Where have I been?

I can't believe I've gone two years without this. This one is dedicated to Mike!

reminder to self

“Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.”
--Pablo Picasso

I used this quote in a post almost three years ago. HEH-LLOO. Paging self. I need to find some way to remind myself that these kids I teach are marvels and that that's precious. That being said, the first day was today and it went well. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I've really stepped up my game this year and I'm ready to implement. I hope it goes well!

Most original idea

So, maybe not the most original idea, but delightful all the same. I am currently reading Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously. I saw that it was being turned into a movie and that's what piqued my interest. I try to read books before seeing the movies. Mike happened to have a copy from the bookstore and I've been slowly reading. It's not the best book, the writing is choppy and a little too muddled for me. You may think I'm not a great judge because of my own inadequate writing, but sometimes I'll skip whole passages because she babbles on. Regardless, the idea of someone going through Mastering the Art of French Cooking is intriguing and exciting. I can honestly promise that I will never cook my way through the cookbook. There are things I will never eat in there and that is being true to myself. It's not really about breaking down the wall of French cooking for me. Though wasn't that the whole mission of Ms. Childs? To throw pomp and snootiness out of the kitchen?

Mike has been feeling ill since we've gotten back from Vienna. He's tried to consume some normal foods but we've had a lot of soups too. We were out in Carrboro today and when we stopped in Weaver Street the price for leeks and potatoes was good. I decided I would try my hand at Potage Parmentier. I mean if this self-proclaimed mess of a woman can make it, I can too. It will be a snap (fingers crossed).

Ingredients:
3-4 cups of diced peeled potatoes (1 lb.)
3 cups thinly sliced leeks, including the tender greens
2 quarts water
1 Tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons softened butter
chopped chives for garnish

To Cook:
Simmer vegetables, salt, and water together, partially covered for 40-50 minutes. Mash the vegetables into the soup with a fork or pass through a food mill. Having no food mill I will use my trusty potato masher. When ready to serve, bring soup back to simmering. Then off the heat, Add the butter in small bits and whisk in. Taste and correct for salt. Add chives and enjoy. See, wasn't that easy? Makes 2 quarts of soup for 6-8 servings.


Looking forward to creating this delicious meal. I'll be back later this evening to let you know how it went. Ooh, suspense!


Update:
I must say that this was simple, delicious, and hearty. A success! I wasn't able to puree the potato and leek mixture as much as I probably should have but it worked all the same. Mike and I happily ate two bowls in silence. Since there was no meat protein in the soup and I have a freezer full of various meats I decided shrimp was our best bet for a pairing. Shrimp goes down as one of my favorite foods ever. Ever! I could eat it three times a week for life. I don't, but I could. Since the soup takes so long to simmer I had plenty of time to prepare the shrimp. If you'd like a go here are the

Ingredients:
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic (no garlic salt or flakes please)
Tabasco to taste
a large smattering of herbs of your choosing.
[i used basil, thyme, sage, parsley, and some salt and pepper]

Prep:
Clean and shell your shrimp. Rinse to get the slimy coat off and dry on a towel. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl mix together the above ingredients. Whisk briskly. I assume that you can cook the shrimp however you'd like and it would still workout, however grilling shrimp is tops. Grill the shrimp and as soon as it is finished put it into the whisked sauce. Serve immediately.

It was a great idea. We enjoyed Potage Parmentier and Basque Shrimp. If you're up for some cooking that doesn't involve the microwave I would recommend this meal. Bon appetit!

Wir sind in Wien

We arrived safely, although delayed, on Friday morning. We've seen a lot so far and had some really great meals. Soon I'll be back to add pictures.

Tschüss

FRIENDly competition!

Ok, so you may have heard that I leave for Vienna in 8 days. The last time I traveled abroad I sent probably thirty postcards to friends. Folks, that gets expensive, especially right now. I wish I could be going with a group of you dear people but that's not how things work. Sooo I have decided to have a literal drawing for postcards!

I hear you getting excited already. Love it!

The rules:
1. You must be a friend (check)
2. I must have your CURRENT address
3. You must let me know you might want a Viennese postcard (important)
4. I will choose (depending on how many give me their names) a person per dayish. I may be busy here and there.

I plan on sending a hand picked postcard about everyday. Like I said, things may actually get busy.

Get to it kiddos! Enter to get a postcard. A small piece of beautiful Vienna!

This is true joy

What do you get when you mix enthusiastic elementary kids, a chubby Latino, and a New York PS? You get true joy (in the form of a Journey cover). Sing it children!

MacGyver!!

Mike loves this show. We have a couple of seasons on DVD but he recently found it in reruns on Slueth. Obviously that means we DVR them. Every once in a while we'll sit down to watch it. It's pretty hokey. The last episode had Mayim Bialik (Blossom!). We are currently watching an episode that involves Nazis, stolen art, a congressional race, and lots of poor acting. It's entitled: The Ten Percent Solution. There's a Canadian man playing a German. The fighting and violence is terrible. And there's always a Sam! What's with that? MacGyver entered with quite a mullet. This one trumps any other I've seen so far. Masked men everywhere! MacGyver goes down too quickly. So much terrible confusion. It's amazing. Ooh, the 10% solution was just uncovered. California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada will become the new Aryan nation. Ha! Their headquarters is a silver mine and OH! the police chief is a Nazi too. Didn't see that coming. This is too much. How's MacGyver gonna get out of this one...

Five seconds MacGruber...

Amazing he punctured a metal door with a rock and a swiss army knife. He embedded the tube that was gassing them, created a spark, and shazam they just blew a hole in a metal (and plywood) door! Go Macgyver, Go!

Thought we were dead! Ha. Think again! (This was all too easy)


All in a days work for MacGyver.


And p.s. Henry Winkler was a producer on the show. The Fonz?! Say it isn't so!

Countdown still rolling!

WIEN in 14 days!!!

summertime and the livin' is easy.

Oh yeah I went there with the cheesiness. Sorry!

Yesterday was the last day with the kids. It was a crazy day with two awards assemblies and warm weather. I'm relieved to be done with the year. Not sad, but actually glad even though it's been a good year. Last year I fell into a mini-depression after the school year ended. I was in a funk for a while but I think I'm going to be able to avoid that this year. I just feel caught up, I have a plan, an exciting vacation in the wings. So many wonderful things are lined up that I will hopefully make my five week summer great. Mmmm....summer!

Oooh beautiful crafty things

I have somehow once again come across a neato site that I enjoy immensly. I WILL be making the smock! Yay!

Mayfly

This is also the last day of the last full week of school. Hooray!

SUN BURNED...ooch

I was in Myrtle Beach this past weekend for a bachelorette weekend. We left on Friday and drove through some of the most tempestuous thunderstorms of the season. We all thought that the weather was going to stay cloudy and cold. Despite the weather we headed to the beach in the morning and I fell asleep for a while. Dumb. I woke up and was so confused because the sun was out, the clouds were gone, and I was a bit pink already. I can't describe how burnt I am because of my delightful nap. I can however tell you I'm peeling and peeling in an amazing way. I just removed a piece of skin that used to cover the right side of my stomach. Not even kidding! Grossest moment of my life thus far and I've seen some truly gross things. You're welcome!

WIENer days!

VIENNA IN 21 DAYS!!!!!!

Haircut

I didn't post a photo for the haircut I had two months ago. Well last night I have it refreshed so here's one now. I had Ramon cut it a little bit shorter. LOVE it! I'm hoping to keep it short for a while. You like?

Yikes!

You know you work with lots of little latino children when instead of writing/typing Jamie you type JaIME! HA. I love my kids. Including the little Jaime's. We have 8 days left and I'm all into the "get everything out of my room as soon as possible" mode. At least they get to take their stuff home. Woot. Boy, my room is really starting to shape up. Just in time for...the end of the year. At least I'm super ready for July when school starts again. Awesome!

Vacationing

Right now I am with my family in lovely Urbanna, Virginia at Bethpage Camp Resort. My dad recently bought a new 40' motorhome and this is its first family outing. We got here Friday night and have enjoyed sitting by the pool, riding our bicycle built for two, and games. Not ten minutes ago we left the pool at just the right time. No joke, a kid pooped in the pool. POOPED! Who does that?! We certainly never thought we'd actually see that happen. HA!

Brussel Sprouts

Mike is planning a delicious meal tonight that involves brussel sprouts. To make the meal he bought a stalk of brussel sprouts. What a weird food. Did you know it grows on this thick stalk? We didn't know. I think everyone just assumes that they grow like cabbage, but smaller! Right? You know you thought the same thing! What a weird food!

Field Day

Today was Field Day! What fun. It was rainy and cloudy this morning but that did not dampen my job- parachute expert. Health and safety were the words of the day. For everyone's health please be safe and watch where you fling your arms and body. You know what I mean?! Ha. They all loved it. We made mushrooms, hid in the mushroom, run under the mushroom, and so on. Then we played popcorn with about twenty balls and parachute golf. I may have made those last two up but whatever. They had a great time. We also had bouncy houses. I ran the obstacle course three times with teachers and once against a student. I was so warm and sweaty that I'd stick to the thing. Ow.
No pictures to share though. Maybe next year.

Hmm

Well more time has flown by...quickies for now:

- Four more weeks of school.
- I finally began an Art Club at school. We're making Mega Fruit.
- Mike no longer has a job, the store closed almost two weeks ago.
- My brother came for a visit. LOOOOOOVE him!
- Vienna in t-minus ONE MONTH!
- I'm throwing pilates into the mix.
- Mike interviewed for an internship at the Long Leaf Opera.
- Picasso exhibit coming to Nasher in the fall. Trying to hook up a field trip. Woot!
- Voiceovers may also be in Mike's future. Yes, voiceovers. :)

(sigh)

I just want to take a moment to say:


NO MORE BABIES!!!!!!!!!!!

In the last three days I've learned of six pregnancies....Would everyone please stop. You're making my maternal clock twitch*. Gah.



*This does not mean I am angry, quite the opposite. Just frustrated (some times).

Update time?

Spring Break is finally upon me. It began this Monday after a workday. However, the true do-nothing-ness comes this weekend after I finish up my intersession class. I have been teaching a small group of 4th graders about Mexican culture through Art. I know, it sounds really funny- me, teaching about Mexican culture. Don't laugh. I'm awesome! We've been connecting Aztec (primitive) to Modern art (Kahlo and Rivera). Tomorrow we take a field trip to see an exhibit of Contemporary artists from Mexico City. Ah the connections!!! Told you I was amazing. Love my group. Seven little babies with so much to learn. It's been so different for them to come to school and work on ONLY art for three hours. They don't want to leave. Amazing!

I will update pictures this evening. In the meantime I have many errands to run. Passport things you know. Very important. For that whole Vienna trip thing!