The scene: 7:05 a.m., Paul and Carrie's bedroom, both Paul and Carrie are snuggled down in their very comfy bed
Paul (poking Carrie to wake her up): Hey. Are you supposed to be up?
Carrie (squinting at clock): Is it really 7:00?
Paul: Yes.
Carrie (really hoping here): Is it Monday?
Paul: Yes.
Carrie: Crap.
I managed to leave for work on time this morning and I even managed to wash my hair. Of course, it was only 3/4 dry as I was running out the door and at school, one of my coworkers commented that it didn't look quite right (this is my best coworker friend so she's allowed to say such things). But apparently, there is no need to get up at 6:15 each morning because this morning proved that I can get read with only 30 minutes to spare if there are no catastrophes, I don't make lunch, and Paul feeds the cat.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
I think the hardest part is coming up with a catchy title
I think I'm running out of things to write about. Life has pretty much settled into a mundane routine and work has settled down as much as I think it ever will. I've still resigned myself to finding a new job and/or continuing with an MLS. So while I'm working putting those things in motion, I don't have much left to say. I'm finally almost better. I thought I felt fine yesterday and I think my "big" day of laundry, grocery shopping, Target, and an evening hike with Paul was too much because after dinner, I felt crummy again. Today, I think I've pretty much shaken off whatever it was that ailed me because I've felt good all day. :::knock on wood:::
After church today, we had lunch with friends from church who are in our small group/Sunday School class. We were discussing how our SS class has gone from a group of about 15-20 to pretty much just the four of us and why that is. There have been several who have moved away, a couple who have just fallen away, and many others who have stopped coming because they are "too busy." What's frustrating is that we've tried to cater the class to encourage those people to continue to come to class--moving from a book lesson to a video lesson, keeping the class time, etc. There are many couples in our church that are our age--we see them and we've talked to them--and yet, we apparently aren't doing something right to get them to come to more than just the worship service. Knowing Paul's schedule (and that Keith travels pretty much M-F most weeks), we're trying to determine what exactly makes someone "busy." He doesn't do anything else with church because of his schedule but spending two hours a week at church is something that even Paul feels he needs to carve into his schedule. It's a downtime for him to spend with others. We've discussed visiting other churches--the reason we opted to go to St. John's was because it is where Paul grew up and where his parents attend--but I don't know if there are active 25-40 year olds at any church aside from the big churches in town, which don't really appeal to us. Keith and Dana are discussing moving back to the Southeast to be closer to family after Baby #2 makes an appearance in March. I don't know what we'll do then. Pray about it, I guess.
And then on the way home, we saw a lady flossing her teeth while we were at a red light. I'm all about good dental health but that's just weird.
This week is just busy enough. On Monday, I'm taking the afternoon off to help out at the JLA Golf Tournament. I've not worked one in the past because they are held on weekdays. But as I've got two or three personal days, 16 weeks of sick leave and not much dedication to the job, I decided I can afford a little do-gooder time. And my resolve to take ALL my personal time, and maybe use up some of that sick leave, became even stronger when my principal questioned my taking the half-day PERSONAL leave when I handed in the leave slip. I understand the school is under corrective action and absences are being monitored but it's a half-day and it's my personal leave time. I could take that time to run naked down Montgomery or just take a really kick-ass nap if I so desired. She had no right or any reason to question me, especially when I have obviously shown (with my accumulated weeks of leave time) that I'm not one to abuse the system. Whatever. She really got me going when she saw the second slip for another half-day of personal leave the day before an inservice. Not FOR the inservice day itself but the afternoon BEFORE. Yes, I did miss an inservice last year because we were in Jamaica but I discussed it with her as soon as I saw the conflict in August. I've never not shown up for an inservice and I even stayed for the entire painfully useless inservice last week. It is exasperating when I do things as required and I get questioned for it knowing that I could abuse the system like some of my coworkers and nothing would be said to me.
The rest of the week is shaping up with a meeting on Tuesday evening, a much-needed haircut on Wednesday, and our anniversary on Thursday. We may or may not have a Balloon Fiesta kick-off party to attend on Friday and Saturday is the start of the Balloons! I don't know if we'll go this year--after last year's whirlwind visit-o-rama, we don't have any company this year. I'm trying to convince Paul to go next Friday when I've got Fall Break for the Special Shapes launch. It's my favorite day to go. And if I can't find someone to go with me, I might just go by myself. Hmph.
A couple of weeks ago, we heard the tell-tale "thunk!" that indicates a bird had flown into one of our living room windows. It's not an uncommon occurrence. One summer, we had a hummingbird--a green fellow--that hit one of the windows once a week or more. He'd lay in the yard for a bit until he got undazed when he'd fly off. I never figured out which neighbor had the fermented nectar but the cat enjoyed watching the bird. After this particular thunk, Paul looked outside and said that there was a really big bird on our back wall. A really big bird known as a hawk:
Apparently, it has been chasing the bird when the bird flew into our window. The bird was laying in the yard, dazed and confused, and the hawk was watching it. Paul and I stepped outside to see if we could see the bird and the hawk flew over to the house across the street to watch the bird. The hawk gave up after a bit of me standing outside and the bird flew off a little later.
Huh. Maybe I'm not running out of things to say.
After church today, we had lunch with friends from church who are in our small group/Sunday School class. We were discussing how our SS class has gone from a group of about 15-20 to pretty much just the four of us and why that is. There have been several who have moved away, a couple who have just fallen away, and many others who have stopped coming because they are "too busy." What's frustrating is that we've tried to cater the class to encourage those people to continue to come to class--moving from a book lesson to a video lesson, keeping the class time, etc. There are many couples in our church that are our age--we see them and we've talked to them--and yet, we apparently aren't doing something right to get them to come to more than just the worship service. Knowing Paul's schedule (and that Keith travels pretty much M-F most weeks), we're trying to determine what exactly makes someone "busy." He doesn't do anything else with church because of his schedule but spending two hours a week at church is something that even Paul feels he needs to carve into his schedule. It's a downtime for him to spend with others. We've discussed visiting other churches--the reason we opted to go to St. John's was because it is where Paul grew up and where his parents attend--but I don't know if there are active 25-40 year olds at any church aside from the big churches in town, which don't really appeal to us. Keith and Dana are discussing moving back to the Southeast to be closer to family after Baby #2 makes an appearance in March. I don't know what we'll do then. Pray about it, I guess.
And then on the way home, we saw a lady flossing her teeth while we were at a red light. I'm all about good dental health but that's just weird.
This week is just busy enough. On Monday, I'm taking the afternoon off to help out at the JLA Golf Tournament. I've not worked one in the past because they are held on weekdays. But as I've got two or three personal days, 16 weeks of sick leave and not much dedication to the job, I decided I can afford a little do-gooder time. And my resolve to take ALL my personal time, and maybe use up some of that sick leave, became even stronger when my principal questioned my taking the half-day PERSONAL leave when I handed in the leave slip. I understand the school is under corrective action and absences are being monitored but it's a half-day and it's my personal leave time. I could take that time to run naked down Montgomery or just take a really kick-ass nap if I so desired. She had no right or any reason to question me, especially when I have obviously shown (with my accumulated weeks of leave time) that I'm not one to abuse the system. Whatever. She really got me going when she saw the second slip for another half-day of personal leave the day before an inservice. Not FOR the inservice day itself but the afternoon BEFORE. Yes, I did miss an inservice last year because we were in Jamaica but I discussed it with her as soon as I saw the conflict in August. I've never not shown up for an inservice and I even stayed for the entire painfully useless inservice last week. It is exasperating when I do things as required and I get questioned for it knowing that I could abuse the system like some of my coworkers and nothing would be said to me.
The rest of the week is shaping up with a meeting on Tuesday evening, a much-needed haircut on Wednesday, and our anniversary on Thursday. We may or may not have a Balloon Fiesta kick-off party to attend on Friday and Saturday is the start of the Balloons! I don't know if we'll go this year--after last year's whirlwind visit-o-rama, we don't have any company this year. I'm trying to convince Paul to go next Friday when I've got Fall Break for the Special Shapes launch. It's my favorite day to go. And if I can't find someone to go with me, I might just go by myself. Hmph.
A couple of weeks ago, we heard the tell-tale "thunk!" that indicates a bird had flown into one of our living room windows. It's not an uncommon occurrence. One summer, we had a hummingbird--a green fellow--that hit one of the windows once a week or more. He'd lay in the yard for a bit until he got undazed when he'd fly off. I never figured out which neighbor had the fermented nectar but the cat enjoyed watching the bird. After this particular thunk, Paul looked outside and said that there was a really big bird on our back wall. A really big bird known as a hawk:
Apparently, it has been chasing the bird when the bird flew into our window. The bird was laying in the yard, dazed and confused, and the hawk was watching it. Paul and I stepped outside to see if we could see the bird and the hawk flew over to the house across the street to watch the bird. The hawk gave up after a bit of me standing outside and the bird flew off a little later.Huh. Maybe I'm not running out of things to say.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Recipe follows
Many moons ago, Paul and I had a discussion that went something like this:
P: You know what kind of cake I like? It's yellow cake but it's not fruity. What's it called?
C: Yellow cake.
P: Right. But NOT the kind that tastes like lemon. What is it?
C: Yellow cake.
P: Right but what is it called?
C: y-e-l-l-o-w c-a-k-e
P: OK. It's a yellow cake and it's really good with chocolate frosting but it's not fruity.
C: Yes, yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
This continued on for a bit until I finally convinced Paul that I wasn't simply repeating him but the cake was indeed called yellow cake. Paul has been requesting yellow cake with chocolate frosting for some time so I made him a homemade version yesterday as a belated birthday cake. I've made cakes from scratch before but this was the first time I'd made this recipe from the March/April Cook's Illustrated.
The real fun was the chocolate frosting from the same issue (recipe below). Again, it wasn't difficult to make but I managed to have it all over the counter, everything on the counter, me.
But, behold. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting for Paul:
It was very good although I'll need to tweak the cake recipe a bit for our high altitude. Paul was working at the office with a couple of coworkers yesterday afternoon so I took the cake up to work for him to share (and leave most half of it for people to eat tomorrow).
And the very appreciative recipient:
This was very good but we'll not discuss how bad it is for you.
Foolproof Chocolate Frosting
20 Tbsp. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (4 ounces) confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
pinch table salt
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 ounces chocolate (milk, semisweet, or bittersweet), melted and cooled slightly
In food processor, process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl, then add chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, 10 to 15 seconds. Frosting can be used immediately or up to 3 hours in advance. For longer storage, refrigerate, covered and let stand for 1 hour before using.
P: You know what kind of cake I like? It's yellow cake but it's not fruity. What's it called?
C: Yellow cake.
P: Right. But NOT the kind that tastes like lemon. What is it?
C: Yellow cake.
P: Right but what is it called?
C: y-e-l-l-o-w c-a-k-e
P: OK. It's a yellow cake and it's really good with chocolate frosting but it's not fruity.
C: Yes, yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
This continued on for a bit until I finally convinced Paul that I wasn't simply repeating him but the cake was indeed called yellow cake. Paul has been requesting yellow cake with chocolate frosting for some time so I made him a homemade version yesterday as a belated birthday cake. I've made cakes from scratch before but this was the first time I'd made this recipe from the March/April Cook's Illustrated.
The real fun was the chocolate frosting from the same issue (recipe below). Again, it wasn't difficult to make but I managed to have it all over the counter, everything on the counter, me.
But, behold. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting for Paul:
It was very good although I'll need to tweak the cake recipe a bit for our high altitude. Paul was working at the office with a couple of coworkers yesterday afternoon so I took the cake up to work for him to share (and leave most half of it for people to eat tomorrow).
And the very appreciative recipient:
This was very good but we'll not discuss how bad it is for you.
Foolproof Chocolate Frosting
20 Tbsp. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (4 ounces) confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
pinch table salt
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 ounces chocolate (milk, semisweet, or bittersweet), melted and cooled slightly
In food processor, process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl, then add chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, 10 to 15 seconds. Frosting can be used immediately or up to 3 hours in advance. For longer storage, refrigerate, covered and let stand for 1 hour before using.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
In response to yesterday
Yesterday's inservice served as a pretty much pointless day. The morning started off with a speaker who forgot to give us an introduction of what his talk was about and instead started presenting us with information and percentages that are flawed at best and can't accurately be evaluated in regards to student success. Good times. The next speaker gave us the same talk we had at the inservice in August and then we were sent to "technology workshops" where we could better learn to incorporated technology into our classrooms. @@ My post yesterday was somewhere in between speaker #2 and lunch when I was trying to entertain myself while hearing something I'd already heard three times before.
After lunch (the highlight of the day), it was two more hours of entertaining myself through pointless sessions and then we reconvened in the library to hear the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction speak to us a on all the great things the district is doing. I went from laughing (the district has now mandated "walk-throughs" by principals in that the principals must visit at least 15 classrooms a week for 5 minutes or what I have always thought WAS THEIR JOB @@) to being utterly depressed. I realized when I became the librarian that it was going to be a struggle to get teachers to use the resources I've worked to select as well as working to convince all concerned that librarians are very necessary. The stories of librarians being cut from school in the age of technology is becoming more and more common and listening to the asst. supt., I realized that APS is leaning more and more towards libraries and librarians being redundant. No, she didn't single me out and say so much but when the entire day is spent on technology and the asst. superintendent comes in and talks about how important it is to put students on computers and teachers are talking about how they are doing research on computers, I realize that my uphill battle is getting much steeper. The analogy I have always used in regards to online research is that you don't give a student a calculator and tell them to do math so why are we giving them a computer and telling them to do research. Yes, it's a valid tool to use but it's not the best one for a student, in my opinion. And for all the teachers telling me how valuable I am, I'm really not feeling it when I'm told repeatedly that they'll just use the computers.
So what to do in this battle? I spent much of the evening moping about the last hour of the day and talking over options with Paul. I've got some ideas on what I'm going to do at school in regards to this topic and better marketing myself. But the best option we could see? I'm going back to school. I love being the librarian but as we all know, I'm not thrilled with my job. I've put off getting my MLS (I have a master's in Secondary Education and teaching endorsements in English and Library Science) mostly out of sheer laziness. I think this has been the impetus I needed to give myself more options that the MLS (or maybe even PhD) will bring. I've also mulled over going in a different direction and pursuing some other area of interest. But on Monday, I'm going to contact UNT and TWU about their online programs and see what I need to do to get started and then decide if that is indeed what I want to do.
Maybe I don't hate inservice days so much after all. (OK, I mean I still despise the actual day but if it spurs me to get on with my life, it's not a completely wasted day.)
After lunch (the highlight of the day), it was two more hours of entertaining myself through pointless sessions and then we reconvened in the library to hear the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction speak to us a on all the great things the district is doing. I went from laughing (the district has now mandated "walk-throughs" by principals in that the principals must visit at least 15 classrooms a week for 5 minutes or what I have always thought WAS THEIR JOB @@) to being utterly depressed. I realized when I became the librarian that it was going to be a struggle to get teachers to use the resources I've worked to select as well as working to convince all concerned that librarians are very necessary. The stories of librarians being cut from school in the age of technology is becoming more and more common and listening to the asst. supt., I realized that APS is leaning more and more towards libraries and librarians being redundant. No, she didn't single me out and say so much but when the entire day is spent on technology and the asst. superintendent comes in and talks about how important it is to put students on computers and teachers are talking about how they are doing research on computers, I realize that my uphill battle is getting much steeper. The analogy I have always used in regards to online research is that you don't give a student a calculator and tell them to do math so why are we giving them a computer and telling them to do research. Yes, it's a valid tool to use but it's not the best one for a student, in my opinion. And for all the teachers telling me how valuable I am, I'm really not feeling it when I'm told repeatedly that they'll just use the computers.
So what to do in this battle? I spent much of the evening moping about the last hour of the day and talking over options with Paul. I've got some ideas on what I'm going to do at school in regards to this topic and better marketing myself. But the best option we could see? I'm going back to school. I love being the librarian but as we all know, I'm not thrilled with my job. I've put off getting my MLS (I have a master's in Secondary Education and teaching endorsements in English and Library Science) mostly out of sheer laziness. I think this has been the impetus I needed to give myself more options that the MLS (or maybe even PhD) will bring. I've also mulled over going in a different direction and pursuing some other area of interest. But on Monday, I'm going to contact UNT and TWU about their online programs and see what I need to do to get started and then decide if that is indeed what I want to do.
Maybe I don't hate inservice days so much after all. (OK, I mean I still despise the actual day but if it spurs me to get on with my life, it's not a completely wasted day.)
Friday, September 19, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
