Despite the fact that snow and freezing rain entered central Iowa territory on Saturday the day was filled wtih all smiles and laughs from the moment I opened my eyes.
The Saturday morning pancake ritual was kept alive once again. I now live for Saturday mornings and pancakes. However, it was spiced up a bit by adding some flavor, pumpkin flavor that is. I had left over pumpkin pie filling from my oatmeal this week and found a recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes. 1/3 c. pancake mix and 1/4 c. pumpkin pie filling mixed with some butter, egg white, cinnamon and water to make some very tasty pancakes. I usually do not eat syrup on my cakes, but there is no other way I would eat these babies!
Then it was out to shovel the drive and pack. Yes, pack. I had to meet my friends at noon in order to head down to Des Moines. We had a group of 14 that were going to go and see Pauly Shore (Son- in- Law anyone?!?!?) at the Funny Bone and then head out on the town afterwards. Pauly was funny, the company was great and it was all around just a good time!
This all caused me to reflect though. I realized, I am so in love with my life right now. I am very thankful that God is in control of my life and not me, because he did and is doing a pretty good job! Every heartbreak, stumble, or tear was really worth it becasue had it not been for them...I may not have applied for my current job, met my new great friends, kept in contact with my old awesome friends or have any of the blessing that God has given me.
So even though I am very tired right now, my heart is still smiling, just remembering the random fun that can be enjoyed with good company and great friends!
Life is a miracle from the first to the last breath. It's a journey and it's a mystery worth celebrating!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Wishes
For the very special blog post! Today marks the day of my mother's birth. I lost track of her age, I really stopped paying attention when she turned 34, in my eyes she will always be 34. I was remind today of how important she is. How amazing she is and how grateful I am of her. So with her and my dad being in New Mexico and a card, phone call, and now blog dedication is all the more we can give you for your birthday here is one of my favorite pictures of your two favorite kiddos mom.
There you are mom, two pretty great kids! Happy Birthday! We love you!!!
 |
| I do believe that Brandon has just made me angry so I am chewing him out in my favorite Big Bird shirt! |
There you are mom, two pretty great kids! Happy Birthday! We love you!!!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A storm is brewing...in the kitchen!
The house is officially clean. The meals are ready for the week. This week is Homemade Chipotle Burrito Bowl and Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal. I have never eaten at Chipotle and now I never need to. This was very good. Hot and refreshing a perfect combo of cilantro and jalapeno.
The Chipotle Burrito Bowl is put together in four simple steps.
1. Rice
2. Beans
3. Chicken
4. Pico de Gallo
Then it was onto making the oatmeal. All I can say is...delicious. So sweet, and it feels like thanksgiving all over again. This could be a new substitute for Pumpkin Pie...maybe not but a great breakfast food!
Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Cooked, cleaned and reay for the week. Let's just see how nice mother nature is tomorrow, rain, snow or ice...what is your guess????
The Chipotle Burrito Bowl is put together in four simple steps.
1. Rice
2. Beans
3. Chicken
4. Pico de Gallo
1. The Rice
Cook 1/2 cup brown rice according to package directions. When done, finish with:- Small pat of butter
- Salt
- Juice of 1/2 a lime
- Sprinkle of chopped cilantro
2. The Beans
In a microwave safe bowl, heat up 1 can drained and rinsed black beans with:- Splash of chicken broth
- Dashes of chili powder, cumin, oregano & cayenne pepper
3. The Chicken
Cook two chicken breasts in a skillet seasoned with:- Chili Powder
- Garlic Salt
- Onion Powder
- Cumin
- Oregano
4. The Pico
Whip up this easy Pico De Gallo with:- 1 tomato (plus some cherry tomatoes I had on hand)
- 1 jalapeno
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 small red onion
- Sprinkle of chopped cilantro
- S&P
- Juice of 1/2 lime
Then it was onto making the oatmeal. All I can say is...delicious. So sweet, and it feels like thanksgiving all over again. This could be a new substitute for Pumpkin Pie...maybe not but a great breakfast food!
Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
- 1/2 cup oats
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- splash of vanilla extract
- dashes of pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg & cinnamon
- ~2 Tablespoons sliced almonds
- ~1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ~1/2 teaspoon butter
Cooked, cleaned and reay for the week. Let's just see how nice mother nature is tomorrow, rain, snow or ice...what is your guess????
Saturday, February 19, 2011
All in a days work.
Slow and Steady wins the race. That is how this week went. Nothing too horrible, busy, just the daily, one foot in front of the other. No 4a.m. workouts since we managed to have highs ranging from 45-66 this week. AMAZING. Therefore I was outside running in the afternoon. I know that will all change in the week to come since the weather men have snow in the forecast for Sunday and Monday. (Dear Lord, please let these men be awfully wrong at their job, just this once!)
I managed to sell this dress twice in one hour. One for an order and one off the rack. Timing is everything. We had 4 fathers in the store today all for prom girls, none for wedding. This usually doesn't happen. One girl that decided on this dress had her father with her. Just her and her dad. She tried on three dresses. Fell in love with this one first. Dad was cracking jokes the whole time. "This dress is worth $20 extra if she doesn't try on another dress" Truly a joke because he loved seeing his daughter looking beautiful and lighting up from trying on beautiful dresses. When we were discussing ringing up the dress and possible alterations the daughter exclaims, "I just got huge butterflies" Yup, its the dress and that's my job! I also managed to sell a beautiful dress to an individual who is partially limited to mobility with a wheelchair and partially with braces and crutches. The dress fit perfectly and she loved it. It looked like a tough sale when they walked in, color limits, price limits, length limit, off the rack, but I managed to fulfill all requirements and make one more family happy. Have I mentioned I really like this new hobby job. (ps I also created a word document today for future wedding plans, crazy...no no no, prepared. What can I say I'm a dreamer.)
I did manage to get some hours in at the new job, the bridal store. I helped my first bride on Friday, so much fun, and managed to sell around 3-4 dresses on Saturday. Which is huge since we get bonus' for what we sell. I loved working for commission!!!
This dress will probably haunt my dreams. However, something so beautiful can haunt all it wants.
I managed to sell this dress twice in one hour. One for an order and one off the rack. Timing is everything. We had 4 fathers in the store today all for prom girls, none for wedding. This usually doesn't happen. One girl that decided on this dress had her father with her. Just her and her dad. She tried on three dresses. Fell in love with this one first. Dad was cracking jokes the whole time. "This dress is worth $20 extra if she doesn't try on another dress" Truly a joke because he loved seeing his daughter looking beautiful and lighting up from trying on beautiful dresses. When we were discussing ringing up the dress and possible alterations the daughter exclaims, "I just got huge butterflies" Yup, its the dress and that's my job! I also managed to sell a beautiful dress to an individual who is partially limited to mobility with a wheelchair and partially with braces and crutches. The dress fit perfectly and she loved it. It looked like a tough sale when they walked in, color limits, price limits, length limit, off the rack, but I managed to fulfill all requirements and make one more family happy. Have I mentioned I really like this new hobby job. (ps I also created a word document today for future wedding plans, crazy...no no no, prepared. What can I say I'm a dreamer.)After work the to-do list started with cleaning and getting things back in order at home. My house is now clean, almost, the kitchen anyways. Groceries were bought, the fridge was empty, seriously, empty! I realized I like an empty fridge, knowing that no food is going to waste and you can see all your options at a glance, with only five objects it pretty easy to see options.
Tomorrows agenda, clean, cook, run. A great way to end the weekend. Stay tuned for some new recipes and a special post later in the week! Happy Saturday night, now back to Netflix!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Three Teachers and a Baby
The 4th annual Chillympics took place this week Saturday. We could not have asked for better winter weather! It was sponsored by the young professionals group in town and took place at the local golf course. The different events were: turkey bowling, sled launch, toilet seat horseshoe toss, snow volleyball, snow dodge ball, and the bonus event a polar plunge. There were a total of six teams that were participating.
The day started off at 10:00 sign-up where some very creative names were thrown around and we ended up with Snow Cougars. However, my favorite suggestion was Three Teachers and a Baby, since our team consisted of two of my fellow middle school newbie teachers and one of their fiancee who is pregnant.
Then we were off for the first event, the turkey bowl, which took place in the parking log that had some frozen, slippery areas. It was fun and we set a record for the most points ever to be had in this event, so of course we took first. Right out of the gates...dominating!
Second was the sled launch which we were picked to go first in since we won the previous event. Two team members pushed one member down a pretty big hill and whoever went the furthest won! You had two attempts and even with the two attempts I am pretty sure we took 5th in this one.
Next it was onto the toilet seat toss. This is a very cleaver game. Take toilet seats and toss them to try and get a ringer around a toilet plunger that is on a piece of wood. This was so hard! First of all it was a windy day, and wind is a factor when throwing large toilet seats. We battled it out and played three rounds and ended up taking 3rd. Not bad, not bad.
Finally we were onto the games the boys were most excited about, volleyball and dodge ball. We played several games of volleyball and ended up winning that bracket. Have you ever tried to play volleyball in the snow. You really cannot get much air when you are wearing snow boots and are stuck in a snow drift. However it does make it pretty fun to dive for the ball. We took home another big "W" for that event as well.
The second to last event was dodge ball and we once again dominated this event. Taking first in this one as well. Four people teams, six balls, in the snow. Once again, it was a ton of fun and who would have thought to play this game in the snow!
So overall we won three out of the five events. We thought this would put us for sure in second place. We were right, with points we were tied in second with one other team and behind the first place team by 10 pts. This meant the optional, bonus event, was no longer optional for this fairly competitive team. The polar plunge! An inflatable kiddie pool was filled at the beginning of the day with water and left to chill. (kids throwing snow in definitely helped to cool it to perfection). The criteria for this plunge was to run from the club house to the kiddie pool and be completely submerged. Each team member that participated got 25 pts. for their overall team score. Yes, the snow cougars all participated and survived. However, even after all that effort and skill, hopefully I will get a picture of a teammate's perfect swan dive into the pool, we still managed to hold our solid second place finish. Not too bad for a bunch of newbies and completely co-ed team, with a 4 mo. pregnant lady. :)
That was a great way to spend a Saturday from a full week of 4 am workouts and ITBS testing. Which was also survived. Looks like a few more things to add to the book of adventures overcome.
1. First year teaching ITBS
2. Seeing 4am on a regular basis
3. Chillympics!
4. Loving the life I have been blessed with!
Not too much to sit back and reflect on, just that all things are possible and life is all about relationships,.the people in your life are very important In church today the ending remark was...remarkable and definitely worthwhile remembering. So much that we got cards as we left with these wonderful words on it...
The day started off at 10:00 sign-up where some very creative names were thrown around and we ended up with Snow Cougars. However, my favorite suggestion was Three Teachers and a Baby, since our team consisted of two of my fellow middle school newbie teachers and one of their fiancee who is pregnant.
Then we were off for the first event, the turkey bowl, which took place in the parking log that had some frozen, slippery areas. It was fun and we set a record for the most points ever to be had in this event, so of course we took first. Right out of the gates...dominating!
Second was the sled launch which we were picked to go first in since we won the previous event. Two team members pushed one member down a pretty big hill and whoever went the furthest won! You had two attempts and even with the two attempts I am pretty sure we took 5th in this one.
 |
| Team Snow Cougars sled launch! |
Next it was onto the toilet seat toss. This is a very cleaver game. Take toilet seats and toss them to try and get a ringer around a toilet plunger that is on a piece of wood. This was so hard! First of all it was a windy day, and wind is a factor when throwing large toilet seats. We battled it out and played three rounds and ended up taking 3rd. Not bad, not bad.
Finally we were onto the games the boys were most excited about, volleyball and dodge ball. We played several games of volleyball and ended up winning that bracket. Have you ever tried to play volleyball in the snow. You really cannot get much air when you are wearing snow boots and are stuck in a snow drift. However it does make it pretty fun to dive for the ball. We took home another big "W" for that event as well.
The second to last event was dodge ball and we once again dominated this event. Taking first in this one as well. Four people teams, six balls, in the snow. Once again, it was a ton of fun and who would have thought to play this game in the snow!
 |
| 1,2,3, Dodge Ball! |
So overall we won three out of the five events. We thought this would put us for sure in second place. We were right, with points we were tied in second with one other team and behind the first place team by 10 pts. This meant the optional, bonus event, was no longer optional for this fairly competitive team. The polar plunge! An inflatable kiddie pool was filled at the beginning of the day with water and left to chill. (kids throwing snow in definitely helped to cool it to perfection). The criteria for this plunge was to run from the club house to the kiddie pool and be completely submerged. Each team member that participated got 25 pts. for their overall team score. Yes, the snow cougars all participated and survived. However, even after all that effort and skill, hopefully I will get a picture of a teammate's perfect swan dive into the pool, we still managed to hold our solid second place finish. Not too bad for a bunch of newbies and completely co-ed team, with a 4 mo. pregnant lady. :)
 |
| Resting up enjoying the weather! |
That was a great way to spend a Saturday from a full week of 4 am workouts and ITBS testing. Which was also survived. Looks like a few more things to add to the book of adventures overcome.
1. First year teaching ITBS
2. Seeing 4am on a regular basis
3. Chillympics!
4. Loving the life I have been blessed with!
Not too much to sit back and reflect on, just that all things are possible and life is all about relationships,.the people in your life are very important In church today the ending remark was...remarkable and definitely worthwhile remembering. So much that we got cards as we left with these wonderful words on it...
Where you are, God has placed you.
What you have, God has given you.
What you are to do, God will show you.
All you need, God will provide.
Good luck this week. Remember, God will provide we have nothing to fear or worry about! Yay, it's got to be a great week with that good news.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Daft
(adj.) mad, insane.
A vocabulary word for the story we are reading could not be better suited to describe my own life. Why is it when it rains it pours? AND Why when it is pouring do I finally decide that now is the time to become even more of a perfectionist/ crazy person than I usual am? All questions that I do not have the answers to.
A few acronyms you should really be educated on prior to this blog. Two that are currently dictating my life...ITBS and IEP. If you are from Iowa and even if you are not you should know that ITBS is Iowa Test of Basic Skills and as for IEP only a special education teacher really knows that means Individualized Education Plan...aka documentation, documentation, documentation. Filled with RIT scores, trajectories, baselines, progress monitoring and a lot of other things that take time but are why I became a special education teacher. They keep us organized and inform the rest of the education wold what needs these special education students have and what they can/ need to do to help them be successful. So while it is time consuming and I have two to do this month on top of the three week process of ITBS I am happy to do it. It's my job, I love my job, and I am very thankful for this job.
Now on to the ITBS. Yes, the always dreaded but very important test that determines....well everything! This year we have incorporated several things in order to ensure that our students succeed. For instance, we have a morning walk around the school;, up, down, and around all to the steady cadence of Gonna Fly Now! Oh yeah, is there really any other way to get pumped up. However, I must say we really do need to educate our students, one asked me today, "what are they playing?" I couldn't hold back an eye roll with a "Rocky Balboa, Gonna Fly Now?!?!" and a few jabs in proper boxing form of course. Then we get back to my classroom to see this........
Bottled water with students names as well as an encouraging note from...Ms. R. Testing booklets and "magic bags" filled with mints, cream savers, a breakfast treat, pencils and a special eraser. Did you know that you can improve test scores by a significant percent just by using these "special erasers" (white art room erasers). We do and now we use them. You might be thinking to yourself, "why would the student's use those 'speical erasers' when they have one on their pencil" Because...we cut them off. Yep that is right, all of the #2 pencils in this "magic bag" have erasers cut off! Thanks to our wonderful assistant principal. Oh we are going the extra mile for scores this year! Then the students can always look around and see some painted encouragement, "Weakness of Attitude becomes Weakness of Character" Albert Einstein. AND...
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are Powerful beyond measure." A quote from the movie Coach Carter, our inspirational film that we showed last week to gear up for our own big game! The kids really like this one. They call it my graffiti. Yes, we had a mini lesson on what the word inadequate means, now they really like the quote!
With day 1 officially done, ITBS is in full bloom and I feel very successful. At least in room 217!
Now back to the pouring part, right?!?!? Well, I stumbled upon a new job! I know, I know what you are thinking, but you have a full-time job teaching! It's true, however, this job is an every other weekend and maybe one night a week, only in a blue moon, at a bridal store. Yaya! I'm back working with wonderful ladies and beautiful dresses. It is literally right down the street too.
Next!
4. 3-2-1
Those numbers mean nothing to you. But to me it means my butt is dragging by 1:30 in the afternoon. Yes, the 4 is for 4:00 am, the alarm. 3-2-1 is the interval workout that kicked my butt this morning and will again tomorrow. I decided I have been in a bad mood and there is no way out of it but for some "me time". I am far too exhausted after work at 5:00 to spend some time at the gym, plus the body building men are really getting on my last nerve. So, at 4:30 when I actually get to the gym, is the perfect time. Also, just so you all know I am not the only crazy woman in the world. There was one other lady who was right beside me. New best friend.??? we will see. (ps don't worry mom, bed time is now 8/8:30, I'm still getting plenty of sleep, yes dad I do now see that there are two 4 o'clocks in a day, you were right!)
You might be saying where is all this motivation coming from. Well I have been feeling a sense of being highly inadequate in my life. Thus, all the crazy to try to do more, make a difference, for myself and my kiddos!
At 6:00 am I was feeling great by 6:00 pm it was another story. However,
I can and will do it all again tomorrow! Hopefully making a difference in my life and theirs, with the help of and my only source of strength Happy almost hump day!
A vocabulary word for the story we are reading could not be better suited to describe my own life. Why is it when it rains it pours? AND Why when it is pouring do I finally decide that now is the time to become even more of a perfectionist/ crazy person than I usual am? All questions that I do not have the answers to.
A few acronyms you should really be educated on prior to this blog. Two that are currently dictating my life...ITBS and IEP. If you are from Iowa and even if you are not you should know that ITBS is Iowa Test of Basic Skills and as for IEP only a special education teacher really knows that means Individualized Education Plan...aka documentation, documentation, documentation. Filled with RIT scores, trajectories, baselines, progress monitoring and a lot of other things that take time but are why I became a special education teacher. They keep us organized and inform the rest of the education wold what needs these special education students have and what they can/ need to do to help them be successful. So while it is time consuming and I have two to do this month on top of the three week process of ITBS I am happy to do it. It's my job, I love my job, and I am very thankful for this job.
Now on to the ITBS. Yes, the always dreaded but very important test that determines....well everything! This year we have incorporated several things in order to ensure that our students succeed. For instance, we have a morning walk around the school;, up, down, and around all to the steady cadence of Gonna Fly Now! Oh yeah, is there really any other way to get pumped up. However, I must say we really do need to educate our students, one asked me today, "what are they playing?" I couldn't hold back an eye roll with a "Rocky Balboa, Gonna Fly Now?!?!" and a few jabs in proper boxing form of course. Then we get back to my classroom to see this........
With day 1 officially done, ITBS is in full bloom and I feel very successful. At least in room 217!
Now back to the pouring part, right?!?!? Well, I stumbled upon a new job! I know, I know what you are thinking, but you have a full-time job teaching! It's true, however, this job is an every other weekend and maybe one night a week, only in a blue moon, at a bridal store. Yaya! I'm back working with wonderful ladies and beautiful dresses. It is literally right down the street too.
Next!
4. 3-2-1
Those numbers mean nothing to you. But to me it means my butt is dragging by 1:30 in the afternoon. Yes, the 4 is for 4:00 am, the alarm. 3-2-1 is the interval workout that kicked my butt this morning and will again tomorrow. I decided I have been in a bad mood and there is no way out of it but for some "me time". I am far too exhausted after work at 5:00 to spend some time at the gym, plus the body building men are really getting on my last nerve. So, at 4:30 when I actually get to the gym, is the perfect time. Also, just so you all know I am not the only crazy woman in the world. There was one other lady who was right beside me. New best friend.??? we will see. (ps don't worry mom, bed time is now 8/8:30, I'm still getting plenty of sleep, yes dad I do now see that there are two 4 o'clocks in a day, you were right!)
You might be saying where is all this motivation coming from. Well I have been feeling a sense of being highly inadequate in my life. Thus, all the crazy to try to do more, make a difference, for myself and my kiddos!
At 6:00 am I was feeling great by 6:00 pm it was another story. However,
"God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike." Acts 26:22
I can and will do it all again tomorrow! Hopefully making a difference in my life and theirs, with the help of and my only source of strength Happy almost hump day!
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