What I Will and Will Not Miss About Summer

I will miss.......

Having my coffee in bed every morning while catching up on internet news.

Staying up late and watching Seinfeld reruns.

Waking up with no alarm.

Not taking a shower until 2, or 3, or 4, or 5........

The never ending creative energy.

Naps.

Having time to cook everyday.

Going shopping while everyone else is at work.

Staying up late. Have I already said that? Oh. I'm a night owl and I HATE early mornings. Think I'm lying......ask the guys I work with.

The protective bubble where band does not exist. Ahhhhhh, sweet suspended reality, if only I could find a rich man to marry then you and I could spend everyday together!

I will NOT miss.......

August. I hate you, August. You with your oppressive 100+ degree heat and no holidays. Go play in traffic.

How to Use the Internet: An Interactive Blog

If you are reading this blog then you have already unlocked the secrets of this thing called "the internet". You can access this internet almost anywhere. There is a place called the library where you can access the internet for FREE!!!! Did you know that most people can even access the internet from their phones??? Just today I frequented a coffee shop and used their free Wi-Fi while enjoying a cup of tea. One time the internet at my home was down so I had to access the internet at work to get some needed information. With the internet you can communicate instantaneously with people all over the world. You can order food and have it delivered to your house. You can pay all of your bills online eliminating the need for stamps. You can even, say, find out what time your child needs to be at the school for band camp next week. All you have to do is open a web browser, type in www.fillintheblank.com, .net, .org, and you arrive at a world of endless information! Almost everything you need to know about anything is RIGHT THERE! It's AMAZING!!! I would go as far as to say LIFE CHANGING! Now, let's say you don't find what you are looking for immediately on the home page. What you might try next is something called "scrolling down". You can accomplish this by clicking the arrow at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. WARNING: YOU MIGHT HAVE TO READ IN ORDER TO FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. Still can't find what you are looking for? You can find more information by clicking on a related topic. For instance, you would like to read through the Trinity Springs Titan Band Handbook. It's not on the home page, but after trying your new skill of "scrolling down" you notice a link titled HANDBOOK. You use your common sense to click on that and then find all the information you need! With this kind of communication tool and access to mass amounts of information all of our lives should be easier, right? If you can find helpful information on a website then you don't have to call someone for information, leave a message, and then get annoyed when they don't call you back because they are on vacation! You don't have to worry about calling during business hours because the internet is open 24/7!!!! Imagine all of the time that is NOT wasted by answering the same question 300 times! I'm telling you, this internet is a phenomenon! Tell everyone about it!

Want to try some guided practice? Ok. Be sure to time yourself so you can revel in the efficiency of the technology. Click on this link to find the answer to the following question:

You have a student attending Trinity Springs MS and they will be in the band. They would like to attend band camp next week. What time should you have little Suzy at the school so she can participate? What time should you pick her up?

I've Been a Bad Blogger......

Has it really been a month since my last blog? I guess so. I was not doing much last month of school except working like a dog and that is not very fun to read about, so I was really sparing you my boring life. Since school has been out I have been in the kitchen a lot. It has been so nice to actually be home and eat a home cooked meal three times a day. Well, I haven't eaten at home every meal - this is the time of year that Cristian and I get to eat out at fun restaurants while Jennifer is at band camp. This is our third year to do it and I think it's been the most fun. We went to City Hall Restaurant at the Keller Arthouse and paid WAY too much for a bottle of wine, but the food was good. We went to Mellow Mushroom and had the BEST pizza! I've had pizza in Chicago that was the best, but this is a different kind of best. If you have never been, go, and then you will understand. We had brunch at Blue Mesa on Sunday and last night we went to Yucatan Taco Stand. Yucatan is GOOD eatin'. There is a new one in Southlake that I will be frequenting often. We have one more night before Mrs. Alcocer gets back to town, so I don't know what we have in store.......

Back to my cooking. It has been unseasonably warm here in Texas for early June. I knew we were in trouble when it was over 100 degrees on June 2nd. I wanted to find some recipes that I could make and eat cold. My new favorite recipe is this recipe for gazpacho from Ina Garten. I'm not sure she has a recipe that I don't like. This stuff was INSANELY good!!!!! I will definitely be eating this all summer. My favorite was when I topped it with some spicy shrimp or spicy fish fillet.

This is a pizza crust from Central Market topped with fig jam, caramelized onions, goat cheese, and prosciutto. I love goat cheese and fig jam. LOVE.

Szechuan Noodles from Ina Garten. Delicious warm or cold.

I made this tonight. It is Nutella-Cherry Oatmeal Squares. I found this recipe on a blog several months ago and I finally got around to trying it tonight. This is deliciousness wrapped with awesomeness stuffed with delight.

And this is some of the fun we had at the end of school. We were very tired of brown bag lunches at this point. Well, in Dean's case he was tired of bags of cheap lunch meat, so we decided to grill out in the office. I am quite sure this broke many fire codes and administrative regulations, but it sure was fun. But when Officer Savage is the only person that comes into the band hall (mainly to mooch whatever food we have), you can pretty much get away with stuff like this. This was mexican day. We had the griddle out earlier in the week making pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Of course, the kids were all confused when they came in for class and it smelled like IHOP.

What is Dean thinking while he eats my homemade salsa? Mmmmmm this is way better than fake corned beef.

It's Time For Another Installment of "What's For Lunch?"

It's time for more pictures of Dean's crazy lunches. I haven't been doing much over the last few weeks except working, and his lunches are quite entertaining to me. The first one is my favorite.

On this day we have some sort of left over Asian noodle dish which required him to bring an entire bottle of Tiger sauce, whatever that is. Apparently a bag of pastrami is a nice compliment to leftover noodles. An apple, a piece of cheese, a sweet and salty bar, and a DanActiv drink round out this culinary masterpiece.

I think this is a bucket of barbeque and some chips and salsa we picked up in the teacher's lounge.

Here we have corn on the cob and a tub full of broccoli. Notice that he also has two computers on his desk. The third one just wouldn't fit with all the broccoli he has going on here.

This is usually what he eats everyday, but I found the side of tostadas strangely amusing. I enjoy a tostada with chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and some guacamole. He prefers a bag of pastrami and a pepperoni stick.

Again, the usual meat bag and side items, only today with a huge side of broccoli.

The Kitchen: My Favorite Place on Sunday Afternoon

Ahhhhh what a wonderful afternoon in the kitchen. I simply cannot wait for summer so I can do this everyday. Today I made chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with a recipe that I found here. Dean seemed like he was having a pretty rough day on Friday, so I asked him what he wanted me to make to bring to work next week and he requested these cookies. I think they are his favorite. These cookies are phenomenal! I hope they are able to take the edge off of a busy week for him and Kai. I've had a hard time keeping my hands off of them today. I like oatmeal cookies, but don't like it when they are crunchy. These are very chewy and light. They also have walnuts in them. I'm not good a describing how things taste, but trust me when I say that these rock. They were very easy to make and I highly recommend this recipe. All of my TSMS friends please stop by and try one - I imagine they won't last long!

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? It is delicious. I have not had any in several years so I decided to revisit this quirky vegetable. One thing that is cool about spaghetti squash is that you can substitute it for noodles in a pasta dish. I cut this one in half, scooped out seeds, put a little pat of butter on each side, and popped it in to a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes. When they come out of the oven you just take a fork and scrape the "spaghetti" off the sides. It comes off so easily and then you have a bowl of "noodles". I made some turkey meatballs and my own marinara sauce today to go along with it.

This is the finished product. It was so delicious and a very healthy alternative to pasta. I didn't miss the pasta at all! They squash is sweet and a little crunchy and, in my opinion, had way more flavor than plain spaghetti noodles. Try it for yourself!. You can use pre-made meatballs and sauce and only have to cook the squash. It's a very easy meal, makes plenty of servings, and you don't have to feel guilty about having so many carbs!

Pistachio Crusted Chicken Recipe

A lot of you have asked me for this recipe, so here ya go! The recipe is for one serving, but can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled. As a single person I can only stand left overs so many times and I often waste a lot of food. That's one reason I like this dish so much. It is easy to make, it's delicious, and no leftovers! I have tried making two servings at a time then reheating one of them the next day, but it was not a good dish to reheat. This is the first time I've ever written down a recipe that I've adapted myself, so this is going to be very not-exact. Just roll with it.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken

What you need for the chicken:

olive oil

1 chicken breat

a handful of pistachios - throw in food processor or food chopper and grind up in to small pieces.

salt

What you need for the guacamole:

1/2 a small avocado

a little bit of chopped fresh cilantro

a few cherry tomatoes, diced

a little bit of shallot, diced very fine (I use this instead of a regular onion because it's sweeter, but you still get the onion flavor)

salt

a pinch of garlic powder

anything else you like if guacamole (jalapeno for a little spice, for instance)

First, preheat your oven to 365. Turn on your favorite music. I was listening to a playlist called New Year's Jamz. Dancing while you cook makes it way more fun. Next, heat a little bit of olive oil in a pan.

Dump your pistachios on a plate. Sprinkle the chicken breast with a little salt on both sides then mash it in to the nuts. Try to coat the entire thing.

Next, place your chicken in your hot pan. Let the chicken brown on each side for just a few minutes. You just want the nuts to get brown, crispy, and flavorful - it will finish cooking in the oven. After browning, place the chicken on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, chop up what you need for your guacamole, throw it in a bowl and mash it all together.

Add a small salad with your favorite dressing and dinner is served! Very quick. Very easy. Just the way I like it! Let me know if you try this recipe and if you liked it as much as I did!

Spring Fever

What a perfect weekend! I know that I said this last week, but it would be really great if the weekdays would go by as fast as the weekends! I often joke about how I'm ready to be at stay-at-home non-mom. Every time I say that someone comments, "Wouldn't you get bored?". The answer is simply, no. I hardly sat down at all this weekend and I still didn't get to do everything I wanted to. No, I would not get bored. It would be fantastic.

I went to the Keller Farmers Market on Saturday morning. There are vendors set up every Saturday, but I guess this was an uneventful weekend. There was only one vendor there with vegetables. Maybe in a few weeks there will be more people there to shop from. I walked around the Art House and visited a few art galleries. It was fun discovering all the little shops there.

Friday and Saturday I spent time building a little herb garden in my backyard. I planted some herbs and a few different vegetables. I have no experience in gardening and have a pretty bad track record with keeping things alive. Here's hoping for the best!

Did you know that at the Southlake Central Market they have flower bunches priced 3 for $10? I did not know this until yesterday. And the choices are beautiful! There is a good chance I'll be back next weekend for more.

I went shopping around Southlake and I was sucked in by all of the clever marketing ploys of the home decor retailers. All of the stores are covered in bright colors and I couldn't help myself! I managed to show some self restraint and only picked up a few orange and yellow plates at Crate and Barrel to compliment the green plates I already had. Pink flowers and citrus fruit helped to brighten my dining room even more!

I also made some jewelry! The yellow earrings are my new favorite. They look like sparkley lemon drops of sunshine that scream spring is in the air!

This weekend's sweet treat is another recipe from Lick the Bowl Good: Snickerdoodle Blondies. These turned out pretty good. They are not the best things I've made, but they are not the worst. They are much more cake like than fudgey, but the light cinnamon flavor is nice. They are a little crumbly much like a snickerdoodle cookie. I will have them at work tomorrow if you want to try one!

I made this stir fry for dinner tonight. It was delicious and I thought it was very pretty, so I wanted to take a picture.

The Recipe for Comfort

I sure wish the weekdays would go by as fast as the weekends. I spent most of this weekend sleeping, mainly because of benadryl, but non-stop work might have had a little to do with it, too. When I finally woke up sometime Saturday afternoon I was starving and wanted something comforting. I found a recipe on a blog I like to read and thought it would be perfect for a rainy day. I found this recipe for Crock Pot Coq au Vin on a blog called Lick the Bowl Good. This is a great blog! I appreciate how it is not fancy, just all about making good food and telling a good little story with each recipe. This picture looks gross, but this dish was delicious.

Even though I have a crafting room don't really use it to craft in. Really, I just keep all of my junk in there and take what I need to another part of my house. I have recently turned my dining table into a jewelry making station. It seems like the more I work, the more I need this beautiful mess in my house. I have been so wound up, so overworked, and so disappointed lately that this outlet is the only thing that calms me down. The angrier and more stressed out I get, the more I want to sit at this table and escape my life. When I wasn't sleeping this weekend, I was here. And the pretty flowers on the table were on my desk when I got to work last Monday. I guess I'm not doing such a great job of hiding how down I've been, so Dean cheered me up with this surprise. They definitely made the office a lot less gloomy.

The other place I love to be is in my kitchen. I found this recipe on another foodie blog I like, flagrante delicia. This blog is fancy. The pictures are stunningly beautiful. This recipe was VERY easy. It is also VERY delicious. I can't wait to share them tomorrow at work. Basically, it's a homemade Mounds bar. What is better than chocolate and coconut? Well, chocolate and peanut butter for one, but really....not much else can top this combination.

Refueling For the Road Ahead

The past few weeks I've been running on E. I've noticed a pattern in my personal gas mileage. At the beginning of each semester I run very efficiently like a Prius. I can go and go and go and I don't need to stop very often for an emotional fill up. Right now I'm running like an old farm truck - I'm not making it very far before I need to refuel. The last two weekends have been free for me to do what I please, but I'm going to be working most of the weekends between now and the end of the year. I'm worried about my sanity. And I apologize in advance for being crabby, angry, resentful, and bitter (you know, all the things you love about me). I'm going to do my best to maintain sanity, and I'm sure that with help from good friends like Jose Cuervo and Captain Morgan, I'll be just fine.

This weekend I went to the Main Street Arts Festival downtown. I'm a little mad at myself for living here for seven years and never going. Thank goodness my friend Tara opened my eyes Friday night to this wonderful event! I felt like I had found Mecca! I ended up going back Saturday and Sunday morning and spent several hours wandering around both days. Most of what was there was well out of my price range but everything was so beautiful and unique that I was transported out of band land and into a cocoon of inspiration. I got so many great ideas for projects I want to do this summer and I bought a few things that I could afford. They also had several restaurant vendors there selling a few things from their menus. I got to try Tenderloin Tamales from the Reata and a giant cream puff from a German place. I didn't have my camera on Saturday so you'll have to take my word that the tamales were excellent! On Sunday I got to sample these delights........

Pork Tacos from Embargo. I had eaten two before I remembered to take a picture. Oh. My. God. These were delicious. To quote Jennifer's nephew, I want them in my mouth. Everyday.

Apple Crisp from the Reata Restaurant. That was the best apple-anything I believe I've ever had.

This is the necklace I bought. When I saw it, I loved it, and when I saw that I could actually afford it, I was delighted. This picture sucks. It looks much better on me!

I bought a few small pictures from a photographer that I thought was really unique. You can't see from this picture how colorful and different they are.......you will have to come over for a better look.

I also went to the KHS craft show on Saturday and couldn't resist this cutesy tomato pin cushion!

Then filled with creative energy, I made a few things this afternoon.

More shoe clips for my green shoes.

Pendants inspired by jewelry I couldn't afford at the festival.

Earrings that remind me of summer citrus fruit. I want lemonade and oranges every time I look at them.

Another necklace....

So needless to say, I had a great weekend. Friends, food, and the arts - my three favorite things in the world! I hope this fuel lasts me longer this time.........

My Little Pancake Maker

I haven't had a chance to post these pictures of my niece making pancakes over spring break. She packed her apron and her chef's hat for the visit so we had to get in the kitchen to make something. She was a very good helper and makes excellent pannie-cakes (as she calls them).

Getting everything ready

Mixing the batter

Flippin' (don't worry, Vicki, she was very well supervised!)

Enjoying the finished product

Sometimes Alanis Says it Better

It's been an Alanis kind of weekend. She has been lifting my spirit since '95. After this past week of ups and downs, I needed some wise words. I am constantly at battle with myself over this love-hate relationship with my job, and of course, Alanis being the eloquent poet that she is, she says it better than me.

Incomplete by Alanis Morissette

One day I'll find relief

I'll be arrived

And I'll be friend to my friends who know how to be friends

One day I'll be at peace

I'll be enlightened and I'll be married with children and maybe adopt

One day I will be healed

I will gather my wounds forge the end of tragic comedy

I have been running so sweaty my whole life

Urgent for a finish line

And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever incomplete

One day my mind will retreat

And I'll know God

And I'll be constantly one with her night dusk and day

One day I'll be secure

Like the women I see on their thirtieth anniversaries

I have been running so sweaty my whole life

Urgent for a finish line

And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever incomplete

Ever unfolding

Ever expanding

Ever adventurous

And torturous

And never done

One day I will speak freely

I'll be less afraid

And measured outside of my poems and lyrics and art

One day I will be faith-filled

I'll be trusting and spacious authentic and grounded and home

I have been running so sweaty my whole life

Urgent for a finish line

And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever incomplete

WARNING: I'm currently feeling sad, angry, and resentful

This blog is not crafty, creative, appetizing, humorous, or even sprinkled with my charming sarcasm. (Ok maybe just a little). I find myself once again in emotional limbo about my career path. Right now I'm a ball of nerves because we are headed to contest on Tuesday and I'm placing my professional success in the hands of 12 year olds again. Right now at this very moment I am having Vietnam flashbacks of the first two years the Trinity schools were open. Back then, I felt like this every single day. I had a constant feeling of how it wasn't worth it to put myself through the emotional and mental torture of pouring every ounce of my heart and soul in to something that I got absolutely nothing back from. Even last year, which was better than the first two, was almost more than I could bare.

I started this school year with every intention of finding another job outside of education this June. I had decided that I'd had enough of feeling resentful towards my job. There are so many things that make it hard to stay motivated to want to work hard. For me, being single, I need this to fill me up emotionally because I have little time for much else to give me any emotional satisfaction. I am an intensely passionate person and this job is pretty much all I have to be intensely passionate about at this point in my life. Sad as that may sound to you, that's how it is. I need to feel like the sacrifices I make in my life are worth it in the end, and I rarely feel that way. I find myself feeling so resentful of my job at times, especially on Friday afternoons watching people leave at 4, because I'm exhausted and still have a few hours of work ahead of me. I hate working 50-60 hour weeks and then having to go to the school on Sunday afternoons because I'm STILL playing catch up. I hate when people tell me not to complain about working longer hours because I get a stipend. There is not a teacher of the face of this earth that gets paid enough for the hours they work. Not me, not the coaches, not the math and science teachers. No one. None of us do it for the money. So stop saying that to me. I can't work like I dog and then have parents tell me what a shitty job I'm doing. But that's the nature of the beast, and I'm constantly reevaluating whether or not it is worth it. This job is like an abusive boyfriend. It keeps beating me down and making me feel horrible about myself and just when I've had enough and decide to leave, something happens to make me change my mind. And I tell myself it will be different this time, it won't happen again. But yet here we are. I'm battered, I'm bruised (literally, I'm bruised all over from dropping percussion equipment all over myself), and I'm ready to move on. I'm definitely at low point right now. I know that when I cry when I don't have PMS that I'm really hurting. I just hope that it's all worth it on Tuesday.

My Craft Crazy Spring Break

I have had a wonderful break! I love having so much free time to enjoy a creative process. I can't wait until the summer! I saw an idea for interchangeable flip flop straps on a craft blog I follow. I thought they were so cute so I decided I would make some for my sister. This was the most time consuming project I have done in a while. The hardest part was getting the velcro glued on the the flip flop. I'm still not quite sure it's going to stick for eternity - I guess we'll find out after Vicki test-drives them for a while. The tutorial on the blog shows to sew the ribbon on to the soft side of the velcro, but I don't have a sewing machine so instead I used an iron on fusing material that I use to fix fallen hems. It worked perfectly! Tip: If you use this method be sure to put a t-shirt over the ribbon when you iron it on, and I ironed it with the soft velcro side up. Here's what I came up with:

I also found these super cute green shoes on clearance at Target and I decided to spice them up with a flower shoe clip. I'm going to make an orange one, too. I'm going to have the most colorful feet at work!

I made these ribbon flowers for another project. Stay tuned for that one.....

I made this necklace, but I couldn't get a good picture of it because my camera stinks.

I still have two days left before 10 more weeks of nonstop band! I'm going to make the most of them and hopefully have more pictures for you in a few days!

From the Mouths of Babes

I've had some students say some pretty funny stuff over the last few weeks and I wanted to share the laughs with everyone:

Me: What's the opposite of crescendo?

Kid: Uncrescendo?

*******

After giving a rather detailed lecture over what an accidental is, I ask the class, "Ok, so who can tell me what an accidental is?"

Kid: Something that wasn't supposed to happen....like me! My mom found out she was pregnant with me on the way to get birth control.

Other kid: Hey, me too!

*******

During an awkward silence in clarinet class a kid blurted out, "Gay llama!" I was like, excuse me??? He told me that saying that would make the moment less awkward. He also told me that his pet rock was expecting children. His pet rock's name is Fred, so I'm not sure how that's working for him.......

*******

I walked into the back ensemble room only to find a 7th grade boy riding a stand rack like a unicorn. When we asked him why he was doing that, he said he had forgot something in his backpack. Yeah, makes total sense. About as much sense as the kid that told me he left his key signature in his locker.

AAHHHHHHH!!! At least the kids are entertaining. Only 4 days til spring break!!!!!

The Story of the Twice Iced Sugar Hearts

I'm not really sure when my love affair with Nutella began. I seem to recall my old roommate, Tara, introducing it to me at some point. At any rate, I have ZERO self control around the stuff. Have you ever heard of SSB? Secret Singles Behavior - what people do when they're alone....when no one else is watching. Well, I'm not afraid to admit one of my SSBs is eating Nutella with a spoon straight out of the jar like it's a pint of ice cream. I finally had to stop buying it because it never lasted very long and then my pants wouldn't fit......it was a vicious cycle. Have I made my point that this stuff is DELICIOUS?? Over the past week I've been craving this stuff hardcore! I found a website with no less than 100 recipes using Nutella. I learned that February 5th is World Nutella Day. Apparently people share recipes they have created on this website. I was inspired to create my very own Nutella recipe. I scanned through the recipes hoping one would lead me to my own idea. I looked and looked but couldn't think of anything unique. Then I thought about stuff I already make.....how could Nutella make something better? Then it hit me - Nutella icing on my already delicious sugar cookies! Ahhhhh, these cookies are divine. Jennifer calls them "crack cookies". She must get one hell of a sugar rush from eating them and asks me all the time about making them like a crack feign looking for a fix. My mom used to send me a tin of these sugar cookies on every major and minor holiday while I was in college. I would share them with my roommates and they soon became quite the commodity around the SFA School of Music. I'm pretty sure the only reason people came to my recitals was because they knew those cookies would be there afterwards. My favorite of the sugar cookies were always the ones with chocolate jimmies on them. I loved the flavor of the chocolate with the homemade buttercream icing. I wanted to re-create that flavor. I knew that they wouldn't taste the same if I left of the vanilla buttercream, so I decided that instead of sugar sprinkles I would drizzle them with the Nutella buttercream. I remember why I don't make these very often - they are a lot of work!! Make the dough, chill the dough, roll the dough, cut out the cookies, bake the cookies, let the cookies cool, ice the cookies, drizzle the cookies, wait for the icing to harden, and then store the cookies. I tasted a few, and they are good, but I'm a little disappointed in them for two reasons. They didn't turn out quite as soft as I'd hoped and the Nutella flavor isn't as intense as I'd hoped. Next time I make these I think I'm going to skip turning the Nutella into icing and just heat it and drizzle it right on the cookies. They are still very tasty and I'm sure the boys at work will be happy to help me get rid of them!

Now to clean up. Ugh. I believe that I'll be taking applications for a baking assistant. Cute single guys only need apply. ;o)

What's For Lunch?

That is what I usually ask Dean everyday now. He always has some random combination of food. Here's the latest:

On this day it's leftover steak. He stabs his fork into the middle and eats it like a cave man. Officer Savage calls it a meat stick.

Then we have a bowl of rice and left over meat patties of some kind. I like this lunch particularly because of the repurposing of the cheese bag.

A "normal" lunch. Yogurt drink, bag of meat, and apple slices.

And my personal favorite. The day after the Super Bowl he hauls in this giant bag of left over chicken wings, an apple sauce, half a grapefruit, a granola bar, and the oreo balls I made over the weekend. Yes, he ate every bit of it and I'm pretty sure he regretted it.

Stay tuned for more lunch amusement!