More Food

I know...that's a lot of food from people who are trying to DROP weight...but hey, it's good food...and good for you, mostly.

So why? In school this semester, there is a food's class. They cook. Everyday. They are cooking their way around the world and making a cookbook. They are discussing healthy foods and how recipes can vary by region. Many good things come from that class. They frequently need to get rid of leftovers. I love the fact that I have band students in that class that often offer me a taste test. Yum. The apple pie was awesome. So was the empanada. The bread...was good for a first shot. So...I decided I needed to give it a shot too...

This weekend is MEA Convention (teachers' conferences). That means public schools in MN do not hold classes on Thursday and Friday so that teachers that are going to the convention do not have to take time off school. I'm not going. I stayed home and gave the bread a shot.

Pumpkin Bread (with chocolate chips!)



Yup, it's good.



Amish White Bread



It's isn't pretty, but it tastes pretty good. I'll keep practicing.



Brandi. Helping lick the pumpkin mix bowl clean. She did a great job.



And for good measure...supper. Grilled Chicken and Asparagus. Lightly seasoned.



All in all...I've had a pretty successful weekend...and it's only Friday!

I'm just sayin'

Holy YUM!!!

Appetizers A La Andrea

This was an awesome combination. Completely on a whim, what I was really after as an appetizer wasn't available (but I'm sure will be added to my list of weekend to do list!) It got Duane and I eating fresh tomatoes (thanks to good neighbor Vivian!). Try it. The spice on the triscuit was mellowed just a hair by the fresh tomato...and the cheese blended the whole thing together. Yup. I'll be doing this often.

I Never Knew...and purple too

I never knew a silly little quiz could turn out so accurate...

Andrea completed the quiz "THE INNER NATIONALITY QUIZ: WHAT ARE YOU REALLY?" with the result You are German.

You are precise yet romantic, efficient yet dreamy, friendly yet somewhat suspicious of others. You rarely smile, but when you do it's very meaningful. You like it best when there is a group consensus, and yet you are easily annoyed by the slowness and/or stupidity of others. Sometimes you think that if only you could live on an island or move to some wonderful place far away, everything would be better, and if you can't realize this dream you often lose yourself in books/vacations/recipes/sports -- anything for an escape! All in all, however, you make your peace with life, and have many old friends.

So yeah. The "rarely smile" is off, although I do realize that sometimes the smile is just for effect because it's what's expected of me...I can wipe it off my face just as fast. Stupidity in others CAN really annoy me. Island living with my hubby WOULD be wonderful...but since it's out of reach I DO read, plan vacations, cook, etc...in fact...speaking of cooking, I created an "appetizer a la Andrea" tonight that was AWESOME. I'll share more tomorrow when I get the picture off my camera. I also have a new adventure planned for this weekend. I'll make sure to fill you in if it's not a disaster. Did I mention that I really do have German heritage?

Now, wanna see something that wipes a smile off my face? It's ANIMAL ABUSE!

Pa thought she liked it...and color aside, they ARE cute!


Really she thought "Play with me for making me do this!"


"I'm not amused, but I'm cute!"


"Protect me Andrea, get this off me!"


"Ooo...Maybe I should play dead...like the team I'm forced to represent...I don't care if we lose, I HATE Purple PA!"


Hehehe...since Duane doesn't blog, I was able to put MY spin on these pic's...they were too cute not to show but Brandi's true feelings needed to be known.

Smiling

I'm smiling. Yup. Rare occurance, I know.

I had a couple of pretty serious days with major back issues and my husband shined like a rock star. He went so far as to help me get dressed when I couldn't reach my own feet for lack of being able to bend and hung out with me while I was home from school. It was his day off, but we chatted and bantered about football a lot, no game related injuries to report.

After my Dr's appointment (which turned out pretty useless with the exception of the meds) I needed to make a sandwhich to eat with the meds to avoid stomach problems. As I was ready to mix tuna I realized we didn't have any mayo...he VOLUNTEERED to go get some without me even asking. What a sweetie. I was so excited that I also told him go ahead and pick up a pizza for dinner tonight (he also said he was cooking for me). He picked up a pizza, chips, dip, garlic toast...everything but mayo. Silly guy. But still, it was one heck of an effort.

I went back to school today. I'm still pretty sore but functioning better. Duane is pretty much hired at Best Buy for the holidays, assuming of course that he passes his drug test, lol. Now, my baby has gone out to pick up a movie for us to watch together tonight. Wonder if he'll rub MY back...(doubtful, I'm sure it'll be the other way around).

Now he's home...so it's time to go. He's ready to be spoiled. He's earned it.

Sorry no pics...NS for the boring,rambling update, but hey, it's "Our Story" :-)

Ouch

Where did I leave off? Ok, so I apparently did tell you about Duane raiding his Christmas gift list and buying a Wii for us...we do love it! But, I didn't tell you that I'm re-reading the Kathy Reichs series of books. She is the author that inspired and produces the show "Bones" on TV. The books are similar to that kind of storyline. However, in the books there is a different cast of characters around "Tempe Brennan" and her personal character development is a bit different as well as her back story...but the differences from the book to the TV make better TV and the books make better books so it's all good. Anyway, I'm on book 7 of 10 out in paperback. I thought it'd be fun to read them in order this time. I was right.

Other than that...hmm....made it through Homecoming Week...8 performances (the 9th was rained out). The kids did a really nice job adjusting times and places for the changing weather and from Tuesday night on had a GREAT homecoming week.

Also at school...all of the issues that tortured me last year (and starting this year) seem to be falling into place in a good way. I've had some really good conversations with "the powers that be" and I'm confident that all will work out right for the community, the students, and me. Life at school is smiling again.

Well, Ok, not smiling today. I'm not going today. I tweaked my back yesterday. It was fine when I went to bed Friday night and not at all fine Saturday morning. It got worse throughout the day. By the end, I was having great difficulty moving on my own. Overnight last night, it seemed to loosen a little bit since I was able to sit up in bed this morning (couldn't do that last night) but about the middle of my shower, another spasm brought me to my knees. After grabbing my phone off the bathroom counter, I called my principal (to tell her I wasn't coming in) from the bathtub while trying to figure out how to stand back up. (I HAD turned the water off and did NOT tell her where I was calling from!). I've managed to get on scrubby clothes and am sitting on the couch with Brandi but I think sprawling out flat on the floor is calling my name since sitting is causing spasms. It should be an interesting day. If it doesn't subside a bit I'll have to consider going in for it...I just can't afford the bill since the insurance deductible is now $1850. Ugh. On the bright side...I should get some reading in today!