OOTD: LSU-Style

I must admit that I never dreamed of doing an OOTD post. I'm not that stylish or trendy and really haven't figured out my own sense of style. I'd definitely say that I'm a mixture of many. Pinterest gives me inspiration that I never had when it comes to planning outfits. One thing I normally don't do is plan an outfit (especially during the work week).

This morning, I had no idea what I would wear other than jeans. Fridays are jeans days along with a school spirit shirt, college shirt, or purple (our school colors). I get tired of wearing school t-shirts and opted for a purple sweater. When I looked at it and how plain it was, I wished I had a plaid button down to layer underneath.  Since that wasn't in my closet, I started thinking, what goes well with purple, and of course I thought of gold, being a Louisiana girl! And, ta-da...

Sweater: Old Navy

Blouse: The Limited

Jeans: New York & Co.

Gianni Bini Flats: Dillard's

Just like that, I had what I thought was a great outfit. It was the type of outfit that I almost took off and changed because I felt like it was too cute to waste on wearing to work. (Am I the only person who does that?)

Flash Mob, Anyone?

I wish I could dance and I think my husband wishes he could dance too. Since that's not a reality for either of us, we get our dancing kick from tv shows and movies. Willie watches Dancing with the Stars and I'm a fan of So You Think You Can Dance. And, Willie makes sure that we see any dance movies. I lean away from them because they all have the same plot:

Crew dances.
Boy dances with girl.
Boy likes girl.
Crew dances.
Girl has a secret.
Crew dances.
Crew rebels against boy.
Crew dances and wins some battle.

If I had the remote, we would fast forward and just watch the scenes where the crew dances. Tonight, the hubby rented Step Up Revolution. And, of course, the plot is the same as almost every other dancing movie out there, but the difference was that the dancing was redonkulous. Yes, I said redonkulous!

The opening scene was awesome!

I couldn't imagine how they would top that one, but since it was the first five minutes of the movie, it had to be outdone.

Mia Michaels, my favorite SYTYCD choreographer  was in the movie, and when I heard the song 'Dancing' by Elisa, I instantly was reminded of my favorite dance performed by Lacey and Kameron on season 3 of SYTYCD. (Fast forward to about minute 1:25 for the best part!)

Anyway, this is about Step Up Revolution. The remaining dance scenes do not disappoint. 'The Mob' takes over an art gallery, making the art come to life. They mob a meeting, a restaurant, a gala, and more.

The last scene brings back some of our favorites from previous Step Up movies:

Adam Sevani as Moose

Mati Koda as Jenny Kido

Chadd Smith as Vladd

Stephen 'Twitch' Boss as Jason

If you love a good dance scene, go to the Redbox and pick up Step Up Revolution!

You may be inspired to join a flash mob like me right now!

BTW, lots of my friends on Facebook commented about wanting to do a flash mob! I hope they know that I am the type of person who will find one and call each and every one of them up to join me!

Out of my Overflow

Recently, I was encouraged by and had the opportunity to encourage my friend, Angela of Selfless Ambition. She posted about spiritual starvation and how this depletion left her on empty, unable to give to others. She shared a pin that definitely inspired me.

via Pinterest

I am all to aware of the fact that when I am filled with God's love and God's Word, those around me reap from the overflow. I was reminded of this again today when a co-worker asked me to pray for her. I know that our prayers ares just a conversation with God, but that conversation comes so much easier when I am closer to my God. When I am constantly in God's Word, it's easier to pray His Word and to encourage others. I am trying my best to encourage others with God's Word and not my thoughts, and I try really hard for my prayers to be the same.

For the word of God is living and powerful! It is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

{Recipe} Apple Dumplings!

I'm sure you love Pinterest just as much as I do! I love to try the occasional craft or recipe inspired by Pinterest! I didn't find this recipe on Pinterest, but it's so good that I had to 'pin it' and share it with my friends.

Apple Dumplings is a recipe my mom cooked on holidays. Sometimes, we ate it for breakfast and other times for dessert. Is that bad? Something sweet enough for dessert eaten at breakfast time? I guess it's no worse than eating donuts for breakfast.

Anyway, my mom directed me to The Pioneer Woman for the recipe. I had everything needed other than the Mountain Dew, so a quick trip to fill up the gas tank was my excuse to acquire my missing ingredient! Then, I began to cook these apples, wrapped in crescent rolls, drowned in butter, sugar,vanilla, and Mountain Dew, topped with cinnamon! (I'm sure that a run-on on sentence, but I teach math, not language arts.)

via Instagram

The hubby loved it and said it may beat my mom's recipe for a Neiman Marcus Cake. I don't know that I agree with that one though. Maybe I'll share that recipe next time I make it. As the title suggests, it's a rich cake!

Anyway, enjoy the recipe for Apple Dumplings! You can find it here!

Third Time's a Charm...

Well, this may be more than the third time that I've attempted blogging. I love blogging and reading blogs, but for some reason, I have a hard time keeping up. My first real, dedicated attempt at blogging came when I decided that I was going to loc my hair. 'iRockLocs' was born to chronicle my journey from rockin' relaxers to rockin' locs!

I really enjoyed blogging. Once I had readers, over 300 of them, it felt like I had a duty to keep the blog updated. I did giveaways to thank my readers, featured readers and other bloggers, and was featured on a few blogs myself. It was an amazing journey, but then, locs became just hair and it wasn't as fascinating anymore. There was so much more going on in my life that I wanted to blog about other than hair.

So, then I thought I wanted to blog about family and life...hence, 'The Howard Home.'

I was prepared to share our search for a house and all that went into making our house a home! Well, having a home meant work. With iRockLocs still flourishing and requiring my time and attention, making posts about the house just wasn't as interesting, especially without readers. I was just writing for myself...boring.

Soon, my husband began a photography business. And, of course, he needs a website. Being the internet, blog junkie I am, it's only natural that I would offer my services. So, now my time is put into keeping D. Howard Photography up to date and a beautiful representation of my husband's work.

But that was HIS website, not MY website; So, then it was on to where I spent most of my days anyway, at work. So, why not have a blog about my educational endeavors. Born is 'Mrs. Howard Math' for my colleagues...

And 'We Speak Math' for my students...

But of course, teaching is not a nine to five and requires work from me at home. It's more productive to do the work needed rather than to write about it.

And then, there's the numerous journals of sermon notes, bible study notes, and devotionals of what God has revealed to me in His Word. Occasionally, these make it to the world wide web in the form of a devotional posted through my YouVersionBible App.

Now, my husband has convinced me to join him in his photography endeavors. I enjoy accompanying him on shoots and have been learning to use the camera in manual, so why not! Team Howard has always been our mantra when in friendly competition or just celebrating our small victories. Team Howard is engraved in our wedding bands. Now, Team Howard is the name of our photography business.

So, six websites/blogs later, we come to 'Team Howard: Life Behind the Lens.' I can't make any promises about what subjects I'll write about, how often I'll post, or how long this one will last. I'm hoping to compile all my interests into one blog. Hopefully, the sixth time is a charm and there will be readers who enjoy reading about faith, family, friends, education, photography, fashion, and whatever else goes on in our life behind the lens.