Special

Tonight was china night! I break out the good china about once a month (sometimes twice), just to make things a little extra special. Mike usually asks what the special occasion is, to which I reply (sappiness warning!) "Every night with you is a special night." He then engages in the requisite eye rolling and/or groaning. While I'm of course being silly with my statement, it is true - the everyday meals are so much a part of what holds a family together. I know that there are people who only bring out the china for truly exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime events. If that's your thing, I can understand wishing to make those celebrations stand out. But to my way of thinking, that means a lot of waiting around for once-in-a-lifetime events. I prefer to celebrate today, and acknowledge the special that the "everyday" holds.

Pot Pies!

Yes, another food post - brought to you by the letter P! A cooold day (-9 wind chill!), a day off, a craving for comfort food... what could be better than pot pies?

I've made a beef pot pie a couple of times for Mike, but hadn't quite settled on a crust. Tonight was my first attempt at a veggie one for me, after I found this recipe. Oh. My. Goodness! Delish! I used the same biscuit topping for Mike's as well, which went over spectacularly.

Veggie on the left (a little overfilled, but so wonderful), beef on the right.

These mini-pie plates are a boon for families with different food preferences! This is now my new favorite winter comfort food, mmmmmm.........

Pancakes!

I would absolutely work a longer day four days a week to get a three-day weekend every week. Here's my reasoning: Saturday is all about recovering, and accomplishing whatever tasks you can't get done on a Sunday. Sunday is church, grocery shopping, house cleaning, lesson planning. Then, it's back to work. And if you do have something fun planned for the weekend, somehow you've got to cram all that other stuff in some impossibly small fraction of time, usually in all-out panic mode. With a three day weekend, you can actually fit in some time to breathe. And make pancakes!

Oh blueberry pancakes, how I love thee. And since I have been faithfully eschewing sweets for two months now, that I would allow these guys through is a further testament to my adoration. Happy Monday to all!

Love Notes

I like to leave little notes for Mike in the morning, either by his breakfast dishes or in his lunch bag. Here's the written love that was waiting for him when he got up this morning:

Back to the Routine

First day back went pretty well! The kids were pretty nuts and most took a rather lackadaisical approach to reviewing for final exams, but for the most part no true difficulties. One more "normal" day, then finals, then roster change. I think I'll make it.

Along with going back to work comes the re-installation of other habits. I went to the Y after work today. I love the Y! They offer so much, along with so many services and amenities for such a reasonable price (as long as you're not single - I still harbor bitterness over the deep discounts marrieds/families receive at so many places that singles are overcharged for). I took a hiatus over the holidays - a hazard of choosing a gym closer to your workplace than your home - and it felt great being back. And the place was packed! Must be all those NY Resolutions peeps. I hope a lot of them stick around, because the whole energy level of the room skyrockets when there are so many people working out.

Golf, Hockey, and Soup

My hubs is an avid golf watcher, so he was really looking forward to the official commencement of the new season this weekend. One reason he was extra excited about the start of golf was the NHL lockout - we have both been suffering for lack of Blackhawks viewing! And wouldn't you know it, as soon as golf begins, the NHL finally gets their act together? Double bonus weekend! Sadly, the weather in Hawaii did not lend itself to a successful golf tournament...

In other news, school resumes tomorrow morning. I spent a couple of hours this afternoon completing some odds and ends grading and making sure I'm good to go for tomorrow. I hate to be negative, but this week does not look promising for student motivation and behavior, for the following reasons:

1 - They are bound to be nuts coming off of a two week break. This is a given.
2 - It's a weird week - two days of "normal" class, two days of final exams, then an Institute Day (although yippee! for a four-day kid week!).
3 - You can imagine how seriously junior high kids take final exams.
4 - You can imagine how seriously junior high kids take elective class final exams.
5 - All of my kids leave me after the end of this week, and switch to different elective classes.

It's going to be rough. But, here's my positive list:

1 - Two days of final exams means two days of quiet test-taking time. I'm spreading my exam over two days, so it should be nice and quiet those two days, calming down the crazy.
2 - An Institute Day which is rumored to be a day where we will be allowed to grade our final exams and prep for the beginning of second semester. I've never been at a school that actually does this. Usually this day is filled with all sorts of meetings/trainings/etc, and even when it's useful information that's being disseminated it's a bit hard to concentrate when you're thinking about the 100+ final exams and report card grades that have to be scored and entered by 8am Monday.
3 - Brand new kids means a brand new start! A chance to change/add/subtract all the things I wish I'd done the first couple of weeks in August. One of the bummers about starting at a new school is that you have to wait an entire year for a second shot at starting your class the way you want to - I get my second chance during the first year!

On to soup! At the moment I have a nice big batch of homemade minestrone simmering on the stove, mmm yum. It freezes well, so in addition to tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch, it will provide me with lunches off and on throughout the month. I love soup - healthy, nutritious, satisfying. I enjoy all of the chopping; I find it somewhat meditative. I especially love the whimsical nature of soup - once you've got the basics down, you can toss in anything willy-nilly or make random substitutions for missing ingredients, and it still comes out amazing!

Here is one thing that makes soup creation particularly enjoyable for me - my Rachael Ray Bench Scraper. I love this thing!

I used to be a traditionalist and transferred food using my chef's knife, but after using this guy I am a convert. Sorry for the advertisement, but I love how much it can scoop!

Books & Boards

So I finally got around to opening all of the packages which contain the textbooks I'll need for my next grad school class, which begins Jan 23 (order early, get the best deals before my classmates!). This many packages cannot be good. Look at the fun they contain!

Did the song "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong?" pop into your head while looking at these? I couldn't help myself but order "K is for Knifeball" when I saw it. It is HILARIOUS. During my child care unit my students analyze various children's books, and I've been looking for a couple of books to slip in that are definitely not appropriate but look like books for kids (and I'm thinking slipping in "Go the F**k to Sleep" would probably get me fired) - this is perfect! And, an enjoyable read all on its own, of course.

In all honesty opening those packages is probably the only grad school-related task I'll actually complete today - I'm finding "updating my blog" to be a very effective stalling technique. Which makes me wonder how often I'll post once Monday rolls around...

Non-grad school-related is this project: creating a new background for the menu board in the kitchen. I went ahead and churned out the next three as well, so that I can keep them all in the frame and change them with the seasons.

Not only is the menu board cute, but I've found it to be extremely helpful. It's a great reminder for taking ingredients out of the freezer to thaw, a great help for planning lunches to pack for work, and a great way to avoid the eternal "What's for dinner?" question.

Blood and More

Yep, already 1/6 of the way to accomplishing New Year's Resolution #1! Today was a productive day. The hubs had a day of meetings at the community college he works at, and for some reason I get SOOOOO much more accomplished when I'm home by myself rather than when we're both here (of course I prefer the shared time, but sometimes you gotta get stuff DONE!). Lots of housekeeping stuff, some organizing stuff, some errand stuff - I love being able to cross items off of my extensive lists! Confession: when starting a list, I almost always put one or two things on there that I've already done, so that I can immediately cross them off. Ah, the satisfaction! Come on, admit it, you do it too!

One item crossed off today (for real), Pinspired:

A memory jar: write down the good things that happen throughout the year, then open the jar and read them at the end of the year. What a great mini-time capsule, and a great way to be mindful of thankfulness!

Here's an admittedly bad pic of my jar, but you get the idea (already have a good thing in there!). Haven't decided whether or not to create a label... or perhaps I did, by default...

Currently & Possibility

Trying out the "Currently" linky from Farley!

Listening - "The West Wing" is one of my all-time favorite TV shows, so I'm watching it again. On Season 1, Episode 2!

Loving - So amazing that we don't go back to school until January 7th!

Thinking - I get a brand new batch of students in all of my classes when the new semester begins (January 14th), so I'm thinking about what I want to do differently this time.

Wanting - Mmmm, hot cocoa.....

Needing - Gotta start the prezi for my grad school project! It's not due for another two weeks, but I better use the time I have now before work kicks back in.

OLW - POSSIBILITY!

I'll admit it, I love the beginning of a new year. A fresh start, a blank slate, a chance for anything to happen over the next twelve months... all the cliches. As a result, like my friend Kelly I love making all sorts of lists of resolutions and things I want to accomplish. Unfortunately, I also have the tendency to be over-ambitious with the length of my lists which usually translates into very few items, if any, actually being accomplished. So a few years ago I changed things up a bit: instead of making a list of resolutions I chose one specific behavior I wanted to work on every day. Then each year I added one more, while keeping the previous one. A look back:

2009 New Year's Resolution: Make my bed every morning. Seriously. ACCOMPLISHED! I actually did make my bed every single morning in 2009. It probably took about three months before it became automatic, but after that point it was just part of my routine. Since getting married things have changed a bit, since I usually leave for work before he's up, but I'm still pretty good about it on weekends and other days off.

2010 New Year's Resolution: Pray every morning. ACCOMPLISHED! While it sounds odd, I pray every morning while brushing my teeth (I trust that God can still understand me with a mouthful of toothpaste). In my medicine cabinet I have a list of "31 Ways to Praise" which is how I start out, then work my way from there. They aren't long prayers, but I still make at least that connection every day.

2011 New Year's Resolution: Set out work clothes the night before every work day. Makes my life much less hectic, and keeps me from accidentally awakening my sleeping prince. ACCOMPLISHED! Did not miss a day in 2011. The second half of 2012 was a little different. In our new house, our closet is actually in the master bathroom - because of the easy access to all of my clothes, I've become a bit lazy about this one. I will re-establish this habit this year!

2012 New Year's Resolution: Take a multi-vitamin every day. 99% ACCOMPLISHED! There were admittedly a couple of days I missed - usually on overnight getaways, when I didn't think to pack this particular item. But 99% is still pretty great!

So for 2013 I will work to continue these items, plus add the two that I blogged about in my first post. One is bi-monthly: donating blood six times this year. I am a huge supporter of blood donation, but unfortunately in the past living in a rural area and coaching was a combination that made giving blood as often as eligible not so possible. This year with no coaching and many more options for donations I should be able to do this easily. The second is daily, writing in my 10-year journal:

I absolutely love this! There is a page for each day, and on that day is a section for each year from 2013-2023. It's designed that way so you can start any day of the year and still get a full ten years, so by starting on January 1st I'll actually get eleven years into this book. After the first year, when I write on a day's page I'll be able to read what I was doing on that day every year since beginning the journal. Trying to imagine what will be in this book on December 31st, 2023 is an amazing thought - just think of the POSSIBILITY!

My Husband May Mock Me, But I USE Pinterest, Darn It!

"Are you Pinterest-ing again?" is a phrase commonly overheard in my home, but in my defense I'm not just randomly pinning - I use many, many ideas that I pin. Take today, for example:

The detail that I probably love best about this storage method is that I was able to leave the hooks attached, so that I don't have to mess with putting them back on next year! Procrastinators, take heart: I never put my Christmas decorations away this early. There have been years when Easter decorations have been on sale before the tree came down (and okay, I'll admit it, there was one year when it never came down at all). However, looking ahead at my plans for the week, the work I have to do for school (job), the work I have to do for school (grad school), the work I have to do at home... I just wanted to get this one out of the way so there would be one less project hanging out there.

Which brings us to my next Pinterest find: what to do with all those Christmas cards that I wish to save?

I loved this idea, so after the decorations were packed up in the attic I spent some quality time with my three-hole punch.

I haven't decided whether or not to make a cover. I was on a roll, so I assembled a few other books of cards as well.

From left to right: cards from our engagement/wedding, sympathy cards from when Mike's dad passed away, and cards from Christmas 2011 and 2012.

Things like this, I think, justify my addiction to enjoyment of Pinterest. Which is not to say that I don't have dozens - or hundreds - more pins yet to apply, but a couple here and there makes the time spent browsing worthwhile!