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Woo Hoo! The wind died down enough for me to walk outside yesterday. The weather was glorious, in fact I was able to walk in just a sweatshirt. It's even nicer today although in some places south of here the television has reported tornadoes. The picture was taken where I park my car, at Washington Park. Last year there seemed to be a huge pile of discarded trees waiting to be shredded. Is that the right word?
I hope to get some new blogging friends in 2011. That would be lovely!
Winter is my least favorite season and January is my least favorite month. I guess I'm one who only tolerates cold weather and snow. After a day or two, it bores me. The only good thing is I have quite a collection of sweaters and I do enjoy wearing them.
When I was teaching full time, January was the month I would start reading aloud the classic Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott ODell. I would read a chapter or two a day and my second graders always begged me to read more. Sometimes, one or two students would check out the book from the school library and read along with me. Reading that book always made the month go by faster for some reason.
The end of the year always makes me grateful for what I have, the love of my little family and of course, my health. I am thinking about finding a new doctor and scheduling a wellness checkup for sometime in the new year. I am ashamed to say that it has been several years since my last checkup so this is something that I seriously will do. Also, I have cut way down on my sugar intake and will continue that as well.
This pic (which I took yesterday) shows the amount of snow on the ground. The scene reminds me of a Will Moses painting with all the little houses in the background.
I'm alittle bummed today as my new computer is having some technical issues and my new Keurig coffee pot is not working. That's why you should always save receipts!
This morning I finished the book, Spoken from the heart by Laura Bush. I am not a big fan of the Bush family, I mainly feel George Bush was not intelligent enough to be our president. I also blame him for misleading our country into the Iraq war. Not only was he a bad president but he also chose less than honorable people to lead with him. After saying that, I spent my time reading Laura's book because; for one reason, she was the First Lady of our country and reason two, I guess I was curious.
The first part of her book details her childhood, the babies that would have been her siblings and how she felt when they died. The tragedy that happened when she was in high school and how running through a stop sign killed a teenage friend. So the first half was interesting. Then her husband becomes president (or steals the election from Al Gore) and she starts to tell every little thing that happens since then.
Let's just say that at 432 pages, it turned out to be a real snooze.
I have, in the past, suffered from seasonal depression. I think that when I keep myself crazy busy, it's not so bad. I also think just getting older has helped too.
Today I boxed up all the Christmas decorations and I'm in the process of taking down the tree. It was nice but I want to get back to normal.
We didn't get as much snow here as the rest of the country, just a little layer of snow arriving on Christmas morning but it's miserable cold outside so my daily walk is going to have to be on the treadmill downstairs. I'm listening to the audio book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Dear Jesus, Let Your light shine on me this coming year through my words and actions among my family, friends, and all whom I meet. Be my light and salvation now and forever. Amen
Last night my hubby needed a cheese ball so I found this simple recipe a friend gave me recently.
French Quarter Cheese Ball
2 pkgs. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons grated onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic ( I used garlic powder instead)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 cup chopped pecans, toast these
In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, onion and garlic. Transfer to a serving plate, shape into a round 6" disk. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Cook and stir over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; stir in pecans. Cool slightly. Spoon over cheese mixture. Serve with crackers.
Like I said, I'm not a foodie, but I can handle easy, simple recipes and this one is especially yummy.
Here's what I'll be serving Christmas eve. - Smoked brisket
- Rotel with sausage bits
- Party potato casserole
- Spinach artichoke dip
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Pecan pie
- Rolo pretzel delites
- Pretzels with white chocolate and peppermint
Spinach Artichoke Dip
1 package (8 ounces) light cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 medium garlic cloves,minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 can (4 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 7-8 inch decorative baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.
Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until well combined. Stir in artichokes and spinach. Turn into a prepared pan, top with mozzarella, and bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Leaving pan on lower rack, turn oven to broil and continue to cook until cheese is spotty brown, 2-3 minutes longer. Let cool for a couple of minutes before serving.
My poor eight year old computer got sick and died. We decided to get a new one. I don't know how I feel about a 23 inch all-in-one screen. Since I felt like I was a master of my old computer, now I am a novice again. Okay, I know, I am a grownup and I can learn. On Thursday I was scheduled to sub but school was cancelled that day due to the ice storm.
On Friday I was called to sub and when I got there I found out we were taking all of the first and fourth grade kids roller skating for their Christmas party. This included several handicapped children and one paralyzed little girl from the neck down.
I wondered at the time how it was going to work out but the kids truly had a blast. They tightened the autistic kids skates so it would be easier for them to get around the rink. We still had to walk with them but that made it easy to see the joy they were experiencing. The kids in wheelchairs put braces on along with their skates.
I felt like I was a part of something very special and I know I will remember it for a long time. It was Christmas joy for me as well.
I'm working as a facilitator this afternoon then going to a Missionary Society Christmas party at church. They are having a $10 gift exchange after the dinner. I bought a Hallmark ornament, the one called Season's Treatings, a miniature muffin tin with six mouse size decorated muffins on top.
I always feel strange at a gift exchange, thinking that what I am bringing is not good enough, or maybe I'll get stuck with a horrible gift not worth dragging home. I could have avoided the whole party and stayed home tonight but I'm a grownup now and I can deal with this.
Dear Jesus,
Help me to remember that Christmas is all about celebrating Your birth and not stressing out about exchanging $10 tree ornaments.
It's all about me today, keeping busy running some errands and doing some last minute Christmas shopping. As you can see my other cactus has bloomed but only a few at the bottom. Oh well, I'll take that as a good sign and maybe next year it will reward me with blooms all over.
What does it mean when little kids come to school stinky in dirty, stinky clothes? We know that mama has not taken the time to help the kid take a bath, clip their grimy fingernails and make sure their underwear is clean. We are not talking war zone here mamas, being clean and in clean clothes should be a priority for you.
Your child will be more comfortable at school, he will behave better and he will be a better student because he feels clean. Plus, other kids will want to hang around him and play with him.
Maybe every school should be equipped with a washing machine and shower facilities. The teachers could just strip the dirty ones down when they get off the bus, shower them, and let them play in fluffy bathrobes while their clothes dry. I really believe that some mamas are just plain lazy when it comes to the well-being of their precious children. It's up to you to make sure they are clean.
Christmas joy is sitting with third graders in a crowded gym watching one hundred little kindergarteners shaking bells and rocking out the tune Feliz Navidad.
I got a late call yesterday to sub at the pre-school. These kitties are three and four years old and qualify because of low income. They stay all day, interact with other kids and get to play with some pretty cool toys.
I missed breakfast but I saw him at lunch.
First the white, curly beard and hair sticking out from under a gray baseball cap immediately caught my eye. Stocky built and short stature, yes, that's a nice way to say he would fit in a red Santa suit. He was the cleaner upper, and believe me, with ninety plus kids eating chili and chocolate milk, he was a busy man. But he was grinning all the while and you could tell that he really liked his job. Oh, his name was Roger, but that could be an alias!
I'm not working quite as much, the reason is that I accepted a six week subbing assignment next spring, April 12 to be exact. I will be taking over for a sweet kindergarten teacher who is having her first baby that day. Who knows, it may even come a bit early.
I am only allowed to sub a specific number of days as going over that number will mess up my "teacher retirement." I certainly don't want to do that!
I worked in one of the autistic classrooms yesterday and overheard a discussion about how autistic kids are placed in our school district. With a disability, they are qualified to start school at age three. They are pulled out for speech and physical therapy daily. By age five the school district has determined an IQ score. At 40 or below, the five year old will transfer to a state school. From 41 to 70, the student qualifies for the EMH (educational mentally handicapped) classroom in our school district. At a score of 71 or higher, the student is mainstreamed into a regular classroom. He or she will still receive speech and physical therapy on a regular basis although not daily. Sometimes a facilitator is necessary to keep the student in the classroom.
The general public should know that is why public education is so expensive. Every child deserves to be educated and for some of them, it is pricey.
