Not Preggo

Husband was at school last night which meant I was home alone...being less than productive...pinning everything I saw on Pinterest.  Most things I saw involved babies.  I've had a baby (more specifically, a Baby...No, I'm Not Pregnant, I Just Like Babies) board for.ev.er.

Last night, I ran into a butt load of cute baby crafts and pinned them all over my Crafts & Sewing Ideas board.  As I was doing so I was thinking "People are going to think I'm super preggo." 

I woke up to this forwarded text (originally from Thomas) from Husband: "Hey so based on Ashley's more recent pin trend topic, do you two have some big news?"

Hate to break it to you folks but no, I'm not pregnant, I just like babies...and baby crafts...and being prepared for when I really do have a baby.  I'm going to craft the crap out of everything when I really am pregnant...or at least pin a bunch of crafts that I could make for future baby.

If Our Marriage Was a Baby...

...he would be

• Starting to walk while holding onto things
• Feeding himself
• Throwing temper tantrums
• Showing more of his personality
• Dropping objects on purpose

But our marriage is a marriage, not a baby.

Happy 11 monthiversary, Husband!

Merry Christmas

Kids retelling the story of the birth of Christ...what could be better?

Feel Like Snort Laughing?

Then read this.

Things People Are Obsessed with on Pinterest

Elf on a Shelf.

--Creepy and time consuming.  If I do this when I'm a parent (and it's not to scare the poop out of my children like this) someone needs to sit me down and have me reread this entry.

Keep Calm and ...

--Really? How many ways can you truly keep calm?

I think this pinner said it best

Source: Uploaded by user via Soni on Pinterest

via Soni Alcorn-Hender

Nutella
--Is it really that good?

December Videos

I love Harry Potter

Make Out Hair

I curled my hair today.  It doesn't happen often so when I do curl it the students always react.  Most reactions sound something like this, "Oh, Mrs. H.  I like your hair."  "Mrs. H., your hair looks different today."  "What happened to your hair?" 

But the most classic 6th grader of 2011-2012 reaction was by A.M.  He said "Mrs. H.!  Your hair looks like you've been making out with your husband."

What?!  How do you react to that?  I decided on walking away.

Algebra and Eleven Year Olds

In case you didn't know, the core (what your children are supposed to be taught in each grade level) is/will be changing.  In my school, 6th grade adopted the new math core this year.  All other elementary grades in my school district will follow suit next year.

As I've gone through this year, learning the new core and amazing ways to teach it, I've been astounded at the things 6th graders (eleven and twelve year olds, people!!!!) are supposed to learn.

We're beginning our expressions and equations unit (a.k.a. algebra) tomorrow.  As I've been looking through the core and the end of unit test I'm noticing words like dependent and independent variable, greater than or equal to, equivalent expression, coeffecient.  Wowza!  I didn't even come close to hearing those words until the middle of 7th grade (and I was in the highest math class possible for a 7th grader).  And now all 6th graders are supposed to learn it this year?

I am amazed at what is expected of my students.  I will be even more amazed in three weeks when my students understand what all of those words and symbols mean.

Stoked

I know it's more than four months away but I am beyond excited for this movie.



Oh, man!  I hope it's as good as this trailer makes it look!

Best Wishing

Today is a magical wish day...November 11, 2011...11/11/11.

Don't forget to make a as many wishes as you can at 11:11am AND 11:11pm.  They're almost guaranteed to come true.

You won't be sorry.  I think my first wish will be for a pony.

What are you wishing for?

A Text Conversation

After discussing where we're going to dinner for Court's birthday:
Me: "What do you want for your birthday?"
Court: "I don't even know what I want. Ahhhhh."
Me: "Whit if I have a little black and white picture? :)"
Court: "What?"
Me: "I hoped you would have known what I was talking about.  I guess you'll just have to wait."
Court: "Of Justin Bieber?"
Me: "Nope.  Because you couldn't guess I'm not giving it to you."
Court: "Frack. I hate the waiting game."
Court: "Wait! What? Ultrasound.  You're lying to me."
Me: ":)"

This conversation lead to this:

Yep, my family bought 3 clearance Halloween costumes.  And they're in many sizes so whenever fiction baby is born we will be set.

 P.S. I'm not really pregnant.  Karma's a jerk, right ladies?

November Videos

This is Halloween

I'm really cheap when it comes to Halloween costumes and I think homemade is way better than store bought.

The first year I taught school, Halloween came about a month after I cut off all my hair, dyed it red and realized I had a cowlick that liked to make me somewhat resemble a bird.

Instant costume idea!  Bird!

So I went to work in 2009 in this costume...

 I was trying for a generic bird.  What my students thought was that I was a devil...with yellow legs.  I confused the crap out of them.

This year, still being cheap and sporting the same-ish hair, I decided to reuse the costume but add some more bird qualities.  Enter the painted on beak.

Everyone understood I was a bird but they were convinced I was the red Angry Bird.

Do you see any angry eyebrows people?  No?  Oh, that's right...I'm just a bird...that's it.  At least the three-year old that lives across from me understood. 

Next year, full on bird makeup like this:

Happy Halloween!

Vocabulary According to 6th Graders

Veterinarian: a person who does not eat meat
Dictator: a person who listens to evidence and decides if a defendant is guilty or innocent
Octogenarian: a person who believes in different religions
Dictator: a person who knows how to cure different sicknesses
Governor: a person who is taking over the USA
Translator:

 My favorite part of this picture is how angry the translator looks.

One Year Ago Today...

...I said yes.

Best decision EVER.

Sissy Pants Meets the Castle

It's been said that I'm a huge sissy (see #2).  For real.  If there is a chance that I will wet my pants from fear/break a bone/die/receive a head injury/need stitches/etc., I just don't do it.

Haunted houses fit into the "I'm not going because I'm a huge sissy" genre.  Earlier in my life, they were avoided for the "wet my pants from fear" category but after tonight, they go in the "head injury" category.

Husband, Jaynee, Ryan, Brandon (aka Bear Grylls, aka Brandon Full Bodied), Heidi and I went to Castle of Chaos.

As we stood in line, I was freaking my freak.  I was nauseous, sweaty, and super anxious.  Let's just say I AM NOT A FAN.

We finally got in and I was still unsure about going in.  I contemplated feigning illness and waiting in the car or pushing my husband and 4 other friends out of the way to run and hide in the PetSmart.  None of these things happened.  I went in.

The waiting was the worst part.  I was freaking myself out because I was just imagining all the people that could jump out from behind corners.  It was not fun.

It's much easier to not be scared when you have a husband to walk in front of you and hold your hand.  I made it through easily with only a minor head injury...yes, one of the characters hit me in the head with a blunt axe.  True story.  Ask Ryan, he was right behind me.

As we were leaving we noticed the chain saw guy.  What do we decide?  Slow clap.  Slow clap the chain saw guy.  Epic decision.  I advise everyone do it.

I'm pretty sure it made our day and chain saw guy's day.  He probably went home and told his wife about the epic kids who slow clapped him.

Slow claps...always a win.

Glimpse in the Marriage

Husband: "Your nose is cold."

Me: "That's why I'm rubbing it on your face."

We're Crazy About Biscuits!

Seriously, folks.  This may become an obsession.  We may need a 12 step program.

I made the biscuits again for dinner and they were even more delicious.  Want to know why?  I replaced plain yogurt for the sour cream.  They were awesome! 

Bonus.  We saved a ton of calories.  Here's the break down:

1/2 cup of plain yogurt (I used Lucerne...it was cheap at the Winco) has 60 calories.  0 calories from fat.  5 grams of protein, 22.5% of your daily calcium, 20% of your daily Vitamin D and 15% of your daily phosphorus. 

1/2 cup of regular sour cream has...wait for it, you should probably sit down...480 calories!!!  360 of those are from fat.  8 grams of protein, 16% of your daily calcium and nothing else that's really great for you.  I knew sour cream wasn't the best for you but holy bologna!  That's a butt load of calories.  I guess we'll be using plain yogurt from now on.

Also, Husband said, "This could be the only type of bread you ever make again."  I think this will be the new go to bread...as long as I have 7up on hand.

And Sometimes Full of Sooooo Good Ideas

After the first epic failure of Pinterest finds I was a bit hesitant to make anything else I found on Pinterest.

Today I decided to make two things. 

First, 7Up Biscuits.  Holy Hannah Montana!  These are so freaking easy and freaking delicious.  They're moist and flaky and everything a biscuit should be.  Did I mention they're way freaking easy to make?

Second, I made Copycat Chuy's Jalapeno Dip.  I have no idea what Chuy's is but this dip was labeled as "...like crack.  You can't stop eating it."  So I thought it must be awesome because we all know how awesome crack is...wait...scratch that...crack is whack.  But anyway, it was as delicious as described.  I'm pretty sure Husband and I ate a whole bag of chips...then we had nothing else to dip.  It was a sad time.

Then inspiration struck...dip the amazing biscuit into the amazing sauce.  It was AMAZING.  Go make one or both of these recipes then follow me on Pinterest.

Lesson Learned

Next time, don't unload the freezer onto a hot stove top.

Tomato Extraordinaire

My mom has a garden so obviously she has butt-loads of tomatoes.  She sets these tomatoes on the counter and they usually are eaten pretty quickly.  However, the recent onslaught of tomatoes has made it difficult to use them quickly.  This has lead to some pretty interesting tomatoes.

What the...? I realize there are seeds inside a tomato but I have never seen this happen and I've seen a lot of tomatoes in my life.

You're probably wondering (much like I was) what it looks like inside.   Well, here you go.

Looks like bean sprouts.

Up close

And these, ladies and gentlemen, are the adventures I'm having right now.  Are you jealous?

Word!

My Brain Replaced MTV

Remember how I always wake up with a song in my head?  Well, I do...true story.  I thought it might be fun to keep track of the songs I wake up to this month.  Here goes.

Saturday October 1, 2011



Sunday October 2, 2011



Monday October 3, 2011



*Sidenote: Husband was singing this as he left for school.

Tuesday October 4, 2011


 

Wednesday October 5, 2011



*This included a live performance from Adele in my dream.  It was pretty sweet.

Thursday October 6, 2011



Friday October 7, 2011

Pinterest...Sometimes Full of Not So Good Ideas

Pinterest is my new favorite thing to do when wasting time.  While looking around I found a bunch of recipes for Homemade candy bars.

This made me say, "I need to pin that.  Maybe I'll do something with it (but I probably won't)."

Then came church on Sunday and I realized I needed to plan an activity for my girls for Thursday.  "How about we make homemade candy bars?"

"Yes!"

Good plan...psyche!

So not worth it.

They didn't taste like the actual candy bar and were so difficult.

*Ash, remember this disaster when you feel like making crazy things again.

October Videos

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=c24a6df2-83b8-4668-9bda-35e62a8ad1d8" target="_new" title="">Amazing Triple Play</a>

I Couldn't Wait Until Saturday

These folks are awesome.



End of story

Old Man Stain

I've lived in my house since November of 2009.  When I moved in, the old man who lived in the house before me left a little gift that I thought would stay with me forever...the old man stain.

It's been around so long, I've learned to ignore it.

Before I even moved any furniture into my place, I worked like a crazy person on this stain.  Carpet cleaners, different store bought cleaners, everything.  I resigned that the stain would live here until I had enough money to replace all the carpet...so basically forever.

Then one beautiful day I found the answer.  I thought, "Seriously.  It cannot be that easy."  But it was.

Want proof?  Here's the same spot on my carpet.

Vinegar.  You may smell like rotten eggs but you clean like magic so I'm going to keep you around.

Guatemala--Family Stay

Wednesday May 23, 2007

We had breakfast at a very touristy restaurant.  Unfortunately, I don't know the name.  It had fabulous food.  And the hot chocolate?  To die for.

me and Jordan and our delicious hot chocolate

After breakfast we talked to a nurse, Juana Riquac.  She talked to us about how important education is.  She said, "If I had land or a house, I could sell that and have nothing but no one can take away an education."  We loved her.  And she was so cute.

me and Juana

Afterward, we went to the Ruth and Naomi Project where they teach young people different occupations and in return the young people weave and sew things to sell in the shop.

 Next up was the elementary school in the community of Chontala.  We were able to visit almost every clsssroom there.  It was so fun to see all the kids there.  They were so excited to see us.  On class room even had a song and dance prepared for us.

Singing and Dancing

We stayed in this small community for a "family stay."  We broke into small groups and stayed at one family's home.  Our "mom" was Anastacia. 

After dropping our things off we headed back up the mountain to play soccer with some local kids.  I'm not a soccer player and I have no idea what the rules really are but I had such a good time.

After the game

After soccer we walked back to the house and spent some time with the kids while the food was being prepared.  At one point, Felix asked us if we wanted to go see the animals but I somehow misunderstood that and responded with my best Spanish "Yes, let's eat now." to which he responded, "NO! We can't eat these animals."  I felt a little idiotic.  After that adventure, we went back inside and tried to help Anastacia and Tomasa make homemade tortillas.  They were horrible looking and very funny for the family.  They thought it was weird that we didn't know how to make them.

After dinner, we went to bed in one of the two rooms in the house.  The bed was a bunch of boards on an incline...not fun to sleep on.  The room was infested with giant bugs.

I know it doesn't look big but it was finger sized...for real guys.

After we got the bug situation under control (by squealing like little girls, gaining our composure and ninja skills to kill all bugs in the room, and spraying every surface & ourselves with bug spray) we tried to sleep.

Jordan spraying the room

It was a horrible night for sleeping.  Aside from the fact that we had 3 people in a 5 foot by 5 foot space we also had to deal with the fact that large bugs may be crawling all over us, a crazy rooster that insisted on crowing (cock-a-doodle-dooing?) every hour on the hour and we kept sliding down our inclined bed.  Ugh.  No sleep.

For as horrible an experience as it was, I think it's the best worst thing I never want to do again.

Guatemala--Leaving Casa San Jose

Tuesday May 22, 2007


Today was our last day at Casa San Jose.  We will be coming back toward the end of the trip.

View from our window at Casa San Jose

Girls in our room--Ashlee, Jaclynn, me, Jordan

We went to the University of San Carlos and spoke with some students.  After we talked we left for the highlands of Chichicastenango (how great is that name?).  We spent the night at the Popol Wuj Hotel.

Guatemala

Sunday May 20, 2007

I slept horribly last night but that happens in every new place I sleep.

Breakfast was at 7:30.  We ate scrambled eggs, black beans and cheese on homemade tortillas.

We walked through the market quickly but couldn't take any time there because we had a lot of do.  We spent time with a man named Hector who helps to rehabilitate gang members and help them to become productive members of society.

We ended the evening by playing silly getting to know you games.

Guatemala...Traveling

When I was in college, I had the opportunity to go to Guatemala from May 19-27, 2007 (yeah, it's been a while.)  I'm writing these posts so 1) I can remember it 2) Husband can hear about it (he always asks me but then I forget or he forgets and we never talk about it.) 3) Because it's awesome 4) What else should I do while I'm not doing blog worthy things and Husband is working late?

Saturday May 19, 2007

We left Utah at 12:55.  We arrived in Houston just before 5pm (about 4pm Utah time) and we left Houston at 7pm and arrived in Guatemala City at 9pm (They're in the same time zone as Utah.)

As we came in to land in the Guatemala City Airport I thought we were going to die.  The runway was thisclose to everything else...houses, roads, other planes, I think maybe some water...a lake, river, something (remember it's been over 4 years, some of the details are fuzzy.)  Landing was terrifying.  Plus it was really dark.  We had no idea which way was up.  The landing was super bumpy but we survived.

Sign in the Guatemala City Airport

Ashlee, Shula, Bailey, me, Mauri

Carolyn (science methods professor), Drew, Mauri, Amber, me, Shula, Jordan, Jennifer, Chase, Bailey, Boy that played soccer, lady in the nursing program (it's been a while, I've forgotten some names)

We stayed at Casa San Jose.  It was in a pretty sketchy neighborhood (most of Guatemala may be a sketchy neighborhood).  We were in Zone 1, the most dangerous part of Guatemala.  Good call, College. 

When we arrived, we unpacked then went to bed.  I was so excited to see the city in the daylight.

Court's Coconut Cupcakes

I wish this post was to give you all the recipe for her delightful cupcakes....but it's not.  It's to share a funny little story that happened at Jaynee and Ryan's wedding reception.

These are the cupcakes and they are amazing even if you hate coconut.

One day Court hopes to open a bakery.  This will be her signature cupcake (possibly her only cupcake).  Court made a bunch of these for the reception last night.

At the end of the evening a 30-something guest called me over to his table.

Man: "Are you the one with the sister who makes these cupcakes?"
Me: "I sure am."
Man: "They are amazing.  I need more of them."
Me: "Oh, that's so nice of you to say.  Write down your name and number and I'll give it to my sister and you can talk to her about making some for you."

Then I left to help with some reception things.  Moments later, the man is back and handing me his business card with this little note on the back.

When I got home I texted a picture of the note and this message to Court:

Me: "A random guy at the wedding asked me about the cupcakes.  He says they were the best thing he had ever eaten.  He gave me his card with this note on the back."
Court: "Oh my goodness that is the nicest thing ever.  Was he nice?  Or weird??"
Me: "Nice.  He took a huge plate of them home."

Great compliment Court.  I'd be a great sous chef at your bakery although I'm not sure that's what it's called with baking but whatev.

You just keep selling cupcakes and one day you'll be able to actually have a bakery.

Lightbulb!  Sell them at work!  I'm a genius.

Also, I get 15% of all your profits.

Plane Crash

A plane crashed into the parking lot of my school this afternoon. 

I took the day off so I don't have any first hand details. 

Luckily, UDOT has taken away our front playground so no students were even close to the crash site.  I never thought we'd be thankful for the construction at our school.

 

I Caved

I joined Pinterest today.

Feel free to stalk follow me.

Being Productive Would be Nice, But...

...Husband isn't home and I have no desire to do anything remotely beneficial.

So instead of cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry, writing a speech for Ryan and Jaynee's wedding luncheon, exercising, going grocery shopping, and writing lesson plans I've spent the night eating Campbell's  Chicken Noodle straight from the pan and contemplating joining Pinterest.

Awesome day?  The awesomest. 

Did I mention I only had 17 students today?  Like I said, the awesomest.

Mrs. H! Don't Leave Us!

I had an all day training at my school today.  I also had to run into my room a few times to get things for the training.  Every time I went in my students were stoked to see me.

Last time I checked, you all hated me.

My training ended about 5 minutes before school ended.  I needed to get some things ready for tomorrow so instead of heading home I decided to stay in the 6th grade hall while students left for the day.

I've never had so many hugs and "I missed yous!" from 6th graders in one day. 

Weirdos.

Who's Gonna Be a Momma?

Not me...at least not yet.  

I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant freaks me out.  Whenever I watch it I feel like I may one day be on this show because I'm a pregnancy hypochondriac.

Here's a little background on why being pregnant is on my mind: 

Yep, my sisters are that cool.

My sisters announced on Facebook that I was expecting...triplets....that was really cool.  Especially the part where I got a million texts and Husband fed the fire...ugh.

So, as a heads up to everyone...you will (hopefully) hear that I'm pregnant from my own mouth before you hear it on Facebook.  Don't believe anything you see on Facebook...even if I was the one who posted it...thanks a lot Ryan Wayne!

September Videos

It's a music video month apparently...







(I saw these both on the blog The Soundtrack and loved them.)

Angry Students are Better Than Mean Students

After yesterday (and the 5 weeks preceding it), we cracked down hard on the 6th graders today. 

The day began with me picking the kids up from outside.  I told them they were to walk in silently and remain silent until their teacher told them otherwise.  If they chose to not do this they would be missing all recess for that day.

Three students began the day by having their recess taken away for the day. 

Whining, complaining and being disrespectful led to pulled cards and Think Times.  I had a kid in Think Time within 5 minutes of the day starting.  This same kid spent about 90% of his time in Think Time today. 

The rest of my students were terrified.  No one spoke in more than a stifled whisper until lunch.  We got a lot done. 

Hopefully tomorrow we won't have to be as crazy Nazi as today.

But...I'm sure we probably will. 

Carry Your Weather

So today was a horrible day.  My first instinct was to pout and feel sorry for myself.

Then I remembered that I can choose my own attitude (Thank you 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). 

I'm carrying my own weather today.



Here are some things I'm grateful for:

1. Husband
2. The fact that I have a job
3. A principal who supports me
4. Carbs
5. Good friends who look out for me
6. Funny movies (Revenge of the Bridesmaids...still that funny)
7. A reliable car
8. All of my senses
9. Babies who didn't come from my womb
10. Curry (for real, make it, you won't be sorry)
11. Crazy awesome thunderstorms

Seriously, my life is great.  Yeah, my class is crazy and difficult and disrespectful but that's not horrible and I have lots of people on my side to help me through this year.

Choose your attitude my friends (but let your friends cry on your shoulder occasionally when life gets rough.)

I miss last year's class.  Today was a truly horrible day.  

Tomorrow will be better.

Two Gingers, a Giant and a Pregnant Lady

Jaynee put Jenny and me in charge of finding dresses for Jenny, me, Kandace and Amy.  Here's a few things: 1) Kandace is about 6 feet tall 2) Amy will be 8 months pregnant 3) Jenny and I have red hair

I went shopping for about 5 hours on Saturday.  Finding a dress to fit all these specifications and then some is a difficult thing.  Finally, at Sears of all places ("Put on your Sunday best kids.  We're going to Sears!"), we found a dress.  It's an okay dress.  I think it looks like we're heading to a Ball put on by Harley Davidson but it works.  It will even work for pregnant Amy.  How do we know?  Oh, this is how:

Those are my jeans...rounded in to a pregnant-esq ball and shoved up the dress.

7 Months

Holy Cow!  If our marriage was a baby, he would be:

• beginning to crawl
• eating "adult foods" (aka crackers)
• getting his first teeth

but he's not a baby, he's a marriage.  And he is doing great!  Much better than a baby and his cracker.

Love, love, love...we're in love.

Those Resource Room Walls Just Jump Out of Nowhere

I ran into a wall today...in front of my students.

Defiantly not my proudest moment.

I'm a Real Teacher

I just got my scores back from the PLT (Principles of Learning and Teaching) Test and I PASSED!!!  

Hallelujah!  

Go team Highly Qualified!

Netflix Makes Me Happy

Husband has been MIA because he's been helping a friend paint his new house.  This has lead to me finding and watching very lame things on Netflix.

Today, I watched Revenge of the Bridesmaids.  I found it hilarious! (note: I was also sick and had a bunch of Nyquil in my system.)  My favorite part was the pillow fight.  Holy cow.  I laughed so hard I cried and silent laughed all over the couch.

Here's the clip...it starts a bit early.  Go to 7:14 if you want to wet your pants after laughing your guts out.



Really ladies.  After you watch this you're going to want to send your hubbies/boyfs/etc. out for a boys night so you can enjoy this beauty.  It's that good.  It's obviously that good because it's on demand on Netflix...only the best movies are on demand.

P.S. I just watched the clip...still just as funny.

What's in a Name?

I've spent the past two hours looking up baby names.

No, I'm not pregnant.  No, I'm not planning on becoming pregnant in the near future.  The truth is, Husband isn't home. I am less than productive when Husband isn't home.

However, I now have a list with over 30 baby names that I am in love with...now if I can just talk Husband into loving those names too...and narrowing it down to about 5 names.

6 Out of 7 Days a Week

I learned today that I get to spend about 86% of my week with 12-year-olds.

That's right...I'm now the second counselor in our ward's Young Women's program. 

Aside from the fact that I will always be with preteens, I'm super excited out this new calling.

I sure am going to miss the babies in the nursery though.  I am quite attached to those 2-year-olds.  It will be sad to leave them.

You Know You're a Teacher When...

...you get seriously excited about a new class set of text books.  

Seriously guys, these are awesome...I hope.

I Had Great Taste in Movies

As I was watching Willow (a movie I l-o-v-e-d as a child) I realized a few things about my favorite childhood movies.
 
Things that made a good movie for the child version of Ash H.:

• Babies
• Little people
• People with red hair
• People with curly hair
• Singing
• Accents/Funny voices
• Scary animals

Now, let's look at the favorite movies of my childhood and see how they stack up against my list of good movie qualities:

• Annie (red hair, curly hair, singing)
• The Little Mermaid (red hair, singing)
• The Wizard of Oz (singing, little people)
• Willow (little people, baby, red hair, curly hair, accents, scary animals)
• The Princess Bride (accents, scary animals)
• The Chipmunk Adventure (funny voices, singing)
• A Christmas Story (scary animals--those dogs that eat the turkey? Scary to 4-year-old me)
• Curly Sue (curly hair)

If someone could make a movie with all of these elements they would make a bajillion dollars from the four-year-old that still lives inside me.

Day Seven

It blows my mind how much difference one kid can make in a classroom.

Yesterday, beautiful day.  I LOVED every single one of them.  Mostly because my super naughty kid who causes trouble with EVERYONE was gone.  It was pure bliss.

Today, not so much.  Kiddo is back and more fired up than ever (yes, I realize it's only day 7 and I don't have much to compare it to but fired up none the less).  I've already taken away recess indefinitely.  But that's a story for another day.  (I may be a horrible teacher.) 

Wow.  It's going to be a crazy year.  It may not be crazy good either.  Cross your fingers, say a prayer, find a four leaf clover all for me.  Thanks.  XOXO

Really, Mother Nature?

An inside recess day on day 5...Really?

Not a fan.

August Videos

First, I love this song no matter who sings it.  Second, I love Ellie Goulding (and you should too).  Third, Those things combined make a great first video for this month.



I want these guys to sing me to sleep every night...I don't know how Husband will feel about that though.



The little boy...oh, my.

I feel like I should blog.  I feel like I should tell you all about how my first week has gone.  I feel like I want to do so much more than I'm doing right now.

But, I'm exhausted.  Completely drained. 

So all you get is this.  Maybe I'll blog next week.

First Day 2011

Today was the first day of school...holy crap!  How'd that sneak up on us so fast?

Nothing exceptional happened today...except for the fact that 20% of my class didn't show up. 

This may be another interesting year. 

Animals Can Be Real Jerks

Please check these out.  I died.

Ponytail + Puppy = Negative Things

Sometimes a dog just wants your cereal

There are more.  Just watch them all.

(If the above links don't work go to here.)

Arry Potta

Husband and I went to see the last Harry Potter movie on Thursday at 6pm.  I know, you're super jealous.  As we were walking in (a bit late) I pulled out my phone to check the time.  Here's what I saw:

Oh, what's that?  Montevideo?  Yep, we were in South Jordan, Utah...Not Uruguay.  Remember last time this happened?  It didn't occur to me then but as I was walking through crowds of people dressed in their wizarding best it hit me...my phone is obviously a portkey...not a very good one because I never make it to the fun places it says I'm in...but a portkey none the less.

I loved this movie.  I thought they did a great job.  I'm not going to ruin anything for you.  Just go see it.  And read all the books.  They're so much better than the movies.

Did I Mention That's Only 25 Days?

I get a new class of hormone-ragging eleven year olds on the 26th.  I'm not excited.  This summer has not been long enough, productive enough, or adventurous enough. 

I demand a recount.  There's got to be more summer hiding somewhere.

I've gotten my class list...27 kiddos.  TWENTY-SEVEN!  Aye chihuahua!  That's butt loads of students...and smells...and hormones...and drama.  It's been rumored that someone (in my same grade) only has 20...how did that happen?  Lucky duck.  I had 20 at the end of last year.  It was bliss. 

Anywho...I have to be back to school for meetings on Wednesday. 

Arrivederci, summer.  It was nice knowing you...see you in 326 days (for real...I have a widget counting down to the last day of school...I'm that awesome).

Most Delicious Pasta Dinner Ever

You think I'm kidding?  Well, maybe I am but for real, folks, this dinner was scrumdiddlyumptious.

Let's get a little back story on why this pasta dinner had to happen.

First, on Saturday, I picked up my very first Bountiful Basket.  It was filled with loads of fruit and veggies.  Today, I realized I still had my giant bag of spinach and it was fading fast.  I had to make something.

Enter Tracey's Culinary Adventures.  Holey loads of delicious recipes, Batman!  I immediately made a giant list of everything I wanted to try.  Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese was the first to meet my kitchen.

I changed the recipe up a bit to suit our tastes and what we had on hand.  Here's how I did it. (Italicized portions are things I added or changed.)

1 chicken breast
1 lb penne pasta
1/4 cup canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (9 oz) bag fresh spinach
1 tomato, cut into bite sized pieces (I remove seeds and the other gross innards because I hate them)
1 cup (about 3 1/2 oz) grated Asiago
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 T. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Cook chicken in a skillet.  Season to taste.  (I used pepper, season salt, and onion powder.)  Remove from pan, set aside.

Add the pasta to a large pot of salted boiling water.  Cook until al dente according to the package directions (probably about 8-10 minutes).  Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

While the pasta cooks, use same skillet to warm oil slightly over medium heat. Add the garlic to the pan. Cook just until fragrant (be careful not to burn it or it will be bitter). Add the crushed red pepper, spinach and tomatoes and cook until the spinach wilts.  Turn off the heat under the pan.  Mix in the pasta then add both cheeses, almonds and the pasta cooking liquid. Gently stir to combine then transfer to a large serving bowl.

Serve hot.

You're totally licking your computer screen right now.

love

 Okay, we all know my hatred for cheese. (here & here)  But, seriously, this was delicious.  If my stomach could have held more I would have eaten the whole bowl of pasta.  It made my belly happy.

Turns Out I Have A Lot of Time on My Hands

As awesome as having a summer off is, it sometimes gets a little lonely.  No one is home...anywhere.  Not many adults get the summer off.  Shocker.

Anyway, because of this I've got whole days to figure out how to entertain myself.  This summer, I'm loving sewing...I know, weird.

About mid-afternoon, after I had gotten my windshield replaced...ugh...I decided to take a look at my fabric piles and my crafy list.  I decided on the gathered clutch (which I bought fabric for last year around Mother's Day).

I was a bit nervous about this tutorial (zippers, interfacing and lots of layers...Aye yi yi!) but I remembered the things I had learned with my last few sewing projects (pins and rulers are friends) and forged ahead.

Aside from the fact that I added an extra inch to the front and back (which I fixed before it was too late) and sewed fabric onto the zipping part of the zipper (also, fixed.  Thanks seam ripper)  this was remarkably easy.

Let's start with what I learned during this project:

• When the tutorial says "Get an 8 inch zipper" don't get a 7 inch zipper and think you can fool anyone. 
• Pins, rulers and irons are friends...as long as they don't poke or burn you.
• Whomever made the tutorial knows what he/she is talking about.  DO NOT think you know better.

Here's my finished product:

Not nearly as perfect as the tutorial ones but for a first try I give myself an A+++

I changed the card holder part a bit.  Instead of doing 2 pockets and having my cards go in landscape, I did 3 pockets so I could put them in portrait (I've got butt loads of cards and it seemed to fit better).

I should have put one card in the right pocket...but I didn't.  Just pretend with me.

And there you have it, lovelies...another successful sewing project.  Dang!  I'm good.  Feel free to lather me with uplifting and glorious comments.

Look Ma! I'm Domestic

My mom is always astounded when I do anything domestic.  (I think we understand by now that yes, my crafting/sewing skills may be lacking but I'm a pretty decent cook.  At least Husband hasn't complained yet.)

I made a delicious dinner tonight.  We had pot roast with a garlic and sauteed mushroom gravy, roasted carrots, garlic rolls, and smashed "potatoes" (I used this recipe.  With a bit more practice these will probably taste better.  On the bright side, Husband totally thought they were real potatoes).  The meal was really easy to make.
 
Garlic Rolls

  I used this recipe for the dough because it's really simple, I've made it a bunch of times and it's always worked out...except once...dang yeast!  I also did most of the basics of this recipe with slight modifications.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle.  Spread garlic butter all over.

Fold dough in half.

Use a pizza cutter to slice strips of dough.

Roll each piece up.

Add cheese if desired.

Let rise about 20 minutes.

Bake at 400 for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Spread more garlic butter on top.

If you used all your garlic butter on the inside and all your butter is frozen, you're in luck.  I have an amazing solution.  Unwrap butter, rub all over hot rolls, sprinkle with garlic topping.  Delicious.

Hurry and eat a hot roll before your husband comes home.  You won't regret it.

Roasted Carrots

Toss carrots with canola oil, garlic salt and pepper to taste.  Place on roasting pan.  Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.  Stir carrots.  Bake another 10 minutes. (This is Court's recipe)

Ahh, so pretty.

Plastic Bag Holder

So, you have an old shirt

and a cabinet FULL of plastic grocery sacks?

I understand this is ridiculous.

I have a small solution.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's another successful sewing project.

I'll even give you a mini-tutorial because I did this all on my own which means it was obviously really really ridiculously difficult.

1. Cut a rectangle out of the old shirt.  Bonus if you keep the bottom seam...LESS SEWING!

2. Sew a casing for the elastic on the edge that isn't finished (sorry, no pictures).

3. Add a hook to hang your awesome bag holder.

I just used a scrap from the shirt but you can use anything you want...ribbon, string, twine, plastic bags, anything

4. Sew the sides together to form a tube.

5. Add elastic to top and bottom casings.  (I was going to try shirring but after my initial trouble I thought this would be much quicker.)

6. Stuff with bags and hang. 

It's a little large for my cabinet but I'm over it.  To avoid this, measure first.  I hate measuring.

And that's it.  Now your cabinet is plastic bag free.