December 20, 2012

Outside Temp: 39 F (it was still windy today, but clear and nice.)

What I cooked today:
Burgers and Macs & Cheese: I had to whip up something quick since we got home late from our music program.  It took longer to defrost the meat than to make the whole meal!

Update:
The kids had their Elementary and Middle School Christmas program today.  I had the bad parent moment when I realized that, while I had my camera, I had forgotten to put in the SD card or charge it.  As a result, I ended up with exactly 1 picture of the kids, and it didn't even have Connor in it.  Not a proud moment for me.

As you can see, Allen got to play 'Santa', while Katie was an elf.  Connor got to be Rudolph, which was awesome, but I didn't get a picture (again, bad mom).  The play was so cute, and the kids all seemed happy to be up there.  Sometimes, kids can be in these 'school plays' and just seem bored or annoyed that they are up there.  But the kids all had smiles and seemed to get into their parts... especially Allen, who acted his way through the whole thing!  It was awesome!  Our music director is just amazing and all the kids did great!

Afterwards, we had a surprise visit from the real Santa, who passed out treats for all the kids.  Nothing like a good wholesome Christmas play, that ends with candy!

December 4, 2012

Outside Temp: 49 F (there was a threat of the little white flakes, but nothing came of it... I'm not worried... it will get here sooner or later... please be after Friday...)

What I cooked today:
Burgers and Mashed Potatoes: I was going to ditch the family for a second night in a row, so I felt a little guilty.  I whipped up a quick dinner before I left.  The kids were thrilled!

Update:
Busy day! 

I worked at the post office for about an hour this morning, then I ran over to Geyser and got my studded snow tires on the yellow car.  With our first snow a few weeks ago, I realized how much I missed my studded snow tires.  Fortunately, we had the tires on their own set of rims, so it only took a few minutes to pop off the old tires and pop on the new ones.  Of course, the totally awesome guys at Geyser Merc did this for us!  Thanks Guys!!

At school, I had my students finish an entire week's assignment in 2-3 days.  They had finished last week's assignment by Thursday, so I had them start on this week's assignment last Friday.  They all finished up today, and took their quizzes, so they will have a 'study hall' for the next 3 days.  But most importantly, I didn't need to have any one else try to teach the class while I was gone.  I got yelled at last time, so I wasn't about to do that again!

Then, this evening, I had another awesome night, this time with the women from Geyser.  There was the most delicious food, and then we had a hysterical fun of the Chinese gift exchange.  I started out with a really cute Christmas candle stand.  But then I was able to steal this awesome Rachel Ray mixing bowl.  But the bowl got stolen, so then I had something else.  But then I got to steal, so I got the bowl back.  But it got stolen from me, and I got my own bottle of wine.  Which was stolen, and I got a pillow and towels.  Then I got to steal, so I went for this pretty necklace, which was stolen and I got some good smelling lotions.  Then I had to steal again, so I went back for the bowl.  This went on and on for about 15-20 minutes, until the last minute, when I rolled doubles and stole back my bowl.  And the buzzer went off.  Woo hoo! 

I can't even express how lucky I am to be included in this community with such wonderful people.  Such a great night!

December 3, 2012

Outside Temp: 38 F (still windy, but it's starting to taper off...)

What I cooked today:
Artisan Bread: I got a wonderful recipe for artisan bread, so I mixed it up last night, and let it set in the fridge overnight.  I pulled out some of the dough and made up 2 little loaves.  Of course, I forgot to slit the top of the bread, so it came out a little underdone inside, and very spherical.  Oh well, it still got eaten.

Update:
I got a call last night, asking me to sub for Katie's 5th/6th grade class today.  She was so excited!  Even though the teacher didn't have time to really prepare a substitute lesson plan, she sent an email and her lesson plan was so precise, I had absolutely no problem following it.  I'm so lucky that my teachers are so prepared!

This evening, the St. Mary's Altar Society had our Christmas party, which means that not only did I get to spend a few hours with some great women, but I didn't have to make dinner!  Woo hoo!  There were some really yummy dishes that were brought, and then we had a gift exchange, which is always hysterical.  In the end, I managed to walk away with chocolate, which is totally my goal.  Grandma walked away with a bottle of wine and some really cute wine glasses.  But the best part is watching the items get 'stolen' back and forth and back and forth.  I almost went after this awesome set of tea, but in the end, the chocolate won out.   

December 12, 2011

Outside Temp: 20 F (it was foggy most of the day, kind of like teasing that it would snow, but not actually dropping any snow)

What I cooked today:
Pumpkin Bread: We had a Women's Alter Society Christmas Party tonight (ladies only!), so I made my pumpkin bread to bring for the pot luck. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Katie has her bake sale tomorrow, so she asked for cookies, instead of her original request of cupcakes.  Good thing, since I don't think I have any frosting in my house, and I'm not sure about making frosting from scratch yet... :)

Update:
The Alter Society party was a lot of fun.  It was mostly the same women from the Halloween party, but with more wine and less men.  I'm starting to get to know the people around here, although there were a few faces I hadn't seen before.  I'm sure I'll start to piece together who belongs to whom.  I would say 'related to whom', but it seems that everyone up here is related to everyone else in one way or another. 

We did a gift exchange, which is always fun!  There were about 30 women there, so there was a wide assortment of gifts, except the 3 sets of custom designed wine glasses that kept getting stolen and passed around.  The rule was: When it is your turn, you can steal.  But you can only be stolen FROM twice, then the third gift, you are safe to keep. 

I, of course, had my eye on a set of truffles that came up with number 2.  I was number 20.  The truffles were stolen from their original owner twice, before I came up.  So, I stole them and prayed I would get to keep them.  But no, someone came along and stole them from me.  So, I managed to pick another gift that would be desired later on.  When someone stole my second gift, I was able to steal back my truffles and was now safe.  There is a lot of strategy to Christmas Gift exchanges!

The best news is that I think I've finished my Christmas Cards!  I'm sure I've forgotten some people, but for the addresses I have, I think I'm done.  Now, I just have to make it over to the post office, which shouldn't be too hard (I do it every day anyway!).