A Baking Frenzy

Nicole and I decided that we would bake. We did this last year and made the most delicious stollen cookies. This year we made the choice to make a lot of cookies. We made 6 different kinds and we think there were over 200 cookies made.

This is a yummy look at all the butter, eggs, chocolate and various other sundries that we used to create the dozens and dozens of cookies. And if you are thinking your eyes deceive you - you are not deceived my friend, that is a jar of nutella - food of the gods.

































here are some pictures of our delicious delights. For the chocolate cookie recipe check out Sunset Magazine. I altered it a bit because they wanted you to use bittersweet chocolate - but I found that it would be too expensive - so we used semi-sweet chocolate chips. We also used nutella as well as peanut butter. They are both mouth watering.








I hope that you are enjoying this wonderful time of year. I am preparing to purge the house soon. Two of my very good friends are coming over to help me. I call myself a sentimental fool. And I like to keep things even if they are not the most useful. I worry that this is also what some people call hoarding. I will not end up like those people on that show on A&E so my plan is to get rid of a lot of the stuff that I no longer need. This means I will also be donating a lot of stuff to the Salvation Army/Good Will. It is going to be an interesting adventure.

New Laptop

All I wanted for Christmas this year was a new laptop. I told Bren that he didn't have to get me anything else. So the plan was to go to Best Buy and check out the deals. We found the one we wanted and it sat in the closet for the past month. So Today was the official day of opening my beautiful new gift.

Because my family could all get together last night we held our Christmas celebrations yesterday. We enjoyed a lovely meal of roast best and mash potatoes. Nicole and I had made a gaggle of cookies and so we munched all night long.

It was a fantastic evening of family, food, and presents.
Pictures will follow shortly!

First real day off.

Today was my first real day off of work. I woke up to the hubby's alarm - he had to go to work today. So I stayed in bed and read The Book Thief - pet the cat awhile and enjoyed the cloudy morning.

After dragging myself out of bed - I prepared for a fun filled day.
Grocery shopping
Dog park with Tonka
Dinner with the Hubby
Watching some Golden Girls

Nicole and I are making cookies tomorrow and so that's why I needed to get some groceries. She lives about 40 min from town. In a far away land called Aguanga - it's past wine country and you have to drive past a house that has a life size dinosaur on the top of it. That dinosaur is also painted bright orange. It is a highlight of the trip.

We will be baking away so that we have lots of cookies to bring to our friends and families for Christmas. I'm really looking forward to the chocolate cookies with nutella in the center. What could be better than nutella? Nothing my friends, nothing.

Now I'm off to have some dinner with the Hub - Lasagna from Costco - yummo!

Good by 6am

I will not miss you. 6am with your cold air and your lack of sun. Your crisp air and fog crawling back over the mountain from whence it came. Your alarm ringing with a sound that sends shivers up the spine. No, 6am I've seen the last of you for 2009.

7, 8, 9, 10, even 11 - those are numbers that will welcome me - calling me to adventures that have nothing to do with grading papers or calling parents. Those are kind numbers who treat you with care. The sun welcoming everyone to the day. That should be a hint to 6am - even the sun doesn't like you. It creeps out of bed a little later and later - just as we all should.

I look forward to seeing you in 2010 6am. It's not because I like you - but I enjoy the job that I go to after you greet me.

So - 6am I will see you next year!

A slip up...

I may have laughed more in this moment more than my students. It was one of those slips that I didn't even think of while I was creating a Jeopardy game to prepare for finals. Check out the template here - So while we were playing this very fun game we came to the vocabulary section.

Students were supposed to give the answer - abated - but it was a fill in the blank question so here is how it looked.

The student ____ the teacher in order to avoid the fact that he was failing the class.

This is how I read it -

The student blanked the teacher.... *laughter and a red face ensued.

Reading this to a classroom full of 30 teenagers was not a good idea. I had to take a moment before we could continue on with the game. It was one of those moments that I will remember for a very long time. And I think I will also go in and change the way the question is written.

Teaching that subject called life...

No one ever talks about the other 'subject' that teachers have to teach. Over the past 4 and a half years of teaching I have encountered all of the following - mind you this is a limited list, because if I wrote down everything it would be too long and you don't have time for that.

- Student pregnancies - miscarriages, and teen moms
- Depression - from the very scary kind - to the go get your nails done and you'll feel better.
- Breakups
- Being cursed at - you think of the word I've been called it. Most of the time it's as they are walking out the door.
- Students who have :

• lost a parent
• lost a friend
• lost a sibling
• lost their way
• lost their faith
• lost their hope

- Been told they are stupid - by a parent, teacher, friend, family member

- Had them cry in my classroom because it was the first time they felt safe enough to do so.

This is one of those issues that no professor can prepare you for. In the world of teaching some kids are going to love you - and others will wish for your slow and painful demise. I have had the fortunate ability to be the the teacher kids come to for help. This is a blessing in so many ways. It pushes me to be a better teacher - and more importantly a better person.

I always worry that I don't do enough and then I have day like today. When a student confides in me because she has faith that I will be able to help. She asked her friends who the best adult would be if she needed to go to someone. And all of them gave my name. I came home knowing that someones life is going to get better because I was able to help.

I wish that there was a way to teach how to do that but I don't know if there is.