I Just Made Handsome Husband Fall in Love With Me All Over Again

Some of my favorite words occur when I feed Handsome Husband an AWESOME meal.  Let me give you a little history...

...So, I used to be the world's worst cook.  Seriously...ask my parents...I used to burn E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.  No joke.  I could barely make a hamburger without turning it into a hockey puck.  It usually resembled a charcoal briquette.  This was the first time I lived at home.

I moved out...and lived with a few awesome people...and I still couldn't cook.  My roommates were amazing cooks and NONE of it rubbed off.  I liked to cook things that I could put on the stove, walk away from, and come back to fully cooked.  That doesn't work out so well.

When I moved BACK in with my parents (I seriously LOVED living with my folks) I decided that I needed to cook more.  This led to a love affair. I definitely burned a ton of things (oh mom, I still remember when I almost destroyed your stock pot with a bagged soup) and started out slow, but I don't even let Handsome Husband near the stove now.

Handsome Husband's dad is a really good cook, so it is a real feat when Handsome Husband says something is AWESOME.  I made something tonight that made him say, "This is the best piece of meat I have EVER eaten," followed by some noises that told me he REALLY liked it.

I LOVE that!  Here are some pictures from my tastebud adventure:

Look at the sear on those suckers! I cooked the peppers first to make sure that they were nice and toasty.  Then, I cooked the steak.  I did it in this order so that I knew I had a really hot pan to start.  I used Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning.  Best. Seasoning. Ever.

Yeah buddy.  Nom, nom, nom.

I roasted asparagus at 400 degrees with garlic salt, black pepper and chili powder.  My new favorite combo.

I cook a ddddaaaannnngggg good steak.  A perfect medium-rare.  

Now I know why Handsome Husband sticks around...Oy!

Laters,

Mrs. B

Brain Breaks and Booty Boogies (NOT What You Think...Gross!!)

So, I am almost through my second full week of teaching for the year.  It is F.L.Y.I.N.G. by.  My school corporation adopted a new core reading program this year called Journeys.  It's definitely been a journey so far.

The curriculum is great, but lengthy.  I'm not quite sure at this point how I'm going to EVER get through all the whole group stuff in one day so that I can get to the small groups!  However, it is really showing where our students have gaps and filling them.  I have spent the last two years asking, "How the heck am I going to teach this skill?????!!!!!!!!"  I know that some people think that core reading programs (the "B" word) are evil, but I think this could be a great thing for my nuggets.

That being said, our day is WICKED full.  And by wicked I mean they get breaks during "passing periods".  Yeah...it's like high school with 7 year olds.  WHOA!  Their poor little brains are going into meltdown mode over there!  So, to get us through the day, I have begun using YouTube videos as brain breaks throughout the day.

My nuggets LOVE THEM!  They are begging for more and get their tushies in gear when they know one is coming.  They listened to one today while they were getting their homework packed up and moved twice as fast because they knew they had to be done before it was over.  NICE!  I also used one today to line up.  I let them listen to the first two verses and then had them silently dance to their spot in line.  They were sssssssoooooooo quiet.  BOOYA!

BTW...a bootie boogie is where they can dance (boogie) but they have to stay in their chairs (booty).

Here are the ones I have used so far:

"What I Am" by Will.i.am and the Sesame Street characters
This one is hilarious because there is a part when the drums pick up and all my kids like to break into drum solos.  Love it!  This one will totally get stuck in your head!

"Don't Give Up" by Bruno Mars and the Sesame Street characters

"Haven't Got a Pet Yet" by Recess Monkey
I love these guys!  This one will get stuck in your head, too!!

"Jet Pack" by Recess Monkey

Have fun singing!!!

Laters,

Mrs. B

Baked Eggs (AKA School-week Breakfast Heaven!!)

While brainstorming some easy breakfast ideas for the year with my mom, she told me about baked eggs.  At first I thought she meant the baked version of a hard-boiled egg cooked in the oven.  I was wrong!!!  She showed me this pin from Pinterest.

The original pin uses the cooked eggs to make breakfast sandwiches.  I have simply been reheating them in the microwave and eating them with my hands in the car.  They are DELICIOUS!!!!! I love eating eggs in the morning, but I don't want to have to wake up 15 minutes earlier in order to cook them. I have tried microwaved eggs, but these are waaaayyyyy easier.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

First, spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.  Then, line each thingamajigger (what the heck do you call those things???!!!) with your veggie of choice.  I chose spinach because it was easy, but I think peppers would be awesome in it too.

Then, add an egg to each one.  I broke each yolk with a fork to make sure that things were spread around.  The spinach floated to the surface a few times, but I just tucked it back under with my fork.

All my eggs broken.  After that, season the eggs.  I just put salt and pepper in mine.

Put the tin in the oven (which should be 350 degrees) for 15 minutes.  (I used jumbo eggs so I needed to keep them in around 17 minutes to make sure that they were cooked through.)

Look, Ma!!!  Easy clean-up!  They popped right out.

I took them out right away and set them on the cutting board so they would stop cooking.  If you don't they could end up really dry.  YUCK! 

I bagged them up in pairs to make for an easy grab and go meal.  I have been throwing them in my lunchbox at home and heating them at school.  

These taste great!  It took 20 minutes from start to finish and 15 of those you don't even have to be there for!  How stellar is that???

Let me know if you try them!!

Laters,

Mrs. B

Mystery Date Night!

So, I was at school on Thursday when Handsome Husband texted me and said that we had plans for Saturday night and not to make any others.  I (naturally) asked what it was and he said it was a surprise.  How fun!!

We left the house at 3:00 pm.  He made me drive so that he could tell me what to do (for once!!:)).  We headed into Michigan and stopped in Berrien Springs.  He explained that there was a little pizzeria in town that he had heard was A.W.E.S.O.M.E. and that we were going to try it.  Our favorite food is pizza, so this was a great treat for me!! It's called Roma's Pizzeria. The pizza was great!  It was difficult to stop eating it! :)  (I was so absorbed with eating it that I forgot to take a photo!  Bummer.)  We had sausage, black olive and onion.  Yummo!!

Next, we hopped back on the road and headed toward wine country.  I kept trying to guess where we were going, but he wouldn't give me any hints!  We passed a few signs and I asked, "Are we going to Tabor Hill Winery??"  He just smiled and said, "I don't know."  Booger.  Well, he took me to the Round Barn Winery!  They have great wines and delicious beers.  They even make their own vodka and whiskey!  My tastebuds are dancing right now.  We hung out on the deck, listened to live music, and sipped some great-tasting beer.

Here are some pictures from our stop:

Yummy!

Isn't he cuh-ute???!!!  I love the scruff.

Cheesing! :)

Once we left there we headed toward St. Joe.  As we pulled up to the entrance to the parking lot he asked if I wanted to know what we were doing.  D.U.H.!!  He handed me a folded piece of newspaper and said that he found an article in the paper on Thursday that he thought would be a perfect night for me.  I opened it and this is what I saw:

Woo hoo!!!!!!!  It was the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra backing a Queen cover band!!  Oh my heart...frickin awesome!  I LLLL.OOOO.VVVV.EEEE. Queen.  If I could meet anyone dead or alive, it would be Freddie Mercury.

The symphony played behind this band but truly stood out.  The second half of the show was accompanied by a choral group that blew me away.  Bohemian Rhapsody knocked my socks off!  It is my all-time favorite song and I know it backwards and forwards.  Scaramouche!   Scaramouche!

I had so much fun.  He wanted to make sure that we got a great date night in before we both got swept up in school for the fall.  He succeeded!  You go, Handsome Husband!

Oh yeah...it was kind of cold that night so I wore real shoes which resulted in my first pair of socks for the year.  Aren't they great!  I only wear mismatched socks...I HATE sorting socks and always get bummed when one sock gets a hole and the other lasts FOREVER.

How was your weekend??

Laters!

Mrs. B

High Five For Friday!!!!

Thank goodness it's Friday!  I just finished my first full week of school and I am P.O.O.P.E.D.!!!  Second grade has a tough little bunch of nuggets this year.  I also forgot how much my knees and back would hurt.  Oh well...I get paid a ton!  (Psh!)

1.  I got this wicked cute dress in the mail from Old Navy today.  I can't wait to wear it on Monday!

2.  I got this cuh-ute shirt from Old Navy as well.  I got it in hot pink and sea foam green.  It is super comfortable and doesn't make me look huge-mongous.

3.  I got the Schoolhouse Rock DVD for $10.99 at Meijer tonight!!  The second grader in me is extremely happy!!!  Oh...did I say second grader??  I meant second grade TEACHER.  Tee hee.

4.  My Birchbox came this week!!!  I loooooovvvvveeeee getting the new products each month.  I get a new perfume almost every month, too!  That is awesome.  I love smelling great but hate shopping for perfume.  I think they are too expensive most of the time.  

5.  My new Us Weekly came in the mail today and I am about to curl up with it and do some mindless reading.  Yay!!

Have you checked out Lauren's High Five For Friday post yet??

Laters!

Mrs. B

Post-It Plan Book!

I saw this post on...wait, what's the name of that site...?...OH YEAH!  Pinterest!!!!  It's been so long since I've been able to get on there and browse since school has started that I forgot!  (Yeah right...I didn't forget...I think about it daily, but I need sleep more at this point in order to survive!)

I have struggled the last two years to find a planner that truly worked for me.  The first year I used a normal plan book (a mass-produced, pre-separated thingamajigger) and last year I created a Word document that I customized to fit me.

I found that there were sections that I never wrote in and others that I needed to be much bigger.  The three main sections that I needed were reading block, math, and miscellaneous.  Only 3!!!!  Why in the world I ever had at least 10 for each day, I'll never know.

My school corporation has said that no matter what, we need to have 40 minutes of science, 4 days a week for the 1st and 3rd quarters this year.  My team decided that instead of doing a bunch of things half-way that we would split grammar/spelling, writing and science up between the three of us.  I got writing!!  I'm super psyched!!

Because of that shift, I now only NEED to write down information about 3 THINGS!!!!!!  How stinkin perfect is that??!!

Here is what you need:

• a spiral-bound notebook (she suggested a vinyl cover because they last longer...I agree!)
• Post-it notes (I picked up 3 packs at Target during a back-to-school sale)
• marker (Crayola or permanent)
• ruler
• scissors

Here are some photos from my adventure...yeah...I called it that.  I am a bit dorky when it comes to crafty things.

Here it is!!!  Isn't it beautiful?

I laid the Post-it notes out on the page to get an idea of how much space I needed.

I had to bite the bullet and make Friday smaller...I can deal :).    The purple is the "Targets" column.  Blue is reading block, pink is math and green is writing/miscellaneous.  Man!!!  That's sexy!!

Here is this week in the works.  I bought some funky shaped Post-it notes to show changes or notes that I actually had to notice (I don't notice things sometimes...hey...are you perfect????).  I find it easier to read everything and plan for the week this way.

The original poster shared her "Daily Schedule" page.  I did not because we are only 1 week into the school year.  Plus, Monday is the only different day.   Tuesday through Thursday are the exact same and I don't know when my students are going to be pulled out for speech or other interventions yet.

I had a sickeningly fun time making this thing.  For serious.  Writing in it still appeals to me at this point...5 whole days into the school year.

I'll update this post once I get more of this year under my belt and mess it up a bit more! :)

Laters,

Mrs. B

Permission

I am giving myself permission to skip a post if I feel like there is nothing to write or that I am dog tired (like today). The last time I tried to blog, I boxed myself in and put a ton of pressure on myself to get one done each night. There are just some night where that doesn't work. This is one.

I've been getting up at 4:45 every morning to go running with Handsome Husband and I am pretty pooped!

So, goodnight and see you tomorrow!!

Mrs. B

P. S. While you're here, check out one of my favorite teaching websites.
http://www.jmeacham.com/
I have bees using her resources for over 2 1/2 years. I can always find something to look at!