Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I never do these things, promise!

This is the silly 25 random things about you post from Facebook. I thought you might find it amusing here.

1. I swore to myself that I would not write this note, but here I am. That shows how good I am at commitment.

2. I worked as a family court paralegal all through college and while I finished my Masters's degree. It was grueling work, but interestingly enough I enjoyed it.

3. Even though I love, love, love my job, students can sometimes annoy me.

4. I used to pay my sister to clean my room. I'm that bad at organization.

5. Like all good English people, I would love to write a novel. I'm sure I've got a story in here somewhere.

6. Couponing is a passion of mine. On a good week I save about 40% on my grocery bill. I learned this skill from my mom.

7. The hardest thing I've ever done was walk out of the NICU and leave Abby there. I still tear up when I think about it.

8. I'm an introvert. Sometimes I just want to be left alone, completely alone.

9. I often start books and never finish them.

10. Napping is my favorite pastime.

11. I was in Bible drills at my church until I was in high school. To put that I am a nerd would be redundant.

12. My favorite word is spumescent. It means frothy and foamlike.

13. I would like to have visited every continent by the time that I am 30. I've only got Africa, Australia and Antarctica left to go.

14. Bravo is my favorite network on cable.

15. I use Star Wars in my lectures to gain brownie points with Jason. I really don't know alot about Star Wars, but my students don't know that.

16. I took dance when I was little and I have the pictures to prove it. I wasn't very good.

17. I'm often glad that I am the oldest because my baby sister is much smarter than I am.

18. I can't stand it when the slides at church contain grammatical errors. It distracts my worship. Is that bad?

19. I find it fascinating to look for God in the literature that I study. He's always there.

20. I've always wanted to have my tongue pierced, but I think it would hurt too much to actually have it done.

21. I like all things chocolate.

22. Crossword puzzles are my guilty pleasure.

23. I think I could be classified as a Facebook stalker.

24. Going to Clemson and getting my Master's degree was a spiritual challenge for me.

25. We use cloth diapers with Abby and surprisingly we love it.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Just a Vapor

Sometimes the reality of the brevity of life comes crashing down on us.

I was late leaving my house this morning. I typically try to get out the door between 6:50 and 6:55; usually it is closer to 7 when I actually pull out of my driveway. This morning I got Abby up, changed her clothes and her diaper, gave her some milk and then knocked impatiently on the bathroom door for Jason to hurry up and get out of the shower so that I could leave.

I suppose I could have left Abby in our bedroom to play for the few minutes it would have taken Jason to finish, but I'm quite certain our house would not be standing if I had done that. Abby has the unique talent of finding anything and everything that is dangerous in our house.

When I finally pulled out of the driveway at 7:03, I was in a snit. I was late, frustrated and cold.

To top it off, I got behind a school bus. This was not the kind of school bus that only picks up 2 kids, no, this was the school bus that stops at EVERY SINGLE DIVEWAY to pick up kids who think that they have all the time in the world to get on the bus, choose the best seat and knit a blanket. I exaggerate, but when you're late, it certainly feels that way.

As I was listening to the radio behind the offensive bus, I heard there was a wreck on Highway 25 at Highway 414. This is my turn. When I was in college, there was no stop light at this particular intersection. Drivers had to simply punch it across the road and hope for the best. After a terrible wreck there where 2 students were killed, a light was installed. This morning the light didn't save an NGU student.

Jason called and called while I was in class to make sure that I wasn't in the wreck. When I was able to finally call him back I assured him I was safe.

I'm reminded that sometimes it's a blessing to be late. If I had left at 6:45, I probably would have been there at that intersection at the time of the accident.

Our God is a God of provision. He directs all our steps, even if they are late, even when they end in tragedy. "His ways are not our ways, his thought not our thoughts." Praise be to God that he is the one in control and not me.

Please pray for the Huff family. I didn't teach this student, but I know her family covets our prayers.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Apathy vs. Attitude



VS.



In my time as a teacher, I have learned many things. One such lesson was reinforced this morning in my 8:00 class. I've learned I would rather have apathetic students than have students with attitude.

You see, an apathetic student usually doesn't disrupt class. He typically sits in the back of the room with this head on his arms and quietly snores his way through lectures. Although these habits may be irritating to me as a teacher, they are usually not disruptive to the students who sit close to the dozing student.

The student with attitude, however, may sit anywhere in the room - back, middle, front. This student make take many different forms, all of which are equally annoying. He may chat with the students around, making rude commentary on the lecture, or she may ask questions that are not relevant in a tone that is completely sarcastic. Unlike apathy, attitude is contagious. It tends to infect all the students in a 6 inch radius from the offending student.

One of my colleagues pointed out to me this morning that attitude ruins the teacher's day. It is a problem that I carry with me from class to class. If I have a student show attitude in my 8:00 class, it makes me very edgy in my 9:00 class. I think about the situation all day.

Apathetic students, however, may annoy me, but I don't think about them in every class.

So I guess my point is, if you are a student with attitude, you may want to check it at the door. Just a thought.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

1 Bag 5 Dinners


Doesn't she look happy? I'm about to tell you why!

My friend Katie just introduced me to my new BFF. I've always been a fan of Kraft recipes. As a matter of fact, I get the Kraft Food magazine every quarter and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. The recipes are super easy and extremely tasty. That's my kind of meal.

Well, apparently, they have a new thing called 1 bag 5 dinners. It's your recipe plan for the entire week! They provide a shopping list (not too many items on it) and then the recipes for that week. You can choose chicken and beef recipes, chicken and pork recipes, chicken and seafood recipes. You get the idea. Of course, dinner on Friday is always a pizza, but I can handle that.

So for all of my friends out there who are penny pinchers like I am, here's the link. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Oh, Kraft almost always has coupons for its products, a double treat!

1 Bag 5 Dinners

Friday, January 9, 2009

The Queen of Improv - And I Don't Mean Tina Fey from SNL

Okay, I know Tina Fey isn't on SNL anymore, so don't harass me about that.

What I mean is Jason and I have been trying to live frugally this month. Apparently frugally is a word because my computer didn't underline it in red. Amazing.

When I say frugally, what I mean is that we have very little "expendable" income. Waste not, want not ... something like that.

So far this January I've made chicken stock from scratch (a wonderful idea from Debra), improvised a chicken casserole, and improvised a Rachael Rae dish.

We had company over on Tuesday. I fully intended to make Jason's favorite chicken casserole, green beans, mashed potatoes, the works. I trotted to the grocery store in the POURING rain, fully convinced that I had stuffing in the cabinet. Ever had one of those "uh-oh" moments right as you start to prepare a meal. That was me Tuesday night. I mixed the filling together (ran right past the moment-of-no-return in dinner preparation) and went to the cabinet for the stuffing only to realize that there was none there, so I quickly boiled some rice and we had chicken and RICE casserole. Nice, huh. Oh, and in case you're wondering, there were no mashed potatoes.

The real point of this post was to tell you about the dish I prepared last night. I saw it on Rachael Rae's talk show. It was that end of the show deal where she prepares tonight's dinner. I thought it looked tasty, so put my own spin on it. She called it something fancy, but I'll just call it macaroni and meatball soup?.

Here's how it goes:

Dice 3 carrots, 1 white onion, and 1/2 bell pepper (she calls for celery, but we only had a bell pepper - and a half one at that)

While you're dicing, brown one piece of bacon in olive oil in the bottom of a large pot. Cut the bacon up into small pieces before you brown it.

Next, place vegetables in the pot with the bacon. Let them become tender.

Grate or dice 2 cloves of garlic into the pot.

I then put a can of tomato sauce in. She calls for some tomato paste, but again, we had none, so sauce went in.

Then put in about 3 cans of chicken stock after the tomato sauce has worked through the vegetables.

Bring that mixture to a boil; meanwhile, mix up the meatballs.

I used hot sausage, mixed in some cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs and an egg. Form into small meatballs. She used a melon baller.

Once the mixture in the pot is at a rolling boil, put in 2 cups of macaroni pasta and drop the meatballs into the pot. Let it cook for about 10 minutes covered.

Then serve.

It was fantastic and extremely easy - a one pot wonder.

Well, I'm off to bed.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Some Abby pictures from December

Here are some pics of little miss Abby from December. I'm amazed at how much she is changing and how much of a personality she already has. She says so many words that I'm a little concerned about her teenage years already. She has a great love for the telephone, again a pre-concern for when she can actually talk on the telephone.

Her favorite book is But Not The Hippopotamus by Sandra Boyton. Jason and I have it memorized: "A hog and a frog cavort in a bog but not the hippopotamus." I think it's awesome that a children's book uses cavort in the first sentence. I'll read it for that.

The princess still takes two naps a day, hallelujah, and she still has an insatiable appetite for all things culinary, well everything except meat. I don't know where she got that from unless it was from my sister. She'll eat anything over meat, even hot sauce. Go figure.

Puppy dogs are still her favorite animal. I caught her today pulling Leia's tail. It's a good thing Leia is a rather tolerant dog.

And finally, The General Insurance commercials will cause Abby to stop dead in her tracks. She loves The General. At my mom's house one day the television was muted when the commercial came on, and Abby would not stop yelling and pointing until the volume was turned up. Maybe she has a thing for older men, men who aren't real. I don't know.

Enjoy the pictures!


She loves yogurt!


Look at those eyes. This picture is Jason's personal favorite.


Just chillin' with the phone. Our future? Probably.


Go Tigers! Okay, this one isn't from December but it's cute. Work with me.


Abby fell asleep in the car with her Christmas ornament from Aunt Heidi in her mouth. I'm thinking this picture will be perfect in her high school annual. What do you think?


Here's what happened when we put on a 6-9 month outfit at 17 months of age. The neck hole was too large, and Abby got one arm out before I caught her.

Happy New Year, all.