This was my first year actually making some part of Thanksgiving dinner. One year my mom let me make the gravy. When that failed utterly, she sent me out of her kitchen. My duties since then have not gone past preperation per her specific instructions. This year, since I made my goodies in my own kitchen then plopped them on her table, there wasn't much she could say to stop me. Sweet potatoes are not a huge thing in my family. My 2 cousins and brother had never had sweet potato casserole. I watched their faces turn from apprehensive to delightfully surprised as the yummy goodness reached their tastebuds. My aunts took all of the casserole leftovers home and my cousin asked me to make extra for Christmas dinner! I think my mom might let me back in her kitchen now; she might even let me do more than just chop the vegetables or tell her when the pot is boiling.
After dinner, I perused the 5 pound stack of Black Friday ads and planned "The Route". My alarm went off at 4:15 am (I went to bed at a reasonable 1:00am) and we were on the road by 4:35am. My cousin Jay joined us. He recently joined the Air Force and by the end of the morning he was comparing his level of exhaustion to a week in boot camp. We went eco-friendly and brought our own bags to fill rather using the store bags. It worked really well to not have 15+ plastic bag handles digging into your palms.
Around 12:45pm my sister and cousin were falling asleep during the drives between stores, so I offered to drop them off at home before going on by myself. I spent another hour or so out and about getting last minute things. After helping my brother and sister-in-law move some things to their new apartment, my mom and I went back out shopping. I was tickled by the fantastic deals I got on some really great things. I only have to get one more present and I can check everyone off of my list. My sister and I split the loot in half to save time on wrapping.
By the end of the day, I was utterly exhausted. It was completely worth it. I really enjoyed being with my family, eating with them, laughing with them and shopping with them. I am so thankful for all that I am surrounded by. We are all in good health, good homes and have good relationships. We know just how lucky we are to be where we are today and this weekend we sat back and enjoyed taking it all in together. Could Thanksgiving weekend have been any more perfect? I think not.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Hello Holidays!
We are well into the week of Thanksgiving. I have no work until next Monday and lots to do in the time I have. I'm heading home for Thanksgiving with my family. Then Black Friday shopping. Saturday we put up the Christmas decorations. And Sunday, I'm home again.
Ryan and I put the tree up the other day. Lights, ornaments, stockings, holiday clock. It's starting to look like Christmas around here. Now the hunt for boxes begins. In my family, we're big on disguising the contents of wrapped boxes. We add plastic containers of beads to add sounds, heavy items like bars of soap or lots of socks to make a box seem heavier or fuller. We put DVD's in obnoxiously large boxes. It isn't rare to unwrap a present only to find a cereal box with something fancy like an Ipod inside. One year, my sister was really hoping for this one movie that had one of those sleeve covers over the actual DVD case. I slipped the movie she wanted out of the box, then put in another movie and convinced her that I borrowed the sleeve from someone else who owned the movie. I hid the actual movie at the very bottom of her stack of presents so she didn't figure it out until way later. I love tricking her, probably a little too much.
Black Friday is seriously one of my favorite days of the year. I know a lot of people hate the agressive shoppers with seemingly permanent scowls on their faces or can't stand the mad dash for the "It" toy" or gadget of the season. For me, I love getting up at the crack of dawn, armed with my list of stores to hit and specific items to find, quietly making my way through the crowds of frantic people. I've had my disappointments where I've just missed the last item on the shelf, but then I've also had my triumphs in getting amazing deals on hot products. I just love it. We leave around 4:30am and are finished by around 10:00am, at which time I go back to bed. I can only handle this type of shopping with my sister. She and I shop very well together; she moves as quickly as I do and keeps her eye on the goal. After we get all of our stuff, we take turns standing in line while we check out the other deals around the store. By the end of that shopping time, I usually don't have many more presents to buy. In the end, I trade weeks of shopping and agonizing over where the perfect gift could be for a ridiculously early morning drving all over town trying to get the best deals. Not too shabby I think. Then, I get to spend the weekend after wrapping presents and we get to look at a lovely tree inundated with presents. Love it.
Ryan and I put the tree up the other day. Lights, ornaments, stockings, holiday clock. It's starting to look like Christmas around here. Now the hunt for boxes begins. In my family, we're big on disguising the contents of wrapped boxes. We add plastic containers of beads to add sounds, heavy items like bars of soap or lots of socks to make a box seem heavier or fuller. We put DVD's in obnoxiously large boxes. It isn't rare to unwrap a present only to find a cereal box with something fancy like an Ipod inside. One year, my sister was really hoping for this one movie that had one of those sleeve covers over the actual DVD case. I slipped the movie she wanted out of the box, then put in another movie and convinced her that I borrowed the sleeve from someone else who owned the movie. I hid the actual movie at the very bottom of her stack of presents so she didn't figure it out until way later. I love tricking her, probably a little too much.
Black Friday is seriously one of my favorite days of the year. I know a lot of people hate the agressive shoppers with seemingly permanent scowls on their faces or can't stand the mad dash for the "It" toy" or gadget of the season. For me, I love getting up at the crack of dawn, armed with my list of stores to hit and specific items to find, quietly making my way through the crowds of frantic people. I've had my disappointments where I've just missed the last item on the shelf, but then I've also had my triumphs in getting amazing deals on hot products. I just love it. We leave around 4:30am and are finished by around 10:00am, at which time I go back to bed. I can only handle this type of shopping with my sister. She and I shop very well together; she moves as quickly as I do and keeps her eye on the goal. After we get all of our stuff, we take turns standing in line while we check out the other deals around the store. By the end of that shopping time, I usually don't have many more presents to buy. In the end, I trade weeks of shopping and agonizing over where the perfect gift could be for a ridiculously early morning drving all over town trying to get the best deals. Not too shabby I think. Then, I get to spend the weekend after wrapping presents and we get to look at a lovely tree inundated with presents. Love it.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Hello Kindergartners...
Yesterday, I spent half a day in a 1st grade classroom and by the end of the day, my voice was practically gone from asking them to be quiet, close their mouths and sit down on their bottoms. They weren't a bad group of kids, but it felt like they should have known better for their age.
Today, I spent a full day in a kindergarten classroom. I once again nearly lost my voice from asking them to please, please be quieter, sit down, and no hitting! For some reason, the kindergarten behavior, though much rowdier and louder, didn't bother me as much as the 1st graders. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed kindergarten. Here I thought I was on a straight road to 2nd grade, but instead might be taking a detour in kindergarten or even pre-k. I think I was expecting very young children who would be unable to care for themselves in any way. Some of the pre-k kids could read and the rest were destined to be reading well before the end of the school year. The kindergartners I worked with today were a very smart bunch. Each of them knew the routine and behaved like responsible little adults.
They behaved until we went outside for a guest speaker - Mr. Paul, the karate teacher. He taught them that karate was about respect and discipline, then moved right on to punching and kicking. The rest of the day was spent telling kids to keep their hands to themselves and no punching. What can you expect though? The guy was dressed in his gi and was doing some neat things. Of course the kids would want to be like him.
I had great help from the more experienced teachers and found great comfort in meeting a teacher younger than me who is in her first year. They both looked like pros and helped keep my class in line. You could hardly tell that one had less experience than the other.
Substitute teaching has been fantastic. I know the kids are not on their best behavior because their normal teacher is out, so I also know that eventually I'll have my own classroom full of kids who know me. Thursday I'm going to be in a 4th grade classroom. This grade scares me, especially after being told that I'm getting a notoriously rambunctious class. I've seen the 4th and 5th graders in the cafeteria and some of those kids are as tall as I am. I realize it isn't a very difficult thing to beat 5'2", but when it's a 9 year old looking at the top of my head, I get a bit antsy. Time to find my most comfortable pair of heels (if there is such a thing).
Today, I spent a full day in a kindergarten classroom. I once again nearly lost my voice from asking them to please, please be quieter, sit down, and no hitting! For some reason, the kindergarten behavior, though much rowdier and louder, didn't bother me as much as the 1st graders. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed kindergarten. Here I thought I was on a straight road to 2nd grade, but instead might be taking a detour in kindergarten or even pre-k. I think I was expecting very young children who would be unable to care for themselves in any way. Some of the pre-k kids could read and the rest were destined to be reading well before the end of the school year. The kindergartners I worked with today were a very smart bunch. Each of them knew the routine and behaved like responsible little adults.
They behaved until we went outside for a guest speaker - Mr. Paul, the karate teacher. He taught them that karate was about respect and discipline, then moved right on to punching and kicking. The rest of the day was spent telling kids to keep their hands to themselves and no punching. What can you expect though? The guy was dressed in his gi and was doing some neat things. Of course the kids would want to be like him.
I had great help from the more experienced teachers and found great comfort in meeting a teacher younger than me who is in her first year. They both looked like pros and helped keep my class in line. You could hardly tell that one had less experience than the other.
Substitute teaching has been fantastic. I know the kids are not on their best behavior because their normal teacher is out, so I also know that eventually I'll have my own classroom full of kids who know me. Thursday I'm going to be in a 4th grade classroom. This grade scares me, especially after being told that I'm getting a notoriously rambunctious class. I've seen the 4th and 5th graders in the cafeteria and some of those kids are as tall as I am. I realize it isn't a very difficult thing to beat 5'2", but when it's a 9 year old looking at the top of my head, I get a bit antsy. Time to find my most comfortable pair of heels (if there is such a thing).
Friday, November 14, 2008
They call me "Miss Jenn"
"They" are the students and today I was the teacher, a substitute teacher, but a teacher nonetheless. I can't even begin to explain the feeling I get when I stand in front of the children and try to teach them. I actually watched little pre-schoolers learn. It's every bit as satisfying as I imagined.
On Thursday afternoon I received confirmation of my Substitute Teacher Certification for the local school county. On Thursday night I received a call from the school I work at to be a sub in a Pre-K classroom for Friday! Not only does this mean I have a great feeling of pressure released from the tightness of my budget lately, but that I can clock 7 more hours of classroom experience THAT I LOVED! I knew a couple of the kids from extended-day already, and the rest I got to know quickly. The classroom feels so natural for me. In a Pre-K classroom there is almost always a teacher and an assistant. The teacher was out for the day in this particular classroom, so the assistant led the class and I assisted her. There wasn't a ton of stuff for me to do, but I was definitely picked up better classroom management skills and had great exposure to a wonderful teacher who really knows how to interact with the children.
We moved from one activity to the next smoothly. The kids really seemed to enjoy me being in their classroom and the teacher even said at the end of the day, "Now, I want you in my classroom all the time!" Knowing how comfortable I felt in the classroom and how much I enjoyed being with the kids makes it all the more satisfying to be working toward my masters in Early Childhood Education.
I am so happy to be able to substitute teach now. I'm anxious to get into different grade levels and experience those classrooms. I'm excited for the extra income. I'm excited to work with the kids and develop my teaching skills. I'm excited that things are falling together, on God's time and not mine, at last. I'm thankful that I am so blessed with support from my friends and family.
On Thursday afternoon I received confirmation of my Substitute Teacher Certification for the local school county. On Thursday night I received a call from the school I work at to be a sub in a Pre-K classroom for Friday! Not only does this mean I have a great feeling of pressure released from the tightness of my budget lately, but that I can clock 7 more hours of classroom experience THAT I LOVED! I knew a couple of the kids from extended-day already, and the rest I got to know quickly. The classroom feels so natural for me. In a Pre-K classroom there is almost always a teacher and an assistant. The teacher was out for the day in this particular classroom, so the assistant led the class and I assisted her. There wasn't a ton of stuff for me to do, but I was definitely picked up better classroom management skills and had great exposure to a wonderful teacher who really knows how to interact with the children.
We moved from one activity to the next smoothly. The kids really seemed to enjoy me being in their classroom and the teacher even said at the end of the day, "Now, I want you in my classroom all the time!" Knowing how comfortable I felt in the classroom and how much I enjoyed being with the kids makes it all the more satisfying to be working toward my masters in Early Childhood Education.
I am so happy to be able to substitute teach now. I'm anxious to get into different grade levels and experience those classrooms. I'm excited for the extra income. I'm excited to work with the kids and develop my teaching skills. I'm excited that things are falling together, on God's time and not mine, at last. I'm thankful that I am so blessed with support from my friends and family.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Hah!
And this is why I would have sunk like an anchor if I tried to do a post every day for 30 days. I would have dropped out on the 5th day. Pathetic.
I am considering taking 3 classes next semester as opposed to 2. Both of my classes were online this semester which has been both a blessing and a curse. They seem unnaturally easy for Graduate level course because all I have to do is read and post, read and post. But at the same time, there is no interaction with my classmates beyond my (required) b.s. reply to their posted discussions. I am truly enjoying the information, though. Many of my classmates are actual teachers, looking to specialize or just get that boost in salary for having a masters. It seems to me they must have a lot to offer and seeing/interacting with them in a classroom might make some of their teacher-ness rub off on me. Yes, I said teacher-ness and I was an English major, deal with it.
My most recent assignment required an in-depth study of an early childhood program that has proven successful. I chose "Virtual Pre-K". It's a fantastic program designed to foster school, home and community involvement. It suggests at-home and out and about activities that families can do together. It is currently only available in limited areas, but I think the concepts can be taken anywhere. It encourages activities such as taking a child to the laundromat or the docotr's office to display roles and responsibilities at home and in society in action. Anyway, the information felt valuable, so the class must be doing something good - online or not.
As the semester nears its end, my final assignments are scary research papers. Should be my forte, but my procrastination skills just might thwart attempts at a good effort. So why would I be considering 3 classes? Two of them would be honest-to-goodness classes with meeting times and a lecture hall. One is required and the others seem really interesting. "Guiding and Facilitating Social Competency" and "Communicative Arts in Early Childhood Education", sounds riveting. No, really, I'm excited for these classes.
The only problem with 3 classes is that I am unaccustomed to spreading myself so thin. Hopefully by next semester I will be subsititute teaching in addition to working with extended-day. Work + school + boyfriend + life in general, can I do it? Here's hoping. It's been quite awhile since I juggled full-time schooling with the rest of my life.
I am considering taking 3 classes next semester as opposed to 2. Both of my classes were online this semester which has been both a blessing and a curse. They seem unnaturally easy for Graduate level course because all I have to do is read and post, read and post. But at the same time, there is no interaction with my classmates beyond my (required) b.s. reply to their posted discussions. I am truly enjoying the information, though. Many of my classmates are actual teachers, looking to specialize or just get that boost in salary for having a masters. It seems to me they must have a lot to offer and seeing/interacting with them in a classroom might make some of their teacher-ness rub off on me. Yes, I said teacher-ness and I was an English major, deal with it.
My most recent assignment required an in-depth study of an early childhood program that has proven successful. I chose "Virtual Pre-K". It's a fantastic program designed to foster school, home and community involvement. It suggests at-home and out and about activities that families can do together. It is currently only available in limited areas, but I think the concepts can be taken anywhere. It encourages activities such as taking a child to the laundromat or the docotr's office to display roles and responsibilities at home and in society in action. Anyway, the information felt valuable, so the class must be doing something good - online or not.
As the semester nears its end, my final assignments are scary research papers. Should be my forte, but my procrastination skills just might thwart attempts at a good effort. So why would I be considering 3 classes? Two of them would be honest-to-goodness classes with meeting times and a lecture hall. One is required and the others seem really interesting. "Guiding and Facilitating Social Competency" and "Communicative Arts in Early Childhood Education", sounds riveting. No, really, I'm excited for these classes.
The only problem with 3 classes is that I am unaccustomed to spreading myself so thin. Hopefully by next semester I will be subsititute teaching in addition to working with extended-day. Work + school + boyfriend + life in general, can I do it? Here's hoping. It's been quite awhile since I juggled full-time schooling with the rest of my life.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Pleased and disappointed
Phantom of the Opera - Everything I wished it would be, and so much more!
Electoral Results - Please don't let amendement 2 pass, Florida. Please. We all deserve the right to marry, no matter who it is.
Electoral Results - Please don't let amendement 2 pass, Florida. Please. We all deserve the right to marry, no matter who it is.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Focus, Focus, Focus
I have a tall order in front of me in terms of what needs to get done, t-o-d-a-y. Here is how that plan flew right out the window...
Item 1: Wake up by 9:30 - Failed miserably and slept in until 11:00am.
Item 2: Workout - did half the elliptical time I usually do, but then did ab/arm work at home to make up for it.
Item 3: Go to work, be patient and helpful - check!
Item 4: Come home from work and get straight to work on assignment that's due by midnight - Epic failure, took a nap after eating a bowl of ice cream.
Item 5: Make dinner, bring it to the theater and have a nice, healthy meal with Ryan - Colossal failure, ate General Tso's chicken and noodles, but only half so as not to consume 1500 calories in one sitting
Item 6: Clean the apartment after dinner to avoid severe embarrassment when guests arrive tomorrow - can't clean until Item 4 is complete
Item 7: Get to be early enough to try again tomorrow - pending Items 4 and 6
Oy.
Item 1: Wake up by 9:30 - Failed miserably and slept in until 11:00am.
Item 2: Workout - did half the elliptical time I usually do, but then did ab/arm work at home to make up for it.
Item 3: Go to work, be patient and helpful - check!
Item 4: Come home from work and get straight to work on assignment that's due by midnight - Epic failure, took a nap after eating a bowl of ice cream.
Item 5: Make dinner, bring it to the theater and have a nice, healthy meal with Ryan - Colossal failure, ate General Tso's chicken and noodles, but only half so as not to consume 1500 calories in one sitting
Item 6: Clean the apartment after dinner to avoid severe embarrassment when guests arrive tomorrow - can't clean until Item 4 is complete
Item 7: Get to be early enough to try again tomorrow - pending Items 4 and 6
Oy.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
No bedtime, no alarm clocks
Since we have moved here, I have gotten out of control with my sleep schedule. For a couple of weeks, I had things under control, not going to bed too late and not sleeping in like a lazy kid. Lately though, I go to bed anywhere between 11:00pm and 4:00am. Last night was one of those super late nights which led to sleeping in until noon.
I tried to go to sleep at midnight with big dreams of getting up around 9 and hitting the gym. I was even in bed by 11:30. The problem was that after dinner Ryan and I stopped by Starbucks where I specifically said I wanted a DECAF Pumpkin Spice latte. Around 2:30am when I realized my brain was still not shutting down, I was cursing the barista for screwing it up! I was still wide awake at 3:15 when Ryan came home. He made it less of a predicament by setting up one of our new favorite board games "Ticket to Ride". It is a very simple and quick game, but very entertaining. After kicking his butt twice in a row, we tried the whole "going to sleep" thing again. At. four. thirty. AM. and that's after we turned the clocks for daylight saving time people.
I am surprisingly not tired though and my brain hasn't felt as sluggish as I hurry through the 3 days of "homework is due by midnight"! I just prefer my caffeine in the morning.
In other news, November is NaBloPoMo. I have not chosen to officially participate, but I certainly enjoy the daily posts of those who do! I am not nearly as prolific as many, nor is my life as interesting. Good luck to those crazy bloggers who are going for it though!
I tried to go to sleep at midnight with big dreams of getting up around 9 and hitting the gym. I was even in bed by 11:30. The problem was that after dinner Ryan and I stopped by Starbucks where I specifically said I wanted a DECAF Pumpkin Spice latte. Around 2:30am when I realized my brain was still not shutting down, I was cursing the barista for screwing it up! I was still wide awake at 3:15 when Ryan came home. He made it less of a predicament by setting up one of our new favorite board games "Ticket to Ride". It is a very simple and quick game, but very entertaining. After kicking his butt twice in a row, we tried the whole "going to sleep" thing again. At. four. thirty. AM. and that's after we turned the clocks for daylight saving time people.
I am surprisingly not tired though and my brain hasn't felt as sluggish as I hurry through the 3 days of "homework is due by midnight"! I just prefer my caffeine in the morning.
In other news, November is NaBloPoMo. I have not chosen to officially participate, but I certainly enjoy the daily posts of those who do! I am not nearly as prolific as many, nor is my life as interesting. Good luck to those crazy bloggers who are going for it though!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Recipe for disaster
The other day, I was looking through the pantry to see what types of stuff we had on hand. For some reason or another we have accumulated a lot of ingredients for a variety of things, not many of which can be combined together for something tasty. What is "cream of tartar"anyway? And how did we end up with 3 things of cinnamon spices or 3 things of lemon pepper? Ryan doesn't even like lemon-flavored foods. What on earth will we do with a pound of corn starch or 48 ounces of canola oil? We even have rice vinegar in case we ever want to make sticky rice for sushi. Yeah. Right. Like that's going to happen anytime soon!
I started reading through the labels, checking for expiration dates and maybe a hint as to what I could do with them. Some of these random ingredients have recipes on the back. Also, somewhere in my reading I learned that corn starch can sometimes be used in place of flour. On the back of the box of the spare vanilla extract (yes, we have 2 little bottles for some unknown reason), there was a recipe for sugar cookies.
As I read the ingredients, I realized we had everything but the butter and baking soda. So, industrious little me went to Publix, acquired the missing ingredients, enlisted Ryan's help and set to baking. We replaced 2 1/3 cups of flour with a little over 1 cup of corn starch, mixed all the other ingredients together as directed, placed the mix into the fridge, waited 2 hours for the dough to firm and then got it ready for the oven. The timer was set for 10 minutes and we waited impatiently, anxiously awaiting our sure-to-be-delicious sugar cookies. What we found when the timer went off and opened the stove was pure disaster:
That looks nothing like delicious, fresh baked sugar cookies! Apparently, I cannot be trusted in the kitchen. Unfortunately for Ryan, I also cannot stay away from baking endeavors.
Needless to say our carmelized sugar and slowly burning batter set off the fire alarm:
Turns out, you can only replace flour with corn starch when you are using it to thicken sauces and gravies. Hence the overflowing sugar gobs and fire alarm. And to make things even more entertaining, I later found a HUGE-MONGOUS box of baking soda.
Silver lining? The stove received a very thorough cleaning. We finished one bottle of vanilla extract and half the container of cream of tartar, though I am still not sure what it does.
We tried again today and the results were decidedly better:
Next week, we're going to try making pecan pie...
I started reading through the labels, checking for expiration dates and maybe a hint as to what I could do with them. Some of these random ingredients have recipes on the back. Also, somewhere in my reading I learned that corn starch can sometimes be used in place of flour. On the back of the box of the spare vanilla extract (yes, we have 2 little bottles for some unknown reason), there was a recipe for sugar cookies.
As I read the ingredients, I realized we had everything but the butter and baking soda. So, industrious little me went to Publix, acquired the missing ingredients, enlisted Ryan's help and set to baking. We replaced 2 1/3 cups of flour with a little over 1 cup of corn starch, mixed all the other ingredients together as directed, placed the mix into the fridge, waited 2 hours for the dough to firm and then got it ready for the oven. The timer was set for 10 minutes and we waited impatiently, anxiously awaiting our sure-to-be-delicious sugar cookies. What we found when the timer went off and opened the stove was pure disaster:
That looks nothing like delicious, fresh baked sugar cookies! Apparently, I cannot be trusted in the kitchen. Unfortunately for Ryan, I also cannot stay away from baking endeavors.Needless to say our carmelized sugar and slowly burning batter set off the fire alarm:
Turns out, you can only replace flour with corn starch when you are using it to thicken sauces and gravies. Hence the overflowing sugar gobs and fire alarm. And to make things even more entertaining, I later found a HUGE-MONGOUS box of baking soda.
Silver lining? The stove received a very thorough cleaning. We finished one bottle of vanilla extract and half the container of cream of tartar, though I am still not sure what it does.
We tried again today and the results were decidedly better:
Next week, we're going to try making pecan pie...
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