Happenings and a Recipe

My new semester started last Monday. I am taking the last class I needed for my associates, which is Math for Elementary Teachers, and also a class for my Bachelors which is Strategies for Teaching Learners with Special Needs. I'm hoping that I won't be spending hours every day studying, but also that this leaves me more time to really absorb these classes and learn from them in a way I will be able to retain the information. I have felt like in the past that my classes have been so crammed that I remember what I need for my tests, but then it's all gone the next day to be remembered no more.
These classes are more meaningful to my career and contain valuable information that I need to be a great teacher.

On Saturday we took Duke to see if he might fit in at Monique's home. I am kind of feeling sad about it, which I didn't really expect, because he wasn't fitting in very well here. I feel bad for him because he's such a sweet submissive thing, and it apparently has been a hard couple of days for him. I was hoping that he would be playful with their dog Molly and be a good companion for her. He loves to be outside, and our Buddy is nearly naked and hates being out in the cold. So every day Duke is whining to go outside, and Buddy looks at me like I'm certifiable thinking he would go out in that cold. It's sad to make Duke go out alone, or force Buddy out into the cold unprotected, and annoying trying to ignore the whining to go out (I will never get a Husky).  He's also been marking territory in the house since the cat came, and I wasn't attached to him enough to spend the money on having him neutered before trying to find another home for him. If he doesn't work out at their home I will take him back and see if neutering will stop the marking, and I will also put him through boot camp again for not marking in the house. I'm just going to have to make the time for it, before I give up on him.  I don't want to give up on him because he really is a good dog, even if he's not fitting in with our home and "family members" (aka. other dog and cat).

We are experiencing major cold weather this week! Yesterday our outside weather station said the high was -5 degrees, the kids went out to play at that time (windchill was -14 degrees) and they stayed out for over 30 minutes! Crazy kids. Last night our wind chills were near -40 degrees. YIKES! I am trying to stay out of it and in the warm.

Yesterday I taught Joshua how to make homemade bread. I used this video to learn to make it, and then I taught him. He did an excellent job! This picture is washed out, his bread ended up being a golden brown. It's almost all gone this morning!

 

 

I love teaching my kids things, and am so excited to have more time/energy to do this!

 

A couple of weeks ago my doctor put me on some muscle relaxers to take before bed time. I had been having headaches every morning and was having pain in my neck. For some reason I felt like the two were connected. So my last visit I told my doctor this, thinking she was going to think I was crazy, but she listened to me and prescribed me some meds and also referred me for physical therapy. Ever since I started taking the meds I have woken up in the morning with a clear head and feeling alert and rested. It's been so AMAZING! I haven't felt this way in YEARS!!! I'm sure my clenching teeth and stressing while sleeping has been keeping me from getting the rest I need. I wish she'd let me take these meds forever, because I don't think that the exercises I am learning in physical therapy is going to help my sleeping situation. 

 

Jacob is almost ready to submit his papers for his mission. He just needs to scan his driver's license and upload it to the church website. I am nervous and so excited for him. It's scary thinking about sending such a great kid out into the world, possibly to another country (and hoping it's not a country that hates Americans) and trusting that he will be okay. This is possibly the most faith testing experience that I have ever had in my entire life.  I really have to put everything into the hands of the Lord and trust that He will take care of my child and that no matter what happens, it really all will be okay in the very end. And I have to trust that my testimony is strong enough to sacrifice my child for the blessing of other's lives.  This feels so BIG to me.

 

If you are looking for a good recipe to try, we tried these, this week, and everyone loved them! Click on them to be directed to the recipes.

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu - I used chicken tenderloins, so the layer of chicken was thin, and we liked it that way.

 

and for the side...

 

Twice Baked Potato Casserole  - For this one, I lightly coated the potatoes with butter before baking. I think next time I will add the sour cream and the chopped green onions after baking because the sour cream kind of curdled up in the oven and it tasted okay, but didn't look appealing.

I made a hat!

And the girls are fighting over it, so I have to go make another one...

 

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!

Making some progress!

I'm already making some progress on my new year goals! Through Craigslist I found an awesome craft/cutting table, with a cutting mat that fit it, for an awesome price. I also scored an awesome drop leaf table for my sewing machine. I'm super uber excited! I do need some new lighting for my sewing area, and Joel suggested I buy floor lamps because I will be moving the sewing area after we get Jake out on his mission. I plan to take over his corner of the basement near the bathroom. Both areas, the one I'm in now, and Jake's area, are sorely lacking in adequate lighting after the sun goes down. During the day the basement is mostly all very sunny and bright.

I've also made a list of all the herbs I use in alphabetical order, but I am still trying to decide on a system to use for storing them. I'm leaning towards canning jars, especially for the ones I buy in large bulk or grow and dry myself.

Joel and I took a drive down by the Temple yesterday because our local LDS bookstore is closing up shop and is selling everything. We picked up two VERY nice and sturdy bookshelves for a great price. That is also where my sewing table came from. We are very sad that nobody bought the store and that it is closing. It has been such a blessing to be able to browse the LDS selections of music, jewelery, art, books, lesson manuals, etc. in person. It's not the same as buying online.

I don't know if I mentioned earlier but I earned one A (Astronomy) and two Bs (SPED 415, Abnormal Psychology) last semester. I am okay with those grades. I would have liked all As, but it was a really hard semester and I started out the semester with a new prescription that made my mind mushy, which made it really hard to study, learn, and even make an intelligent sentence. I thought my SPED grade was going to be a C, so I am ecstatic that it ended up as a B.... seriously thankful.

Tonight is home made chicken noodle soup, with homemade noodles :) yummy!

A New Desk, and then some...

Today I had planned to drive down to Andover to pick up a large craft desk with fabric cutting mat that I found for a great price on Craigslist, but ran out of time, so I will do it tomorrow morning. But while I was in Cambridge I scored a major thing on my "Want List"! While I was leaving the bank I got a little tickle in my brain that told me to stop at the thrift store and when I went in I wasn't sure what I was looking for, so I started wandering around... looked at all the display cases that weren't for sale, and hating the owners for not letting me buy that really cool armoir that I would have snatched up in a heartbeat. I wandered around a little bit picking things up and putting them back down in random other spots.... I tell myself, "it creates job security for someone".

I turned a corner and .... "aaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Angels started singing and a light shone down before me onto a very simple, yet very wanted, drafters table! And best yet, it was only $10!!! And if that wasn't enough for my speed-racing heart, I also had a coupon in my purse for $10 off my next purchase, SCORE!  I brought home this little beauty for only 67 cents. *happy dance!*

 

The kids were excited to try it out for me by doing their homework on it.  (I'm not sure why Jaeden has taken up wearing her hat all day long... might be because I keep the house at 65 degrees.)

I spent some time, tonight, tackling one of the things that has been driving me nuts... all of the cords in the junk drawer.  First I threw out the ones we don't use anymore. Then I bound the remaining ones up with rubber bands.

I love this little pot that I keep my rubber bands in. Jacob made it when he was little.I'm a sucker for pottery, and a sucker for organizing containers, and throw in my own kids work and I am happy as a clam!

Back to the cords... Ok, so the last dishwasher that died had a utensil basket that came apart into two pieces. Somehow it didn't get thrown out with the dishwasher and I ran into it the other day. I thought up a way to hang the baskets inside of my cupboard doors and ....

 Voila! 

Cords are out of the drawer, and organized so they don't tangle and best of all, they are out of the way!

Then I sat back and celebrated my brilliant mind with one of the peanut butter cookies that were left over from yesterday.  Yummy!

Happy New Year!!!

I am starting out the new year right! I'm having a pajama day! Woo hoo!  Well... until I have to take the kids to church tonight, then I have to shower and get dressed. But in the meantime I am in my pajamas and baking peanut butter cookies.  I feel like a queen.

Now that school is on break for me, my mind is going overload. It is so used to reading mass amounts of things and becoming tired from all the work it's been doing, but with nothing to focus on, it's been hard to contain. One night I stayed up until 3am watching sewing, baking, and gardening videos. My mind is racing with all the things I have been wanting to do for the last year of living here, and I've done a few of them, but have so many more in mind!

Here are some of them:
1. Organize my spice shelves to be more uniform and easier to find what I need.
2. Set up a sewing area.
3. Set up a craft/art area.
4. Eye exam and new contacts.
5. Sew drapes.
6. Become more knowledgeable about gardening and grow a better garden this year.
7. Do more canning and herb drying.

What I have done in the last week....
1. Bought frames for several art pieces-
two of Joy's water paints, Jacob's fourth grade rendition of Grant Wood's American Gothic, and a charcoal he did of a Mexican pouring water that I named "Pedro".
Organized the Christmas decorations and got them all put back where they belong, and the rest into garbage or donation boxes.
Organized my kitchen with some shelving to get the water jugs off the floor.
Emptied two 25lb. bags of flour, and one 50lb. bag of sugar into gallon Ziploc bags.
Folded tons of laundry I was behind in.
Made homemade bread.
Cleaned and organized my laundry room.
Got my dresser and night stand organized and cleaned off, and got Joel to do his dresser and the top of the fridge, and also to settle on a filing system for his stuff.
I made three water colors I did with J O and Y for some pink frames I bought last year to decorate her room with.
Emptied my memory card from my camera to my laptop and played and displayed some pictures from that.
Got the cat spayed and her claws snipped so she can't use them.
Transplanted my Aloe plant to a new container hoping the leaves will make roots... we shall see!


Here's some pictures from last year! You can click on them to see  it in a larger version.