My Classroom

One of the many reasons why I love being a teacher: setting up my classroom! School starts next Wednesday, August 27th. I've been in "prepping" for 5 days, both this week and last week, getting ready for the big day. I've had to arrange my desks (3 groups of 5 and 1 group of 6), laminate things, put up posters, organize cumulative files, put tennis balls on chair legs (all 128 of them!), make name plates (for desks and lockers), write names on folders, find out birthdays, move bookcases, organize my classroom library, put out paper, sharpen pencils, photocopy, the list goes on and on.

I absolutely love my classroom. It has a very workable space, both in functionality and in learning. I try to keep it neat and organized all year (with about 90% success) for my sanity as well as for a more conducive learning environment.

I am glad to say though, that I'm done! Today was my last day in my classroom until we (the teachers) have to go back Monday and Tuesday for professional development. My 4-day weekend is my last hurrah before work begins!

Cream Cheese Ball

I really didn't feel like making dinner tonight so, I made a snack for dinner. Pete was excited when I told him that we were going to have Miso soup (from a package) and my "famous" cream cheese ball for dinner. (I figure it was healthy enough. It was certainly filling as we polished off the entire box of Triscuits!)  I had been planning on making the ball sometime this week after purchasing the needed ingredients yesterday. I should have looked at the recipe before shopping as I thought it called for only one block of cream cheese, not two. Good thing I had an 8 oz. container of cream cheese in the fridge! Too bad for my bagels later this week though.

Cream Cheese Ball

• 2  8 oz. packages cream cheese
• 1 small can crushed pineapple (drained)
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped red or yellow onion

Blend all ingredients and form into a ball.  Serve with crackers of your choice.

I added a little bit of garnish to my ball and served it on a bamboo cheese board.
Pete enjoying his dinner.

The Newest Member of Our Family

Meet Nicky.  Nicky came to live with us on Saturday. Nicky is 4.5 years old and is, as you can see by the pictures, quite large. Nicky comes to us from Pete's mother. She has had Nicky since she rescued him from a shelter in Springfield, MA. As Nicky craves attention and she has 4 other cats, it was hard for her to give him the attention he so badly wanted. Pete and I have discussed taking Nicky on and off for the last few months. He's here now and adjusting to our house and two hissing biddies (a.k.a. Chloe and Hannah). Chloe is very interested in Nicky but hisses and growls when he gets too close. I guess that's only natural as this is HER house!

Nicky is a ragdoll cat (yes, we believe a purebred). He's got a touch of ADD as he cannot stay in one place or position any longer than 20 seconds. He's very sociable and lovable and we're very glad we have him! :)

Showing Our Support

I don't talk politics much, well, except with Pete (Republican), his mother (Republican), my mom (Democrat), Roxy (former Republican now a Democrat), and Dave (former Republican now a Democrat).  I have always been a Democrat although I have toyed with the idea of switching to the Green Party.  Anyway, Pete and I often have some very lively discussions about "W" and the state of the Union. He voted for Bush in 2000 and again in 2004. (Eeek!) I have had a disfavorable opinion of him (Bush) since 2001 (pre-Sept. 11) and have never had a favorable opinion -- ever. I don't like him, I don't trust him or his VP either. He has destroyed our educational system with No Child Left Behind and I wonder about our true reasons for Iraq and Afghanistan. Not to mention that I truly believe (since about November 2001) that there was something "fishy" with the September 11th attacks.  Enough said.

Well, it just so happens that Pete now is siding with my opinions of Bush as of late. Pete, very Republican, is going to be voting for Obama. (I don't have to tell you who I'm voting for, do I?) Shortly after that "revelation", I decided to make an online purchase, you know, to show our support in the coming months. It's not my first lawn sign (the other lawn sign was for a candidate that I supported in the primaries but didn't end up voting for in the general elections - I went Green Party in the end. Pete did too.) and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Here's hoping for a REAL change!

My Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

I made this yesterday.  I absolutely LOVE pot pies! :) 

My Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

• 1 lb. (or so) skinless chicken breast
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 eggs
• 2 9" deep dish frozen pie crusts
• 1 large bag frozen mixed veggies (size and/or combo. of veggies is your choice)
• 1/2 cup half and half (reg. milk will work too)
• 1 T. minced garlic
• 1/3 t. salt
• 1/3 t. pepper
• 1 to 2 T. butter (melted)
• 1/2 t. seasoned salt
• 1/2 t. chives (fresh or freeze dried)

1. Set out pie crusts. Leave one in pan; take the other out of the pan and set on a piece of waxed paper. Leave out at room temp. for 15 -20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. Prepare / cook chicken. (I boil mine in a frying pan until done.)  Set aside.
4. Thaw out frozen vegetables (in microwave): Add veggies to a bit of water in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Mix. Return to microwave for another 2 minutes. Set aside when done.
5. Whisk 1 egg in med. bowl. Add melted butter, salt, pepper, chives, and minced garlic. Stir. Add both cans of soup. Stir. Add half and half and seasoned salt. Stir. Set aside.
6. Add warmed veggies to bottom of pie crust (the one still in the pan). Rip cooked chicken into bite sized pieces. Add to top of veggies. Pour soup mixture over chicken and veggies. Use fork or spoon to make sure the soup mixture makes it's way to the bottom of the pie.
7. Take second crust and lay it over the top of the pie. Pinch together.
8. Beat the second egg. Brush over the top crust.
9. Put pie into oven. Bake for approx. 20 minutes or until crust is dark golden brown.
10. Enjoy!

Wet Basement

We have had so much rain!  3.5 inches Monday night along with a pretty nasty thunderstorm. A few days prior to that we had 2.5 inches of rain. The ground is saturated. I guess that's why it decided to come into our basement. Yep, quite a bit of it to be exact. You see, we had a small crack in one of our basement windows. It was one of those things we kept meaning to get to but never did. Well, now we have to! The water was rushing around the side of the house so much so that it filled up our window well and broke the glass. The hole was big enough that my cat could fit through it (she didn't though, thank goodness!). There were leaves, wood chips, and yuck all over the place down there. We had some carpets that are ruined, magazines, some of my college stuff, our fax machine, computer parts -- all ruined. Oh well. Part of our basement is finished (i.e. recliners, computers, carpeting, Sheetrock, etc.). The water intruded a little bit into there but just the carpeting by the door to the "basement" part. We've got fans running and the lights are on. Hopefully it will dry up soon. I just don't want the nice carpeting in our rec room to get moldy. This weekend we've got to figure out what we're going to do with the window: we've discussed Plexiglas and even concreting it in. We'll go to Home Depot and Lowe's to see what our options are. Lessons learned: when there's a small problem, fix it. Also, don't leave stuff on your basement floor.

"Green" Makeup

Hooray! I finally found (and bought!) eco-friendly makeup! I found the Organic Wear line at my local CVS. The prices of each product are comparable to Loreal and Maybelline. The only thing I couldn't find that was "green" was mascara. Has anyone else used or heard of this makeup? Are there any other brands of "green" makeup out there?