I was laying in bed at home with a fever on the verge of my journey through cancer, although it won’t be for another three weeks that the doctors figure out what is really going on with me.
I was surprisingly coherent in my first blog post after I was admitted to the hospital, if I do say so myself. Talk about a walk down memory lane.
ho is graduating from the high chair to the Big Boys’ table with Daddy & Papa!
(And despite the food in his hand, he’s mostly using a spoon when he eats!)
A bit ago the California Supreme Court ruled to uphold the ban on same-sex marriages while at the same time upholding that the couples who married from June through November were still married.
Part of me is obviously saddened by the news and another part of me is relieved for my own marriage (and mostly for the implications for our family and our son).
I have no doubt this is just another battle in the war to equal rights.
Regardless, the victory for my family is bittersweet.
When I was going through chemo, our friends and neighbors did an amazing job of banding together to provide my family with meals. It was a relief not to have to worry about grocery shopping and cooking.
Whenever it was Louise’s turn to cook I knew dinner was going to be good. She made the most incredible dishes and is where I learned how to make Gratin Dauphinoise.
Another dish I picked up from her is chicken sausage with sauteed peppers and onions. I can still remember the first night she made these. They were incredible!
I struggled with what to serve them with, then after reading about Kaye making pierogies, I have since started preparing the two together. (After all, what goes better with a fried food than another fried food!)
I like to use a sweet chicken Italian sausage from Trader Joe’s, mostly because it’s a bit lower in fat, but also because they taste incredible!
Sausage With Peppers & Onions
Start with a couple of peppers and a couple of sweet onions. (You’ll notice that my peppers are starting to show their age. But they were still good! You can use any color of pepper, I just don’t like green peppers (GAG-ola), and the other colors of peppers are too expensive.)
As I mentioned, I like to use a sweet Italian chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s, but you can use any kind of sausage you like.
Clean the onions and peppers and then slice into 1/4″-1/3″ rings. Preheat a pan and put a couple of tablespoons of EVOO, then add the onions and peppers.
Let the onions and peppers cook until they start to get limp and start to turn a nice golden color. Then add the sausages. Let them cook and brown a bit. When they are almost done, add (GASP) a couple of tablespoons of butter. Mix well and allow it to continue to simmer.
While you’re waiting for the sausages, cook your pierogies (Kaye tells you exactly how to do it on her blog, I just can’t find it right now!).
When everything is done and golden brown, serve with a green salad (just so it seems more healthy!).
There you go, one of my favorite meals!
We just had our second earthquake in as many days (actually, according to the US Geological Survey, there have been about 15 earthquakes in the last two days in this area!)! This time it was 4.1 and I definitely felt it… But more about that in moment.
So we’re all tight right? Like tight enough that I can tell you an embarrassing story?
Several years ago I participated in the AIDS Lifecycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles (I didn’t ride, I volunteered with the traffice crew (with my Mom!)). We were a day or two from Los Angeles, somewhere in Podunk. I was sitting in a porta-potty when it starts to rock back and forth. My first thought was that someone was messing around with me. Then I heard someone in another porta-potty down the line from me yell, “OMG, an earthquake!” I had no clue as I had never experienced an earthquake before!
That’s when I started to freak out. The only thing I remember is thinking, “Dear god, don’t let me die in a porta potty!”
Flash forward to today: (Those of you quick enough will have guessed where I’m going with this!) I was sitting on the toilet when I felt the building twist and turn!
My first thought this time was, “Should I cut this short?”
My second thought was, “Oh my god, please don’t let me die on this toilet!”
So I’m driving to work this morning, a couple of miles from home, when I have to stop at a red light. I’m sitting there, sunroof open (it helps my spirit when I’m driving to work), looking around, when I notice smoke. I immediately think, “Man would that suck” and start looking around to see whose car is smoking. Don’t see anything; the light changes; I drive off.
At the next light a few miles down, I notice smoke again!
But this time, being the observant person I am, I see it roiling up from underneath the hood of MY CAR!
I look at the thermostat thingie and it doesn’t show the car running hot. Hmmm… Maybe it was a bug?
So I proceed gingerly down the road and the smoke clears (DUH! Wind!), so I keep going. Stop at the next light, more smoke. And the smell of HOT antifreeze (a very distinctive smell if you’ve never smelled it!).
Thankfully there’s a gas station on the corner so I pull over (yah, finally… I don’t need much persuading…) by the water thingie (that you have to pay 75 cents to use, by the by!). I open the hood and everything looks normal. No smoke.
On closer inspection I see a liquid bubbling out of the end of a hose near the coolant resevoir. The liquid was bubbling onto the (insert technical name here) which looked VERY hot, and hence the smoke. I felt a little bit better that I knew what was making the smoke and that there wasn’t anyting gushing out or anything.
So I continued my drive to work (by then I was only a couple miles away) and got my service center on the phone to make an appointment for tomorrow morning. At first the service agent was a little shocked that I was still driving, but after I explained what I saw and that I was going to top the coolant off with water after the car cooled off, he agreed that it could wait until then.
Now, I would like to take this opportunity to officially apologize to all the owners of new cars that I’ve seen sitting on the side of the road. I realize now that laughing at that fact that you were stalled on the side of the road in your new car probably wasn’t funny. I also realize it didn’t likely have anything to do with the make or model of your car and that these things can happen to any of us. Mea culpa. I apologize.
It’s because we just had a freaking earthquake!
Like 16 minutes ago!
I was sitting in the piano room reading and Laurent was watching TV in the living room when I heard a loud crack and then the house started jerking and shaking. Like to the point I could hear the glasses in the built-ins in the dining room and kitchen rattling against each other!
According to the US Geological Survey, at 8:39pm a magnitude 5.0 hit about a dozen miles south of where we live. There were two aftershocks after that, which we haven’t felt.
Hubby and I both admitted that we each almost ran upstairs to grab Oliver out of bed. Glad we didn’t since it’s since calmed down. But whew…
We’re watching news coverage right now and talking about the fact that we really need to create a safety plan.
This Midwestern boy can tell you what to do in a tornado, but he hasn’t a clue what to do in an earthquake. Definitely have to remedy that!
A while ago I shared that we had lost our dear friend, Aline.
Because we had been out of touch for a while, I wasn’t used to talking to her often and subsequently thinking about her often.
However there is always one time that I can’t help but think about Aline and that’s when I make this delicious salad that she showed me how to make. It’s the first time I had ever heard of quinoa, and certainly the first time I had eaten it.
Aline’s recipe for Quinoa Salad is super easy, more of a guideline than a recipe. The day she made it, she used many of the same ingredients I will show below, but when you make it you can certainly use more, or less, or different ingredients. It’s still bound to be super yummy.
Aline’s Quinoa Salad
Mix it all together, add the juice of a lemon or two (or some flavored vinegar), a couple splashes of olive oil and check for seasoning. Reseason if needed, then chill.
Serve with a barbecued chicken breast.
Voila! Memories of a good friend and yummy food to eat.
Oh, for the full effect, don’t forget to put on a coordinating shirt and sunglasses before dinner.
I’ve decided to just sit back and wait to see what happens with my life. Clearly any energy or effort I exert isn’t going to make a bit of difference.
While mulling it over for the last couple of days and taking into consideration all the great comments and advice, I had decided that I should take advantage of the opportunity and apply for that open position with my district.
This was when I thought I knew which position it was and who currently filled that position. I could totally see myself doing the job that that person does.
Then I found out it wasn’t the position I thought it was, but rather someone else’s position. A person I admire and who works WAY too hard and has decided to go back into the classroom. (Warning, Warning Will Robinson!)
Despite this, I spent a bit of time talking with my principal breaking down the job description into meaningful tasks, all of which I either felt I was equipped to handle or could handle with some training.
But I was still on the fence about the position. I have come to terms with going back into the classroom and am actually looking forward to some aspects of it (including having more contact with students and teaching Yearbook). In addition, I like most of the people I work with and am comfortable here.
Then at lunch I got a call from a friend who runs an online fabric store basically asking for my help and offering me a partnership in the company in exchange for help with the labor (cutting and shipping fabric). In addition we talked about ideas for future expansion, etc.
So that sealed the deal for me! I’m not applying for that other position and will be going back into the classroom next year. Yes this will require taking classes to clear my credential and all that, but it’s not the end of the world. And I will have time to work on our shared fabric venture which may help me get to where I want to be (a small business owner).
That is, that’s what’s happening as of today. Who knows what that darned Universe is going to throw at me between now and August!
If you visited my last blog entry, you’ll know that I’m working hard at trying to remain become more positive about the whole having to work full-time until dreams become a reality or retirement (which is also about the time I will have paid off my student loans, by the way).
And I’m making progress. I have been trying to follow Sher’s advice and “be my own boss” at my job and put my heart into what I do and, not surprisingly, I guess, time doesn’t move so slowly and I’m generally more upbeat. Dare I say I’ve also come to a point where I’m not only not dreading going back into the classroom next year, but almost looking forward to it.
Sure enough, just as I’m doing all this mental preparedness, The Universe throws me a curveball!
I came in to work today and found an Announcement of Vacancy in my mailbox for a district-level position as a coordinator for Special Education. It’s the same number of days I currently work and it’s roughly the same pay scale.
After I first read it, I tossed it into the trash thinking, “I’ve already made my peace with going back into the classroom, let’s not draw it out.”
And then my principal came in and asked if I’d seen it (he had put it in my box) and whether I was going to apply. He thinks I am qualified for the position and obviously knows about my lack of eagerness for going back into the classroom.
I’m not sure I’m qualified for the position, only because I’m really bad at operationalizing requirements like “Duties and Responsibilities.” (It was the same thing in college and grad school: I’d get an assignment and just stare blankly at the assignment sheet, not comprehending what was being asked of me. Then when I’d get an explanation, I’d go, “Duh, I know how to do that!”) But if I take my principal at his word, I’m qualified for it.
So there it is, that darned curveball.
What do I do? I basically have nothing to lose (other than time in updating my resume and the angst of interviewing for the position and waiting for a decision) because even if I don’t get it, I’ll just continue with my current plan of going back into the classroom.
So what do you all think? Apply and put forth the effort and risk the possible rejection or let this pass me by and continue with what’s comfortable to me?
I asked Oliver for his feedback and after giving me this pensive look he responded with “wuh-wuh.” Cute, but not so much help.
Frank Notes 