Wordless Wednesday

Happy New Year!!

We're Baack!

You have to say the title of this post in the little girl "Poltergeist" voice. I loved that movie.

We trekked to see my parents in the N. Carolina contingency as my dad would say. We stopped the first night in Memphis and went down to Beale street.

Graceland wasn't open yet, but we drove by and took the requisite picture. A didn't want to be in it....

The Civil Rights museum wasn't open, either, but this building was really neat. One whole side is preserved as it was on the day Dr. King was shot. His cars, the hotel 'rooms' and the sign.

The next night we stayed in Gatlinburg. The next morning we planned to hike a trail in the Great Smokey Mountains. We went less than a mile as it was about 20 degrees, but we got some great pictures.

We added three new Hard Rock glasses to our collection: Memphis, Gatlinburg, and Nashville.

Here I am hiding my double chin texting all my peeps Merry Christmas, or Merry Navidad as one of them replied...

The quilts were a great success! Yay!

I got two new watches and a bread machine I am anxious to try out!

And A-Man loved his new coat. He also got purple pants and a new board.

I'm so glad to be in my own bed and drink my own coffee, but I left my pillow in Memphis, so I'm going to have to re-adjust....don'tcha just hate that!? I know, I'm so set in my ways.

We have relatives coming for New Years, so we'll have round two then!

I hope you had a blessed time with friends and family.

Checking In

Hi All!! We're in North Carolina and I just wanted to check in. We've done lots of great stuff...Beale Street in Memphis and fun stuff in Gatlinburg. We've lots of pictures, I'll download them when we get home.
Merry Christmas!!

Paper Piecing, and One More Cookie Recipe

Every once in awhile, I get an itch to try something new. I've taught myself to knit, play the cello, and loads of other useless skills. Well, my friend Carrie does a lot of paper piecing. Her Harry Potter patterns caught my eye, so after reading/watching about 10 sets of how-to instructions, I decided to give it a whirl. I decided to go with the "H" first, for Harry, of course. It's no masterpiece, and you can see my mess-ups (quarter inch seam allowance, what?), but I can honestly say it's a pretty good first try, don't you agree? I think I'll have to start from book one and read the whole series again! Hey, Scrappy, how's Beetle the Bard?

Ok, one more recipe. Peppermint Swirls

1 c. butter or margarine, softened

1/3 c. powered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. red food color

2 Tblspns. granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer. Divide dough in half. Stir peppermint extract and food color into one half of dough. Divide each color of dough in half.

2. Shape each piece of dough on generously floured surface into rope, 12 inches long. Place 2 ropes, 1 red and 1 white, side by side. Twist ropes. Repeat with remaining 2 ropes.

3. Cut twisted ropes into 1/2 in. pieces; shape each into ball. Place about 1 in. apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten to about 1/4 in. thickness with greased bottom of glass dipped in granulated sugar.

4. Bake 7-9 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool

We're leaving tomorrow to make a trek to N. Carolina to see my parents for Christmas. We're excited and will be stopping at the Great Smokey Mountains on the way. I'll be taking my computer, but posting may be spotty, so I'll be back in full force when I return!

Hazelnut Crinkles

One question....how come when you make cookies they never look as good as the one in the picture in the book? huh.

3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. hazelnut spread with cocoa (I'm wondering what this is at first....it's Nutella. Why can't they just say that!?)
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tblspn. white coarse sugar crystals (again!? Sugar in the Raw) or granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat sugar, hazelnut spread, butter, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar crystals. Place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookies sheet.
3. Bake 7-9 minutes or until puffed and edges are set. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool.

Espresso Thumbprint Cookies

MMmmMM....these are my fav.

3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 flour
3 Tbspns. baking cocoa
1/4 tspn. salt
Espresso filling (below)
Candy sprinkles or crushed hard peppermint candies, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in flour, cocoa, and salt.
2. Shape dough by rounded teaspoons into 1-inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb or end of wooden spoon into center of each cookie, but do not press all the way to the cookie sheet.
3. Bake 7-11 minutes or until edges are firm. Quickly remake the indentations with end of wooden spoon if necessary. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make Espresso filling.
4. Spoon Espresso filling into indentations in each cookie. Top with candy sprinkles. Eat one while it's still warm. YuM!

Espresso filling:
1/4 c. whipping (heavy) cream
2 tspns instant espresso coffee (dry)
1/2 bag milk chocolate chips (1 c.)
1 Tblspn. coffee-flavored liqueur, if desired. And if desired, take a big swig for yourself!
Mix whipping cream and instant coffee in 1-qt. saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until steaming and coffee is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate chips until melted. Stir in liqueur. Cool about 10 minutes or until thickened.

Funny, I don't think I actually read the directions for the Espresso filling. I just dumped it all in the pan until it was melted and spooned it right onto the cookies!

Making Cookies!

I spent my weekend making cookies for Christmas gifts. I made about 11 different kinds.

Here's one of the 'before' pictures.

Here's 'after.' I made enough for 17 tubs, 2 plates, and 14 bags!

Recipes to follow...

So, what did you do this weekend!?

Second Congratulatory Gift

Here is my second congratulatory gift (the first was a CD of 'inspirational' music from a friend). It's from my secret pal at school. Isn't this a nice pen set!? And the OU stickers....awww.
Not *quite* there yet, maybe when I start going to class the OU crazy-mania will hit me.

On another note.....something has been bothering me. I think this calls for a vote. At work, a school, mind you, would you rather get an email asking you a question or a phone call? Cuz, see, the whole phone call thing just annoys me. I have kids to work with! I can't come take your call right now, and then later during my precious 15.2 minutes of lunch (kidding) I have to find time to call you back only for you to say "Hey, if you talk to so-and-so today, would you tell her I'm leaving her a key in her box?" Um. Yeah. Why don't you just leave her a note?! (The person doesn't have email yet, so she couldn't email her, not that she would've anyway, because she's obviously a *caller*.....) But I can check my email about 20 times a day because it only takes a second, and I can even respond a lot faster because I don't have to leave my room! Ok, done ranting, go vote!

Wordless Wednesday

Quilting, Quilting...

I stole this pattern from here. She calls it the Disappearing Nine Patch and her picts are a little clearer because of the materials she chose.
I had to draw it out to wrap my mind around it. The scratch paper I grabbed was leftover from my son's math homework. I'm beginning to wonder why I disliked math as a kid. It's fairly logical. But I digress...

OK, so you pick your colors and make a nine patch. I made my squares 3.5 by 3.5 in.

Then, cut it in half.

And again.

Here's what it will look like. It's a little scary making that first cut, but you'll get over it.

Then rotate quadrant 1 and 4 180 degrees.

And sew it all back together. I haven't squared it up yet.

I'll show you a pict of the finished product. Hopefully soon as it's a Christmas gift.

If At First You Don't Succeed....

Try, try again!
I did it!! I have been accepted to the PhD program in Special Education at the University of Oklahoma!
Yep, I guess I have to be a Sooner now.
I am beyond excited!!!

Happy Birthday!

I have a funny picture I was going to use for Wordless Wednesday today, but I can't quite figure out how to get it out of my phone yet, so maybe it'll be Wordless Thursday. Well, no that doesn't sound right. Anyhoo, a recipe instead!!
My friend Chris's birthday was Monday and he likes Peanut Butter cookies, so I found this fun recipe:

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

1 c. butter flavored shortening
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tps vanilla
2 tsps baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
FILLING:
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
3 c. confectioners' sugar
1 tspn vanilla
5-6 Tbsps milk

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.
2. Shape into 1-in. balls and place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten to 3/8 in. thickness with fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.
3. For filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the peanut butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Spread on half of the cookies and top each with another cookie.

Don't you love recipes? Like you're going to get your ruler out and make sure each cookie is flattened to 3/8 in.! I know I did....make sure you do! Enjoy!

My Crazy Kid

This is my crazy kid in his Halloween costume doing skateboard tricks. My cameras not that fast, but you get the gist!

Hope you're having a great week!

Movin' On Up....

Yep. Full keyboard, musical ring tones, and it even takes pictures. Decided it was time to join the rest of the world.

Thanksgiving

Hello all! Hubby says I've been neglecting my blog, and he's right! Sorry. I'll try to be better. I hope everyone had a great weekend and celebrated with family and friends. We did. We traveled to San Antonio. Here's me and my brother. He cooked everything. I washed dishes as you can see by the water spot on my shirt. When my momma is cooking, she always throws the towel over her shoulder to have it handy. So do we, imagine that....

Here's the yummy, yummy turkey!

And here's a pumpkin pie my sister-in-laws sister made. Isn't it purty!? She has more patience than I do!

I am thankful for (my short list) my friends and family, my job and all the kids I love there, and my new bloggy friends I've made this year!

Foot Quilt

How's your weekend? I had a migraine today. I hate them, although bless whoever discovered the Triptan family of drugs....I've also been working on this quilt. In an attempt to save money, I am making some people in the family quilts. I can put this one on here because I know this particular person doesn't read my blog!
Anyway, this is a long and not very wide quilt that will drape across the bottom of the bed. This was my father-in-law's idea, and I think it's spectacular! He wanted this type of quilt to keep his feet warm, or as a foot warmer if he decided to lay down to take a nap but didn't want to pull the covers down. Great idea. I might be making myself on sometime....
So, what have you been up to this weekend?

Wordless Wednesday~Everything's Bigger in Texas

*Not* the birdfeeder.....

Early Thanksgiving

We went to Texas this weekend for an early Thanksgiving with some of the family that will be elsewhere during Thanksgiving.

These little stand up pictures are of all the "parents" (that went to school in the town) when they were in middle school. Ah, memories

Here are all the cousins. My son is the only boy, bless his heart.

The festivities ended with a fun fashion show! Hope your Thanksgiving is as exciting!

My Daughter

Is gone again. I am sad.

You Know You're Famous When...

You are recognized in the kids' bathroom by some little girl saying "Hi!" I said, how did you know it was me? She said "I recognized your shoes!" hee hee....Gotta love it! (Is that some ugly carpet in my classroom, or what!?)

I was also told today that I am an expert colorer and a really fast cutter. I'm glad two of my great talents are put to good use each day by teaching elementary school!

Stuff White People Like

I know, I know, it sounds offensive. I thought so, too. It's a book, and it's funny. A friend of mine gave it to me to read. There are 150 things that white people like, and I have laughed many, many times. It is more for the upwardly mobile well-off young urban generation of white people, but it rings true nonetheless. These are ones that apply to me (like it or not): 1. Coffee, though I'll take my plain ol' Folgers, thanks. 18. Awareness 29. 80s Night...while I've never been to an "80s Night" in the sense he is referring to, I love the 80s. 37. Renovations 39. Netflix 40. Apple Products (well for me just the iPod) 43. Plays 49. Vintage 54. Kitchen Gadgets 55. Apologies 62. Knowing What's Best for Poor People 64. Recycling 66. Divorce 70. Difficult Breakups 81. Graduate School 90. Dinner Parties 103. Self-Deprecating Humor 108. High School English Teachers 110. Trying Too Hard 121. Reusable Shopping Bags 128. Avoiding Confrontation 131. Following Their Dreams 132. Not Having Cash 138. Books 140. Glasses. I don't currently wear them, but have in the past and am considering doing so again. 142. Hardwood Floors 145. Cheese 146. Therapy 149. Self-Importance.

So, according to this I am 15% white contrary to what my daughter once told me which was I was the 'whitest' person she knew. Most all of these, however, apply to my brother-in-law. I'm betting he's at least 90%! It's a funny read and an eye opener, as well. Enjoy!

Granny's Candies

Another game story today and a poll (see left)! I have a language game in my classroom called Grannie's Candies. Today we are doing the "What belongs in this group?" cards. What goes with small things, colors, musical instruments, dinosaurs, etc. So my first graders and I came upon "continents." I said, "I'm not sure if you guys have learned about continents yet." One of them piped up "Yes, we have, they are b, c, d, f, g...." And another in response to "school subjects:" "Math, Phonics, Be Quiet...."

So, in the spirit of games and Nola's comment on the last post, please log in your vote about Games!

Mancala

When my kids were younger, we played board games quite frequently. Every once in awhile my first born and I still play a card game that we love. But other that than, they have about outgrown games to my great sadness. After dinner every so often while everyone is doing their respective after dinner chores, I'll ask my son if he wants to play a game. He usually says no, but tonight to my delight, he said yes! He said, I want to play that marble game. He went off to locate it while I stood there finishing the dishes thinking "We don't have Pente." LOL He came back with Mancala. We haven't played in so long and the instructions are no longer in the box that I had to look them up on the Internet. Dontcha just love the Internet!? (Notice that I have reminders drawn on the board about which direction to go. I also have each respective 'cala' marked on the proper side.)
We had a great time. And the instructions are printed off and safely in the box in case it's months again before we play, but I hope it won't be.

Monday, Monday

Da da da da da....

Strange that I had something to say every day in October and now my brain won't cooperate. Probably because I had a challenge in front of me and in the wake of the challenge, I'd rather coast.
It was a chilly, rainy Monday today and I just wanted to curl up back in my bed with my book.
An uneventful weekend we had, though we vacuumed up the leaves that had gathered on the porch for the second weekend in a row. Futile though it is, however. We'll have to do it again 3-4 more times at least. But, I enjoy the fall, and here in Oklahoma, the farthest north I've ever lived, we actually get the yellows and reds and oranges as opposed to green then brown. So it's nice. I hope you are all well and enjoying Fall!
We will be traveling 'home' this weekend to see family that won't be there for Thanksgiving, then Thanksgiving's around the corner! Mmmmmm I can feel my hips getting bigger as we speak!

Noisy!

This is what has been outside the window of my classroom the past two days. Bond money at it's finest. Books, supplies, curriculum for classrooms? Nope....they are banging off the old fascia of to replace it. It looked fine to me....
My kids have been very distracted to say the least! The good news is they've moved on down to some other lucky person's classroom.

Rock the Vote!

I hope you all voted today.

If you haven't voted yet (I meant to get this posted a lot earlier, but we are having mysterious problems with both our computers coinciding with the homecoming of the prodigal), here are some important things to keep in mind when making your decision, as dictated to the teacher from the preschoolers.

"What does the President do?"

~He does his work.

~He takes care of people.

~He builds things.

~He calls people to do his stuff.

~He cleans houses.

~He tells people what magazines to read.

~He plays with his toys and his friends.

~He protects the world.

~He cleans up messes.

~He feeds animals on the farm.

~He does what his boss says.

~He puts up the flag.

~He goes on a ship.

~He hammers stuff.

~He calls moms when their kids are bad.

~He rides a bike.

~He goes to art class.

~He watches movies.

For more from last year, check here.

Funny Teacher Story

Last week I had paper pumpkins with a word on the back. The students were to pick a pumpkin, read the word on the back, and give me other words or phrases that went along with the given word (associations). Keep in mind I work with kids with speech problems. So the kid picks it up and reads "Police." And says "They beat you with a tick," except the 't' in what what supposed to be 'stick' sounded like a 'd.' A test in keeping a straight face, I tell ya!

BTW, aren't you proud of me!? I actually had *32* blog entries in October for the 31 for 21. And have you missed me for the past two days?!

Happy Halloween!

I passed out four bags of candy!!

This was the cutest costume of the entire evening!

Wrapples!

Does anyone else remember these!? I *loved* these things as a kid. They are sheets of caramel that you peel from the paper backing and wrap around an apple. Add one of the enclosed sticks and voila!, instant caramel apple. Not quite as fun as unwrapping hundreds of caramels and mixing them with butter and filling the house with the wonderful aroma of melting caramel, but a good substitute. My mom did some fun awesome cooking type things with us as kids! Thanks, Momma!

Wrap a Wrapple,
Round an Apple,
Eat it quick,
On a stick,
Love caramel apples,
Love caramel apples,
With Wrapples,
From Kraft.

Yep, I even remember the song....

Wordless Wednesday

Giveaway Winner

My first Bloggy giveaway! My whole eight names to choose from.

I enlisted the help of my trusty assistant, and the winner is....

Tins and Treasures!! Congrats!

In My Email...A Poem

The Misunderstood Child
A poem about children with hidden disabilities
by Kathy Winters

I am the child that looks healthy and fine.
I was born with ten fingers and toes.
But something is different, somewhere in my mind,
And what it is, nobody knows.

I am the child that struggles in school,
Though they say that I'm perfectly smart.
They tell me I'm lazy -- can learn if I try --
But I don't seem to know where to start.

I am the child that won't wear the clothes
Which hurt me or bother my feet.
I dread sudden noises, can't handle most smells,
And tastes -- there are few foods I'll eat.

I am the child that can't catch the ball
And runs with an awkward gait.
I am the one chosen last on the team
And I cringe as I stand there and wait.

I am the child with whom no one will play --
The one that gets bullied and teased.
I try to fit in and I want to be liked,
But nothing I do seems to please.

I am the child that tantrums and freaks
Over things that seem petty and trite.
You'll never know how I panic inside,
When I'm lost in my anger and fright.

I am the child that fidgets and squirms
Though I'm told to sit still and be good.
Do you think that I choose to be out of control?
Don't you know that I would if I could?

I am the child with the broken heart
Though I act like I don't really care.
Perhaps there's a reason God made me this way --
Some message he sent me to share.

For I am the child that needs to be loved
And accepted and valued too.
I am the child that is misunderstood.
I am different - but look just like you.

Deaf Church

I went to the Deaf Church again this morning. Yep, that's what it's called. I learned three new signs. They are: "I don't mind," "at the same time," and "immature." Ok, guys, I'll be teaching them to you at sign language class this week. Ask around and see if you come up with the same thing!

Funny Story

Alex's comment on my last post reminded me of a story of when I was in fifth grade. My teacher's name was Mr. Cage and we had all kinds of animals in our room. But, that's beside the point. Michael sat across from me. He used to put those little erasers used on the end of pencils up his nose. Then he would occlude the opposite nostril and blow them at me. It was quite traumatic and disgusting and I still remember him to this day!

200th Post!!

Well, I figured since I gave you 100 things about me on my 100th post, I would give you the next 100 things for my 200th post!

1. I like to have the volume on my car stereo on an odd number. It must be my passive aggressive nature as I know most people want things on an even number. I have to let my rebel out sometimes!

2. I can be obsessive about things, analyzing them to death. Yeah, it's bad. I've been accused of this many times. Then there are other times I could care less.

3. In high school for an afternoon snack, I would open a can of LeSeur peas and eat them straight out of the can.

4. My friends say I'm orange, but each time I've taken the test, I'm different. I want to be green.

5. Just Kidding!! I'm not going to bore you with 100 more things about me!

For my 200th post, a giveaway!! I love giveaways!

To enter, leave a comment and tell me something interesting about yourself that I don't know and your choice of prize of these two things:

1. Pampered Chef stuff or

2. The Cowgirl quilt (lap size)

I'll pick the winner on Monday!