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.

Pizza Play Here We Go!

Husband and I took his nephews, R and Baby S, to Planet Play today for R's birthday. 

The entire time we were driving to Planet Play R kept saying, "Pizza Play, here we go!"  If I ever referred to it as Planet Play, he'd say, "No! It's Pizza Play, silly."  R was super excited.  Look at the excitement on his face.

The excitement even rubbed off on Baby S:

That's Baby S excitement...promise.

We ate first.  The pizza was actually decent.  I was expecting so sort of cross breed between Chuck E. Cheese and 5 Buck pizza.  Also, not a bad price for all you can eat.  P.S. if you're 60 or older...go Monday-Friday for $5 all you can eat pizza, salad, pasta and dessert buffet.  That's a good deal.  Plus! The restaurant is separated from the games. 

To get the boys to keep sitting while Husband I and finished eating dinner we gave them ice cream cones.  Not so sure if Baby S knows how ice cream cones work.

Use your hands like a spoon?

Let it melt and drink it?

R was a pro though.  "Take a picture of ONLY my ice cream cone.  I'll hide my face."

"Take a picture of my mustache."

After we ate ice cream we went to wash up in the bathroom.  Turns out these hand dryers are terrifying.

Who knew?

We played and played and forgot to take many pictures. 

It was a fun, exhausting day.

Happy (late) birthday, R!

Mail and Magazine Organizer

I've been crafting again...this time, successful but not as much.

Before we get to the craft, let's talk about what I learned with this craft.

• I should ask questions of people who work at the fabric store when I'm not sure.
• The cheapo left-over fabric looks a lot different when rolled as opposed to unfolded.
• Hot glue really is hot.

 Alright my lovelies...I used this tutorial. 

Mine is not nearly as pretty (or as finished) as the tutorial.  Also, I used the wrong kind of interfacing so it didn't stick to both sides of the fabric.  My solution?  Sew the crap out of it.  Also, I didn't glue down the backing fabric first.  I just pulled and stapled...and stapled and stapled and stapled.  I loved staples in this craft. 

Moral of the story: One day I will be a good crafter and things will look professional-ish.

Dear Hob Lob,

It's July, just sayin'.

Love,
Ash H.

Something I Sewed That I Can Actually Wear

Okay, lovelies...I've been sewing all freaking day.  I know.  SEWING.  And...dun dun dun dun...it's been successful.  It's been a good day.

I went to my list-o-crafts and decided on this skirt.  I also used this tutorial on shirring.

Before I get to the amazingness that is my skirt, a few things I learned:

• Shirring is difficult, at least for me.  It did not work at all...at first. 
• Pins are friends.
• Sewing is fun.
• Measuring is a good idea and makes for projects that can actually be used (instead of something like this lovely)

My first try at shirring...like I said, difficult

 I feel pretty cool.  And crafty.

Can We Just Put Educators in Charge of Educators Already?

I received an email today from the president of the Jordan Education Association (JEA).  She sent a link to this article.  (Please go read the article.  It's really short and it will help you understand what I'm saying.)

First, most people in charge of school districts were, at one time or another, a teacher.  What I don't understand is how these people could, in good conscience, constitute merit pay.  Merit pay does nothing but create competition between teachers.  Competition does not create a healthy school, let alone a healthy school district.

Second, as much as I want to say that all student learning depends on the teacher, much of student learning actually depends on home life.  I can be the best teacher in the world but if my students come to school scared because of circumstances at home or with empty bellies or tired because mom and dad let them stay up all night playing video games or never do their homework or are constantly told (verbally or through parental actions) that school doesn't matter, my best teaching will do nothing.  How am I supposed to raise test scores (and therefore, receive my raise) with things outside of my control?  The school I work at has a quite low socioeconomic status.  We have had horrible test scores in the past (I'm talking below 50%, people) but in the past three year we have worked incredibly hard to raise those scores.  Still, after all this hard work (and getting parents involved) we are still only in the upper 70s.  How can I compare with schools just down the street who have an advanced placement strand and 90% of their parents volunteering on a regular basis?

Third, this whole "sign or you're fired" thing?  What the...?  Since when do we live in a communist country? 

Fourth, I'm not asking you to feel bad for teachers.  I know there are plenty of people who have lost wages because of the difficult economic times.  I know there are plenty of people who are not being paid for the huge amounts of work they do.  What I'm asking you is to look out for students.  All students, regardless of their parent's income, deserve an amazing free and public education.

Blerg.

School's Out for Summer...Schools Out Forever 3 Weeks!

Today was our last day of school.

Let's wrap up the last week of school since the blogging has been hit and miss the past few days.

Monday: Let's be real...who remembers Mondays anyway?

Tuesday: Husband gets home from his business trip to D.C.  Things are back as they should be.

Wednesday: Honor Roll Assembly.  I received an amazing compliment from one of my parents.  It went something like this:

Parent: "I just wanted to tell you how much I've appreciated you this year.  F. has loved you.  She...she just loves you."

Me: "Oh, thanks.  I've loved having F. in my class.  I will miss her very much."

Parent: "Well, I never thought anyone could hold a candle to Miss J. (Side note: this is not me as in before I was married Miss J.  This Miss J. is a different teacher.  She teaches 1st grade and is AMAZING!) but you do.  You've been amazing."

Me: "Thank you."  

That's all I could say.  I was so stunned by the comment that all this parent got was a thank you.  Man, I love that family!

Teacher vs. 6th graders kick ball game.  Teachers won (obviously) 14-6. 

Thursday: Field Day.  We didn't have a slip-n-slide or a dunk tank so it wasn't nearly as fun as last year.  Bummer.

Friday: Remember how RS stole my desk for April Fool's Day?  Well, he tried to do it again today.  Shouldn't you be crying about how much you're going to miss me not tormenting me?  Gosh, the nerve! 

Some select students were crying from the minute the first bell rang...we've got 4 hours ladies.  Hold it together.

We had our "graduation" (interperet as 6th graders walking through the halls while Pomp and Circumstance plays over the intercom and all the other grades and teachers clap for them), students were beyond sobbing.  It was ridiculous but I did choke up, mostly because Andrea is leaving us to teach in Logan.


It was a pretty good school year.  I didn't have anyone suspended, there was no stealing, no horrible things written on bathroom walls, I didn't cry because I was so upset with my students.  We're going to call this year a success. 

Stay tuned for next year though.  We hear this group coming up is a little difficult.

July Videos

I just love this song...and video.





I want this kid to be a motivational speaker one day...maybe tomorrow.