmart and save some mula!

3.  Balance Bars

Woooo Baby. These are fantastic. This bar has over 23 vitamins and minerals, 14 grams of protein, and 200 calories. My mom and I will usually split this bar in half for a 100 calorie snack. It taste just as good as a brownie to me. You can find these at Walmart, Walgreens, etc.

All three of these bars are so yummy and a much better choice than a bag of potato chips!

What I love about Sundays..

"Go home into your blue jeans. Have some chicken and some baked beans. Pick a backyard football team, nothin much of anything. That's what I love about Sunday"-- LOVE IT! Craig Morgan really hit the jackpot with this song. As I'm about to flip the lights out for the night, I can't stop singing this in my head. Maybe because that's the perfect Sunday song? Maybe cause I'm just delirious and need sleep? Orrrrrrrrr maybe because I absolutely can not wait for my Momma's cookin tomorrow? Yes, I think that's it!

Since my birthday falls on a Wednesday, Momma figured it'd work out best to get the family together this Sunday rather than during the week. After church she's cooking my birthday dinner and inviting my lovely Moore fam over to join! Instead of that chicken and baked beans, we'll be having my absolute favorite Sunday dinner: A crock pot full of roast, potatoes, and carrots. And we can't forget the best part...CORNBREAD! The dessert will be my birthday cake-Red Velvet (my fave!) Is it bad that my mouth is watering just thinking about the food? I have problems.

Other than that big meal, I plan to be in my hoodie and sweats- relaxing, being lazy, blogging, reading, etc. The forecast for tomorrow is 60% chance of rain which means-perfect lazy weather! Now THATS what I love about Sundays.

Now that I've rambled and bored you about all this food at 11:30pm, I think it's time to calm it down and hit the sack! 

What are your favorite Sunday meals? Share with me!

UPDATE!

For those of you who read my post about donating to the Big Brothers/Big Sister's Organization, I figured I'd give you an update on the turn out. I was AMAZED at the amount of school supplies that were donated!

Here's the trunk of goodies before dropping them off at BBBS!

Thank you again to all my friends and family that took just a LITTLE time out of their day to make a child smile so BIG! You all are FABULOUS!

I figured I'd share that hroughout this process I decided to become a mentor for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization! They are currently in the process of finding me a match and I absolutely can not wait to meet my little sister! I was a part of a mentoring program a couple years ago called Be Hope USA and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Believe me, it would be yours too! These children need a positive influence in their life as well as a lot of LOVE. We all have a little extra love and attention to give, right? All it takes is one hour out of the week! If you think mentoring is something you'd enjoy then please please please do it! BBBS is welcoming people (both men and women) to come forward and mentor! Here is a couple ways to contact BBBS.

Website: http://www.bbbstristate.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigbrothers.bigsisters.37
Phone: 304-522-2191


"One thing I know; the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. "~ Albert Schweitzer

Avoiding the Freshman 15

So this was the first week back to school and holy cow is there a LOT of freshman on campus. I couldn't help but reminisce on my freshman year. I remember how excited I was: Freedom. New faces. Food everywhere. Awesome Rec Center. With that said, I think we've all heard about the "Freshman 15". Between the new schedule and late nights in the library, snacking on the wrong things become a habit- a very bad habit. Believe me freshies, it's easy to gain but so much HARDER to get it off. Here's a couple tips so that the "Freshman 15" won't apply to you!

1. WORK IT OUT.

http://www.marshallcampusrec.com/

I know how hard it can be adjusting to a new schedule but it's so important not to forget the most important part of your day. Between eating late and the stress of school, it only makes sense to MAKE this a part of your day. Plus, this Rec center is pretty awesome. They have everything between rock climbing, swimming, yoga, spinning, etc so there's really NO reason why you shouldn't take full advantage!

2. AVOID CAFETERIA FOOD

This use to be a struggle for me but I believe I've finally mastered saying NO to the food on campus. Most of it is expensive, fattening, and.. did I say EXPENSIVE? It's almost $3.00 for a cup of grapes. Holy Cow. This leads to my next tip...

3. PACK YOUR LUNCH

Some of my friends giggle at the fact that not only do I pack my lunch, but I have a lunch box that matches my bag. (Nerd Alert!) But seriously, it's cheaper and healthier. I often hear, "I don't have time". Welllllll guess what!? Yes you do. Wake up just a tad bit earlier each morning or just pack it at night. Takes a whole bit of 5 minutes!

4. COFFEE

Coffee will be your BEST FRIEND. Never in a million years did I think I would drink it,  let alone become an ADDICT. Studies have shown that coffee does have its perks when it comes to health factors. Here's where the specialty coffees come in. The sugar. The whip cream. The chocolate. Bad news is.. well these are just BAD news all together. Good news? There are ways around it!  You can ask for sugar free and no whip and this cuts the calories in half! Anything from Starbucks with the word "Skinny" in front of it, is always a better choice. One of my favorite drinks they serve is a skinny vanilla latte. They use steamed nonfat milk and sugar free syrup. 0 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein, and ONLY 60 calories! Yeeeeeeeehaw to that!

Hope these small tips help you avoid the extra 15! Enjoy your first year of college and remember: 

WORK.... IT.... OUT!

Vinson Pride/Audios Summertime!

Most don't understand why I'm completely content with where I'm from. Traveling and getting to see bigger cities is always a huge wake up call that there's more to life outside of what I know. However, what I know is what I want. In those big cities, you can't find the communities you have here. There's something about a small area that brings everyone closer together. You are forever attached to that one place that completely molded you as an individual. I grew up here in Westmoreland and was once/still am a Vinson Tiger (proud of it ;) ) and I want nothing more than to TEACH in the county that made my childhood/adolescent years a memorable one. Some people can't be content living here. I on the other hand can. 

Nothing says it more than when over 300 men and their families come from all over the nation to gather and celebrate THEIR Tiger pride.  No matter where life took them, this night brought them all back together again. It was ALL for Gary Norris and Coach Smith, as the gym and floor were named after them! What a legacy for these coaches and the Vinson community! 

I think it says something special when this many players show up to honor their coach! What an amazing night!

It's been one heck of a summer and it's always sad to see it go BUT I believe I'm ready for fall! Football games, Holidays, Family Time, and Coffee- I believe it's my favorite season! The only thing I'm not ready for is classes to start. This is the first semester where I am desperately trying to find my mojo (as my mom would say- ha!). This will be my last semester of classes and I'll finish up with student teaching in the spring. Thank you sweet Jesus! I've had fun blogging about my summer but I see a lot of teaching/project posts (the real reason for this blog)in the near future! So long sweet summer!