Deconstructing Jen

holy crap girl, you better get off that computer and start reading

I have a to read list a mile long it seems. I'm finding new reading material faster than I can get through what I already have. Life is currently motoring by at a neck breaking pace and I scarcely have time to read more than Goodnight Moon and If You Give a Moose a Muffin each day.

Over our past weeks of illness I did manage to dig up and finish Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult. It was good. Very good. It was slow to start but picked up pace in the middle with compelling lead characters with an interesting dynamic. More than any of that though it did pose some very thought provoking questions about the struggle of being a parent. Without ruining the plot I can't say much but it is a good read. And one of the only Picoult books that didn't disappoint me on the last page.

Here's whats on my immediate to read list:

A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray
The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
Wicked, Gregory Maguire
The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs
The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis (I never did read these as a kid)

What's on yours?

all is well

I see it.

The beautiful, shimmering, clarity at the end of the tunnel. The crisp edge of a day that starts without a headache. The twinkle of laughter and the wonder of giggling not marred by the low whir of ears clogged with lord only knows what. The amazing tartness of an apple that slides down my throat without the slightest hint of pain.

I see it.

I'm well.

Okay so that was cute and full of all sorts of fancy verbal illustrations. I have recovered from a cold that I have to honestly tell you was slightly worse that child birth. Really. I can eat, and breathe, and talk, and hear, and swallow like a normal human again. And it's amazing.

Delicious Chicken Stew

Since we have the sickies around here this week I thought I would post tonight's dinner as it's the only thing that sounds good to my currently dilapidated taste-buds.

I sorta threw this together one night after seeing someone at work with something similar. I checked out a few chicken soup recipes, took out the stuff I hate, added some things I like and voila.

Chicken Stew

4 frozen chicken breast (smallish to medium - use less if they are huge)

3 carrots

1 small onion

(if you felt you had to you could add celery but I hate it so I don't add it)

4 cans chicken stock

1 12 oz package frozen Rheams noodles

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

1 tbsp veggie oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp dry thyme

1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 and bake the chicken on a foil lined cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 15 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking heat the oil in a large heavy bottom dutch oven over medium heat. Chop the onions and carrots to what ever size you like - I chop ours relatively small so they cook faster. Add to the oil and saute until soft. Add salt and pepper. Add 3 of the cans of chicken stock and thyme. Raise heat to medium high and bring to a boil. 

When the chicken finishes cooking dice into bite sizes an add to soup. Add noodles, return to boil and cook 20 minutes. During the last 5 minutes add the corn and peas. (At this point if it seems like it needs more liquid add the other can of stock and heat through - this is a personal preference thing I think.) Serve with corn bread or other crusty bread.

Yummy. :D (I'll add pictures later once I get it made.)

Umm, yeah so...

I now have the nasty crud my kids had last week. I could do a nice ode to how my whole body aches and the fever I had last night but I'm going to spare you.

I have more important stuff to discuss. We bought Spore yesterday!! And as if you even had to ask, I'm completely addicted. I have a long time love of any kind of sim game going back to the original Sim City and WarCraft/Starcraft etc. So this game is right up my ally. They hyped the heck out of it and so far it seems worthy of the hype. There's been loads of moaning about the fairly restrictive DMR on it but I honestly think folks are over reacting.

So on to the premise. In this Sim game you start out as a single celled organism and have to evolve up to a centient being. From there you evolve to a society and on to the space race. Along the way you get to design the way your creature looks as well as the different technologies that go with your society. It's already inspired some good laughs in my house.

Buyers beware though, the addiciton factor is high. Chris was up into the very wee hours of the morning playing.

wordless wednesday #5

This sums up the whole week I think.

Wordless Wednesday

Speak

On the first day of class with my 8th graders we did this quick little get to know you activity. One that I hope was relatively painless. There was no pairing in groups, no circles and names to remember, no bean bags tossed, just a simple little sheet to fill out. One of the questions was do you like to read? If so what's your favorite book? As we were wrapping up the day I read my answers to the kids as I think it's only fair that I divulge a little embarrassing interesting information about myself if they had to do the same. One of the tid bits I shared was that I am always looking for something good to read. Much to my surprise, the next time my 8th graders came to class one of my students brought me a book. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. 

Not wanting to disappoint my student and because the book was scarcely 300 pages I jumped right in knowing I would finish quickly. Little did I know that the scant little book would suck me in an I would read the entire thing in one night. 

Speak tells the story of Melinda, a freshman, who is struggling through her first year of high school all because of one thing that happened the week before school started. Now a social outcast and struggling she has to confront her own demons in order to confront a much bigger one. 

I was struck by how frankly this story is told. It was a fascinating read told in a way that will get kids to sit up and notice and will give adults a vast amount of insight into the depth of their children's silence. 

I think I liked 31 better

So far 32 is a bust. I think I prefer 31 and I plan on going back.

So here's the numbers on the first 5 days of 32:

Babies born: 1

Funerals attended: 1

13 hour work days: 1

Cases of pink eye: 1 (yep {imagine me popping the p as I say it}, this belongs to me)

Times I've wanted to scratch my eye but didn't: 4,529

# of raw hands from washing 5,398 times: 2

Times my iPhone crashed and had to be restored: 3

Sick children: 1, Ben as if you had to ask (possibly two, Evey fell asleep suspiciously early tonight)

Trips to the pediatrician today: 2 

Full nights of sleep: 2

Times I've been thrown up on: 2

Times my car was thrown up in: 1

Times I've installed a car seat: 5

Times I've cleaned a brand new car seat: 1

Missed work days: 2 and counting

Loads of laundry involving puke: 9

Times fully potty trained 4 year old peed her pants: 2

Flowers received: 1

Dinners out: 1

Games of poker: 1

Okay so it wasn't all bad. I did get a beautiful flower arrangement from my mother and father in law (see photo below) and I we did have my mom babysit so we could go out on Saturday with friends, i.e. the dinner out and the game of poker. And I did get a new nephew out of the deal and we share a birthday - that's pretty cool. But, I hear he's having some fun with his parent's sleep schedule and creating quite a ruckus over there partying by night and sleeping by day. 

Alright 32, it's time to turn over a new leaf. I have really low expectations. All I need is a full night of sleep and a day or two that don't involve vomit. Seriously, you can do it.

Oops...I forgot the picture.  Here it is...

And one of Evey just for fun cause she's such a ham and to show her new snazzy hair cut. Bummer that my sunglasses look better on her than on me.

the hodge podge continued...

so I didn't get back to my post yesterday so I'm going to try to finish up today.

Bill and Keeley had their baby, Carsen William, around 4:30. His gorgeous and healthy and wonderful. Chris and the kids where able to go visit last night while I was stuck at work. Here's a quick snap shot...

 to be continued, again...

a hodge podge of things

so...working makes me busy. busy means I blog less. that blows.

On to the important news. Today is my birthday. The big 32. I'm not sure what's big about it but I'm 32. And I really could not care less. That's me, not one to obsess about age. Honestly I probably wouldn't mention it except for from now on I get to share my birthday a brand new addition to our family. My brother and his wife, Keeley, are expecting their first baby today. They were scheduled to start inducing her at 7 am this morning. I hope it goes faster than it did with Evey - 13 hours later... sparkly new little girl. We are all super excited. A new little boy to spoil rotten, teach obnoxious things too, teach the KU fight song to, you know be a good aunt.

Today is also Back to School Night. Blech. I don't think that could have been scheduled at a more inopportune time.

I'm off to return a drain snake...I'll finish this post later. :)

conversations with students #4

I'm innocently sitting at my desk taking attendance and checking the absurd amount of email I get in a 45 minutes span of time when one of my advanced art students comes up and asks a question about graded value. She's all:

Student: Mrs. S. I don't get graded value

Me: Here let me show you. I start drawing on the back of her paper.

Student: Oh, yeah, I remember now.

Me: ...still coloring the example

Student: I went dove hunting this weekend

Me: WHAT! You were shooting innocent pretty birds!! (I'm not a big fan of hunting in general but especially not the pretty stuff...yeah, yeah, you can lecture me about the inhumanity about that later.)

Student: giggles...it wasn't that many.

Me: STILL!

Student: And I had to rip the heads off.

Me: EW!! turning green from the mental image of my student going all Ozzie Osborn on me.

Student: Well my dad said that keeps them from suffering.

Me: Well, that's noble of you.

Student: They come off pretty easy.

Me: I blacked out for brief moment. Um, you can go sit down now. Student stays at my desk, giggling.

Student: I only got one. My dad got the rest.

Me: Really. go. sit. down. NOW.

Student: Giggles hysterically and goes back to her seat.

I'm now seriously reconsidering the merits of my goal to be the nice, approachable, fun teacher instead of the mean, moody, never talked to teacher.