Day 6: O Holy Night

Merry Christmas! Bridoodle has been seriously sick since yesterday afternoon. She kept me up all night last night. I think I got about two hours of sleep by myself. The family gathered at 8:30 am to open presents and then we Skyped with Hubster’s sister who lives across the pond (Scotland to be specific). Then Hubs and Bridoodle and I took a nice long nap. Bri and I have felt puny all day long. I think we caught RSV for Christmas this year just like we did last year. Yay.

Let love be genuine.

Let love be genuine.

Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Love one another with brotherly affection.

Outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Romans 12: 9-13

(ESV)

Being Respected vs. Being Liked

Some recent events at school have led me to reflect on the attitudes of my students. Last night at the football game, I saw the stark difference between the treatment my flagline gives me and the treatment that my students give me. A few of my students volunteered to help out at the game and I realized that a lot of the crap that I tolerate with the flagline would not fly in my classroom.

It made me analyze the other teachers at our school as well. On one polar extreme, I see the teacher who wants all of her students to like her. She’s nice to everyone. Students cut her class all the time. No one values her opinion. Her compliments don’t mean much because she only gives compliments. But the students seem to like her.

At the other extreme, I see the teacher that all of the students fear. She criticizes every move of every student. I can’t remember her ever complimenting anyone. Students beg to drop her classes. Whenever we discuss situations in class, she always finds a way to put me down so that she looks good. But the students seem to respect her.

I guess my problem is that I want to be respected and liked. My students seem to like and respect me, but the flagline … not so much. It’s very frustrating. I can’t figure out where I went wrong. Got any suggestions?

Here, There and Yon

With the start of the new school year, my life has been crazy! Too much to do and too little time. Lesson plans, lab set-up, department meetings, flagline uniforms fiascos, band practice, and baby duty have taken up all of my free time. I had to eat lunch standing up yesterday, while I helped a girl put together a packet for grade recovery. I feel stretched in every direction. AND then on top of all of that, one of my teacher friends loaned me a copy of the book Twilight. So I’ve been devouring it over the past two days.

I will get back to blogging every day. Soon. I promise.

But first I have to read the sequel.

Cheesy Potato Casserole -the recipe

Earlier today, I posted the back story for this recipe. It was absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to make it again!

Ingredient List:

4-5 medium sized potatoes peeled

1 1/4 cup of milk

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mild/sharp cheddar cheese

1 sleeve Ritz crackers

onion powder OR chopped green chives

garlic powder OR whatever floats your boat

Chop peeled potatoes into chunks, add water, and bring to a boil on the stove top. Once the water is boiling, reduce heat to medium and set a timer for ten minutes. Meanwhile, microwave cream cheese for one minute on high to soften. Add milk, softened cream cheese and Parmesan cheese to a sauce pan. Heat mixture to medium low, stirring until smooth. It will thicken while the potatoes boil. Add onion and garlic seasoning to both mixtures, as much as smells good to you. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F while you wait.

After ten minutes of boiling, drain the potatoes. The chunks should be soft, but not disintegrating. Pour the cheese sauce into a square glass baking dish. Add the potato chunks and cover them with the cheese mixture. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top of the mixture. Crush the Ritz crackers inside the sleeve and then sprinkle them on top of the cheddar cheese. Put the casserole in the oven for thirty minutes.

Hope you like it! Let me know how it turns out.

Emma: The E-true Hollywood Story

“You look so thin, City! I can really tell that you’ve lost weight.” Emma beamed at me in McAllister’s as we gripped our huge sweet teas and headed towards a tall table. See, that’s why she’s my best friend! It’s the little things.

We knew this day would come. In fact, it was a glaring reality to all of us, at our medical school matriculation, that we would only be together for four short years. I guess, that’s why I expected our class to be hostile towards each other.

Why invest energy in relationships that would most likely fizzle out over long distances? Never in a million years, would I have suspected that the friendships I’d find in medical school would be so … AMAZING. We spent long hours talking, studying, dissecting and practicing on each other.

I interviewed my best friend, Emma, the day that we made our teddy bear, Dawn. I told her I would post the interview on here, so that y’all could get to know her better.

Me: So, what do you think is the craziest thing we’ve ever done? What stands out?

Emma: Oh gosh! Just one? There are so many. Probably the time you kidnapped me the day before Step 1. We went out to lunch and then went go-kart racing.

Me: That’s right! I even let you win.

Emma: Right. (looks away and smirks)

Me: How many times have you moved since I’ve met you?

Emma: Wow. Including that time I had to switch apartments because of my crazy neighbors?

Me: Yup

Emma: Six times. That’s counting the two moves we’re making this summer.

Me: Really? You’re moving twice this summer? That’s right. You have to wait for the apartment to become available. I forgot. So, what are you going to miss most about this place? Besides me, of course?

Emma: Oh! I was going to say you. Um… probably our church. I love singing in the early service, and my husband has been working with the college kids, you know. It’s going to be hard to leave.

Me: How have we changed, do ya think, over the last four years?

Emma: We’ve definitely grown up a lot. Gotten married. You started your family, and I’m planning mine. Our priorities changed a lot. I think we know what we want better. We have more self confidence.

Me: Definitely. We started off with super ambitious plans. Then we saw how much we’d have to sacrifice. Both of us scaled back from where we started. Okay, next question, what would you do with 100 million dollars?

Emma: First I’d pay off my student loans. I’d tithe. I’d travel, and buy my parents’ house.

Me (interrupting): You’d buy your parents a house before you’d buy one for yourself?

Emma: Well, yeah, I’d buy myself a house too. Good point. I’d save money for our kids to go to college. Maybe I’d buy a hospital. Then I could work whatever hours I wanted.

Me: Good plan. I like that. Then you could just work part-time. But you’d get lots of profit from the hospital.

Emma: Maybe.

Me: So, was medical school what you expected? What did you imagine it would be like?

Emma: I don’t know if I can remember that far back. I guess I thought that I’d do a lot of studying, and people would be cut throat. I was surprised that everyone was so nice and … well, attractive. I thought everyone would be nerdy and mean. But instead, most everyone was down-to-earth and fun to be around. I felt right at home.

Me: You’re completely right about that. Our friends aren’t anything like I imagined med school girls would be. So, do you have any favorite memories?

Emma: Do you remember the bachelorette party y’all threw me?

Me: Oh yeah! We had to study for an exam, and your lingerie shower had been the weekend before. Didn’t your grandmother come? (Emma nods) And all of your aunts? (Nods again) You got PJ’s and sheets. Kind of a dud. So we had our regular study group for anatomy and surprised you with some real lingerie.

Emma: And y’all got a little wild with the decorations. Remember that center piece?

Me: Oh my. That’s probably not appropriate for my blog! Haha! Remember the homemade lollipops that So-and-so made?

Emma: Yes!

Me: Okay, next question. Who’s your hero? And why?

Emma: Elizabeth Elliott. Because she is strong but still submissive.

Me: I agree. Last question. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Emma: Cookie Dontcha Want Some from Coldstone

Me: Huh, I’ve never had that before. Sounds yummy. I’ll have to try it. Ready to go shopping?

Emma (slurps sweet tea): You bet. Let’s go to Ann Taylor first.

Me: Okay!

Daymares

The girls finish teaching the new routine two hours before practice ends. Gleefully, they announce that we can all go home early. I watch them pack their things and call their rides. Thirty minutes later, everyone is gone, and I leave the school.

While driving home, a horrible daymare floods my thoughts. I imagine arriving at the daycare to find the building empty. I wander the deserted halls and find that everyone has disappeared. Papers are strewn all over the place.The phone is beeping off the hook. The baby room is strangely silent and Bri is gone.

I shake my head and clear my thoughts. Of course, Bri is just fine when I arrive. She’s happily swinging and chewing on a toy. But this isn’t the only kind of daymare that I’ve had. Sometimes, it’s about family members being hurt, teaching gangstas, or Hubs getting injured on the job. My overactive imagination creates these mini-horror flicks quite frequently. Usually, they’re pretty intense.

Does this sort of thing happen to you? Maybe I’m naive in thinking that everybody does this. What are your daymares?

Bri’s Pigtails: Day 6

This was technically taken yesterday, but I have tons to do this afternoon, so I’m using it for today’s picture. Not really digging my smile here, but it was the only shot of Bri where she was holding still and therefore not a blurry ball of motion.

my name is Mama: Day 5

When I picked up Bri from daycare today, she was so happy to see me. She started crying when Ms. Jackie tried to take her away for a fresh diaper before we left. She wanted her Mommy! So I gladly changed the diaper and Bri baby was all smiles.

She wore her hair in pigtails today. It was so cute! But when we went to the pool this afternoon, the pigtails wilted and it was a pain to get the tiny rubber bands out. Note to self: take her ponytails down before we go swimming next time!

flagline practice: Day 4

During the month of June, my flag girls have practice every morning from 8am-12pm. Today they worked on a new dance routine. Part of the routine requires them to get down on the ground and kick both legs in the air, before jumping up. It’s super hard to make it look good, and they spent over an hour working on the kick alone.

I decided to take pictures of them in mid-air so that each girl could see her performance. Some girls were having a hard time visualizing what they were dong wrong. So we had them work on the routine in groups and I used the continuous shooting mode to capture the routine as they worked.

They loved the instant feedback! We ended up taking 120 pictures. We finally had to stop when I ran out of room on my SD card. 1,290 pictures in just a couple of months! But the girls all crowded around my tiny digital camera to laugh and point at each other’s mistakes. All in all, it was a very fun morning!

Here’s my seven days’ entry. It’s my silhouette on the gym floor as I critique the girls who are performing.