Maple syrup is yummy.

Hi there. Sorry about the hiatus. Times have been busy up here in New Hampshire.

We arrived on the 22nd on a direct flight from FL to Boston. Spent a few hours in Boston. Neat city. Every day since has been pretty lazy. The kind of lazy that just doesn't happen in Florida. The kind of lazy that comes with snowy landscapes and fireplaces hot enough to turn my face red even though my toes remain cold. I've been reading a lot. Curled up with Kite Runner, my feet finding warmth under John's leg.

We fly back home tomorrow. I think our trip was a bit long. I keep making lists in my head of all the things I need to do at home, but I refuse to actually write any to-dos down. Relax, I tell myself. Just read your book about ethnic cleansing in Afghanistan and relax.

We visited the Yankee Candle headquarters in Massachusetts and even drove through Vermont. Beautiful up here in New England, like nothing else, not really, that I've ever seen. John's stepmother, Donna, thought he would rather go somewhere else with his Dad than go to Yankee Candle. Turns out John was the one picking up candle after candle and plopping them in our shopping basket.

They're Coming for Me

Jehovah's Witnesses...they're everywhere.

Just blame the government.

Is the government doing enough to be sure our food is safe?

25% say YES
75% say NO

This question was on the news tonight due to the recent ecoli (e. coli.?) breakout that has been traced back to Taco Bell.

In my opinion, people are not doing enough to be sure their OWN food is safe. If "the government" (who does that include, anyway?) actually had the money to be sure our food was soooo much safer, they would close down every Taco Bell, and take everything with high fructose sugar and additives and preservatives and hormones off the shelves. But it's a little too late to do that, isn't it? Then everyone would throw a fit.

One of my classroom rules is "TAKE RESPONSIBILITY."

I wish adults would learn this principle. Whenever we eat at a restaurant, we know we're taking a risk. There a billion risks everywhere with everything. But use your brain for a second, people! Isn't there a reason tacos are 39 cents at Taco Bell? Would you buy chicken at your local grocery store if it was labeled

Fresh, free range, no hormones, fed an all natural diet: 6.99,

Kind of Fresh, some hormones, chickens fed w/ scraps from local amusement park: 5.99

Stinking disgusting chicken, a bit rotten and obtained from chickens who pretty much just eat the feces of other chickens to stay alive and are shot up with hormones: $1.00.

Also, Taco Bell exploits migrant farmworkers. They are slave-driving, bargain making, food poisoning freaks, who deserve a place in Hell right along with WAL-MART!

Hey America! I hope you save enough money for your cancer, heart disease, diabetes and numerous other health bills you will acquire while eating at Taco Bell and shopping at Wal-Mart.

Thank you very much!

PO Problems

Post office on the busiest day of the year? Why would someone do that?

Well I did, and do you know why? Because I've been holding on to a package and three cards for someone for over a month and the only reason I remembered to take them to the post office today was because I kept hearing about the post office on the radio.

And I am sending out 40 Christmas cards tomorrow. If you don't get one, it's your own fault you didn't give me your address.

I have a headache! I had two students throw up on Friday and one threw up today. I absolutely cannot use a sick day this week because I have to give my students all these crazy tests. And now I have a headache.

Temper tantrum, anyone?

Rachael Ray lies

The recipe I posted the other day wasn't as good as Rachael Ray said it was and it took a lot longer than 30 minutes (more like 50 minutes). I was very disappointed with the sauce because it had almost no flavor at all. The concept is cool though, and I think I will try it again--a new improved Amanda version follows.

Cook up some frilly pasta and your favorite sauce (hamburger totally not necessary).

Use the boiling water from the pasta to put in a big, shallow bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups ricotta and stir together (I liked that concept).

Add some parmiggiano-reggiano and parmesan cheese (parmiggiano-reggiano is very expensive and little too stinky for me)to the ricotta and combine.

Pour in the drained pasta and combine. Then, pour in the sauce and combine. Voila.

John really liked it although he agreed the sauce could be better. I'm not a big ricotta fan, so I didn't think the ricotta was worth it. Lasagna still beats this stuff no matter what you do to it!

What's for dinner?

I'm making this recipe tonight. I'll let you know how it goes!

Not-sagna Pasta Toss Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
See this recipe on air Thursday Jan. 11 at 6:30 PM ET/PT on the Food Network.

Show: 30 Minute Meals
Episode: Come One, Come All

Easier than lasagna, because it's not, this pasta, meat sauce and ricotta toss-up is just as hearty and comforting as the layered Italian fave, but it's ready in a fraction of the time and with much less effort.


1 pound curly short cut pasta (recommended: campanelle by Barilla, fusilli or cavatappi
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 pound ground sirloin
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, eyeball it in your palm
Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon allspice, eyeball it in your palm
1 teaspoon, several drops, Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine, a couple of glugs
1/2 cup beef stock
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh basil, about 20 leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls, plus some to pass at table

Heat a large pot of water to boil for pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente. Heads up: you will need a ladle of the starchy cooking water to help form sauce before draining.
Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add the meat and break it up into small bits as it caramelizes. Once meat has good color to it, 4 to 5 minutes, add garlic, onions and red pepper flakes and season with salt, pepper, allspice and Worcestershire sauce. Cook another 5 minutes, deglaze the meat and onions with red wine, cook off a minute, then combine about 1/2 cup of stock into the meat. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a bubble. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 minutes.

Place ricotta cheese in the bottom of a shallow bowl. Add a ladleful of boiling, starchy pasta water to the ricotta and stir to combine. Add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan to the ricotta and mix it in.

Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with cheeses. Add half the thick meat sauce to the pasta bowl and combine. Tear or shred the basil and add to the meat and pasta, toss again. Taste to adjust salt and pepper. Serve bowlfuls of Not-sagna with extra sauce on top and more grated Parmesan to pass at the table.

Christmas Rush

I actually haven't written because I have not had even five minutes to do so.

Yesterday, I conducted our school's very first union meeting since I have been there. I did it by having our union's legal expert guy coming and doing it for me. Use your gifts and distribute the jobs of your weaknesses, right? I made cookies for the event, though, and they were a big hit. At least I'm good at something.

Around Christmas, I am very busy at school because I'm a psychotic teacher. I get out the paint, glitter, etc., and let the kids go at it. I've been researching Hanukkah like crazy because I think I can get away with teaching about that as an undercover God trick. I brought in a plastic nativity set for the kids to play with. That should be interesting.

We have no school today. I'm planning on cleaning, reading, and making more cookie dough. I'm in a cookie exchange in a couple weeks, so I'm freezing it ahead of time. I'm making chocolate chip cookies this time because I'm sick of going all out with my Christmas cut-outs when everyone else makes crap cookies. I'd rather keep the 7 dozen cut-outs than give them away for some dumb peanut butter and chocolate kiss cookies. I've received a lot of complaints already.

I am going to try to make the Christmas cut-outs for New Hampshire. I just have to figure out a way to get them on the plane.

Ohio, Ohio

John and I arrived in Canton lastnight by plane around 1 am. We are enjoying ourselves and have already visited one of the most important places, Dravenstott's, for their salad bar lunch. Yummy.

Tonight we'll be helping frost cookies. I wonder what we're having for dinner...

The strangest thing about being here is that everyone is suddenly an Ohio State fan. I don't know why, but this area has never been too full of hardcore OSU fans, but of course, everyone is now. I mean, most people would watch the OSU/Michigan game, and that's about as far as it got. Whatever. I guess when the Browns and the Indians start to do well, I'll get out the old T-shirts, too. What to do with fair-weather fans?

We went to Beuhler's (grocery store) today and I saw only a few people that I vaguely recognized, and two people that I definitely recognized and successfully avoided. I'm getting pretty good at this hiding between the aisles stuff.

I guess NAPLES will do!

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Maybe it's the time of year.

Nov. 20th, 2005 entry:

"Work has been insane. I mean that literally. I have a couple of insane students. I'm voting to put a mental hospital on our school's campus. Now I have 18 kids in my little portable...which is a lot for a Florida classroom. Probably not for an Ohio classroom. The kids are killing me, honestly. This year has been dreadful."

Difficulties

Before I became a teacher, I knew there would be days where I might go home and cry because my class was bad or a kid in my class was a behavior problem. I've been very fortunate so far. Even my toughest students have been lovable and even the meanest ones at least try to be good.

This year all that went out the window. Yes, this class has broken the mold. Half of my class cries at the wink of an eye. The other half of my class can't sit still for 2 minutes. A few of my students rarely talk loud enough for anyone to hear and two of my students know almost zero English (they've improved a lot, however). Five of my students are repeating first grade, one of which probably shouldn't be, and ten students leave my classroom at various times during the day for intervention (none of the bad ones, of course).

And one student's parents are talking about me behind my back (and it's not to say how awesome I am).

When I was in first grade, I would have adored a teacher like me. I greet students at the door, I give hugs, I say "I love you," and it's sincere. I write notes to my students, I give tons of praise and rewards and stickers and pizza parties and ice cream parties and extra recesses. I play on the playground once in a while, we play Octopus sometimes, we dance, we sing, yada yada yada. We read really awesome books. I cry every time we read Stellaluna. We make bats and snakes and cheetahs and we eat cereal and pasta just so that we can write about it. I give different homework to every student to be sure it isn't too easy or too hard. What am I doing wrong?!

I was nominated for a very special award, but I didn't have time to fill out the paperwork to apply.

Blah.

I know what I'm doing wrong. I'm thinking too much. I am expecting too much and wearing myself out. I'm an overachiever. I'm everything my supervisor in New Zealand said I would be, "a great teacher, but she may work a little bit too hard and spend too much time at school."

I Teach First! Conference in Orlando

I just got back from a teacher conference in Orlando. It was a nice little trip. My teacher friend, Nicole and I shared a hotel room. We both started teaching at the same school, our first teaching job three years ago, we both got married last year, and we are both the same age. So we have a lot in common. However, after a year of marriage and three years of not having a female roommate, I must admit it was strange to suddenly have this other person sleeping next to me (not in the same bed, of course, but still), sharing the same bathroom, and watching Grey's Anatomy with me. It was also weird checking in to a hotel all by myself and carrying my bags all by myself. I couldn't make her do it because she's five months pregnant (that's one thing we do not have in common)!

Needless to say, I missed John a lot. Nicole must have missed her husband more because she called him and he called her so many times each day. I thought that was kind of weird because John and I certainly don't have that much to talk about. Especially when Grey's Anatomy is on.

I didn't learn very much at the teacher conference, but I received a lot of confirmation that I am doing things right. I was also reminded of some very clever ideas I did my first year of teaching but have somehow forgotten in the slew of standards and curriculum we are bombarded with.

I also learned how much some teachers don't have freakin clue what they are doing, while other teachers are amazing. I wish I would have had a teacher somewhere in elementary school that did something remotely creative. I remember my fourth grade teacher doing some pretty cool things, but it ended there. Most of my time in elementary school was spent in a desk. In a row. With "Clifton" sitting in front of me or behind me because the rows were very creatively arranged in alphabetical order.

Boy has education changed.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

John and I had a party lastnight to honor our wonderful and splendid marriage.

Hehehe.

We had so much food, it was like Thanksgiving.

John and I both really like making food for people and entertaining. This was our first time having more than 5 or so people at our house (we were expecting 15 lastnight), so it was quite an experience. It's also weird having family members meet people from church, from work, etc. It's just weird, you know? I wish you all could have been there.

John made a fabulous potato casserole like Cathy does with the cornflakes on top. I've been eating them like crazy. I love that stuff. I made a terrific chicken salad (that was also healthy!), and a trifle that was a huge hit (thanks, Mom!).

We pretty much cooked and cleaned all weekend, but it was totally worth it. We got out our old scrapbooks and showed all of our Florida friends what we looked like growing up...very interesting. It was a great time.

Bleh

Wednesday night:

I'm done being sick, whether my body is ready or not. This has gone on long enough and I have to get back to life as normal. My trouble-maker in class has been devilish since I've been sick and I think it's all in his evil plan of tormenting me. On my day off, I worried about him and the substitute all day. I figured she was torturing him into submission and he was likely trying to do the same to her. However, he was a perfect angel that day. Ho, ho, Mister Trouble-Maker. You just pissed me off. No more Misses Nice Teacher.

Today, he was back to his normal, kind of bad but not terrible self and I didn't have to lay the smack down. He even stayed on "green," for which all the children congratulated him. He took a bow. No seriously, he did, even removing his pretend top hat at the right moment. And to think I was about to call the exorcist.

There is laundry to do and floors to clean. Rosa has been vomiting like crazy. I guess she caught my flu. I thought that wasn't possible. Can you tell I've been drinking coffee?

Well, instead of cleaning today (which I should have done), I watched E True Hollywood Story on Meg Ryan (which I have seen before) and read my stupid Allure magazine. It really is a stupid magazine, but they keep sending it so I keep reading it. Fashion magazines are stupid, stupid, stupid. I really need to stop reading those things.

Now it's time to go to my Women's Bible Study...we're studying the end times. Which is a perfect accompaniment to my life as this "Trouble-Maker's" teacher. It's like everything I'm reading is illustrated in front of my eyes the next day. Now if he starts growing horns out of his head, I'll let you know.

Brain Scan!

I went to the doctor today. For this I deserve a massive award, because it really sucks to go to the doctor. First of all, I had to drive to an unknown location. All right, the directions were pretty easy, but if you know me, you know how often I get lost. And when I'm sick and nervous about getting lost...well, that's not a good combination. I did get to the "Urgent Care Clinic" safely and I only passed the place one time. In fact, I was very bright and thought, "Hey, that looks like a plaza that would have an Urgent Care Clinic inside it. Let me turn around and look there." Sure enough, there it was. Naples is a difficult place to find things, because we have a large, bright sign rule. Signs can be no larger than about a foot wide and a foot long, and there's these decorative palm trees everywhere.

This was an awesome Urgent Care Clinic. They weren't busy at all. It pays to have connections, I tell ya. In our Crown Financial class we're taking at church, one of our classmates is a director of these Urgent Care Clinics and another lady is a pharmacist. So I got excellent care and information. And mom, they wanted to give me Motrin for my headaches and I was very bright once again and told them I can't take anti-inflammatories because of my stomach. So they gave me something else.

Well, the doctors were very concerned. I got so much attention, it was great. They said it's just not normal to have a headache for four days continuously and not have any medicine helping (Ha! Who knew?). So they suggested I have my head scanned. I have always wanted a head scan, but knowing that I would actually have to pay for it made me think twice. If my headache is not gone tomorrow, I'm going to have my head scanned. The real reason I want a head scan is so that they will say, "Wow Amanda, your Wernicke's Area is huge, which means you are a genius when it comes to verbal ability, but it's so big that it's taking over this left side of your brain, which makes it difficult to understand numbers and gives you frequent headaches. We can give you a pill to enhance your left side and then you will be equally genius in both areas." And then they'll send me to Dr. House and Omar Epps to fix my brain. And then I will be the genius I know that I really am.

Well, this message is all thanks to Folger's Coffee. I have been avoiding coffee for the past four days because you're not supposed to drink coffee when you have the flu. However, I just decided to experiment to see if the coffee would make the headache go away and it did! Now I have boundless energy but I am still quite dizzy, so I must spend my energy by typing away on this stupid computer.

My husband is not home because he is starting a coaching job, swimming, today. This has a few negatives and positives. First, we have both been praying for an opportunity like this because swimming is his passion (teaching is mine). He's crazy about swimming and it just makes him so happy to do something other than watch people digging all day (that's his job). The bad thing is that he will miss some good, quality time with me. The good thing about that is that I can make dinner more often and he will therefore be on CLEAN UP duty. So who's the winner in this situation? I think it's me! John is going to have to get used to living on casseroles and meatloaf because there's a new chef in town.

Gotcha!

Well, I got my sick day. On a Saturday. I'm supposed to teach a class tonight and tomorrow night. I feel like I've swallowed a lump of hay and I keep running into walls. I'm a little off-balance, but I guess that's normal for me.

I tried looking up some remedies on WebMD and all they tell me is rest. Rest, rest, rest. Drink plenty of fluids. These doctors really need to come up with something better than that.

I'm going to go watch another movie now.

Today was a good day in portable six, but I am growing closer and closer to the feeling that I need a sick day. A day for myself. A day to give myself a pedicure and file my fingernails. But get real. I know I would end up cleaning all day.

The plan for this weekend is YARD SALES, car wash, clean, and bake up some cookies.

I'm tired.

Epcot

We went to Epcot last weekend and it was so much fun. We also got to stay in Celebration for probably the last time in John's Uncle Jay and Aunt Karen's house (they have moved to Minnesota). I love Celebration!

That's all for now.

Marriage Conference Part II

Well, we arrived safely at home on Sunday night restored, renewed, and encouraged. I strongly suggest any married or engaged couple to attend one of these conferences, whatever stage of life you are, stage of marriage you are, or what state your marriage may be in. I mean, who would deny that they need a weekend away with their spouse? Certainly not me, and we don't even have children.

Check out some of these locations and the website:


Cleveland @ Renaissance Cleveland Hotel February 16th-18th, 2007

Akron @ Hilton Akron Fairlawn March 9th-11th, 2007

Columbus @ Renaissance Hotel, December 8th-10th, 2006

Marriage Conference Part II

Well, we arrived safely at home on Sunday night restored, renewed, and encouraged. I strongly suggest any married or engaged couple to attend one of these conferences, whatever stage of life you are, stage of marriage you are, or what state your marriage may be in. I mean, who would deny that they need a weekend away with their spouse? Certainly not me, and we don't even have children.

Check out some of these locations and the website:
http://www.familylife.com/conferences

Cleveland @ Renaissance Cleveland Hotel February 16th-18th, 2007

Akron @ Hilton Akron Fairlawn March 9th-11th, 2007

Columbus @ Renaissance Hotel, December 8th-10th, 2006