2010 Survey

January 31, 2010

4 comments
Welcome to the new 2010 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Have fun and be truthful! I want to see your answers!!

1. What is your occupation right now? 5th Grade English Language Arts Teacher
2. What color are your socks right now? white
3. What are you listening to right now? Platinum Wedding on TV
4. What was the last thing that you ate? BBQ West after church
5. Can you drive a stick shift? nope
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone: Mom
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yeah
8 . How old are you today? 23
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? None, but football if I had to pick considering we have seen every Saints game this year.
10. What is your favorite drink? Koolaid
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? never
12. Favorite food? hot wings, or oyster crackers
13. What is the last movie you watched? I have no idea what the name of it was
14. Favorite day of the year? The day Joshua was born, and any summer day...I love snow cones
15. How do you vent anger? To whoever is in my way
16. What was your favorite toy as a Child? my blue wooden rocking horse Rocky Joe
17. What is your favorite season? Winter
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries
18. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? yes
19. Who is the most likely to respond ? Mom or Aunt S;)
20. Who is least likely to respond? The Queen of England
21. Living arrangements? A rent house with my husband, unlike most people we know right now we just can't commit to buying a house. I would die if I lived in this town forever.
22. When was the last time you cried? The other day, every once in awhile it hits me that Nanny isn't here
23. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes
24. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Laura
25. What did you do last night? grilled for my Pop's Bday
26. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? cheese or spicy
27. What are you most afraid of? Not graduating graduate school
28. What is your favorite kind of dog? My Dachshunds
29. Favorite day of the week? any day that does not involve work or class
30. Diamonds or Pearls? Pearls
31. What is your favorite flower? Peonies
32. What is your favorite blog to read and why? Kelly's Korner, Nesting Place, Blue-Eyed Bride


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Show Us Your Life-Fashion Tips

January 30, 2010

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Show Us Your Life with Kelly's Korner
This week Kelly is doing Fashion Tips. Yup I'm a day late but yesterday was nuts. My biggest fashion tips is probably for teachers. Getting up super early to drive 30 miles to work I want the most sleep I can get, but I don't want to look like a total slob. My solution is Old Navy and Gap Khaki pants, in a ton of colors.





I tend to throw mine in the dryer with a few tennis balls for 15 minutes and it will beat the wrinkles out an I can get away with not ironing anything.

Add a couple fun button down shirts and a bunch of cute tops and sweaters and your set to get going easier and still look cute.

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Puerto Rican Spaghetti

January 29, 2010

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 This week I had no clue what I wanted to cook so I went out on a limb and tried this Everyday with Rachel Ray recipe. It turned out great, plus it was super easy.

Puerto Rican Spaghetti with Chicken
by Daisy Martinez

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 large chicken drumsticks and thighs (about 2 3/4 pounds)
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 spanish onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 pound spaghetti
For a change, shred the chicken before arranging on top of the pasta.

Directions:

  1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper and add to the skillet. Cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes; transfer to a plate.
  2. Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet and add the bell pepper, onion and garlic; cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and crushed red pepper. Add the chicken and any juices; lower the heat, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and stir in the cilantro; season with salt and black pepper.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente; drain. Top with the chicken and sauce.
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When the WO is missing

January 26, 2010

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Ever have this problem? I am almost too ashamed to admit it, but it is just way too funny.

My professor tonight gave us a break in the middle of a two hour high energy elementary school physical education lesson and made very clear in his Irish accent that the girl's bathroom was on the left, the men's was on the right and the water fountain was outside. So I walked out completely out of breathe and not even trying to read and simply following direction and went to the bathroom. This was all fine and dandy till a man walked in and I pointed out to him that he was in the wrong bathroom and pointed out where his bathroom was, until he pointed to the giant men's sign on the door. I totally freaked out, as usual, and luckily no one else was around to see this debacle. I really was wondering why the seat was up in the "women's" bathroom and assumed it must have recently been cleaned.

Just goes to show that the "exercise increases learning" statistic doesn't include "reading bathroom signs during a Kinesiology class."

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Devil's Punch Bowl

January 24, 2010

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I got a new Greg Isles book yesterday and I am so excited to read it. I absolutely love his character Penn Cage...there is a good chance I will ignore things I need to do and read this book istead. His book Turning Angel is hands down favorite right next to Honeymoon by James Patterson. All I've read so far is the first chapter and I am hooked!

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1st Dr. Visit, Squirrel Dog and Hot Wings

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Somehow this week has been totally uneventful but yet still totally busy. Three day school weeks due to staff development and holidays are horrible, you can't test and the kids are insane. Plus classes started back Tuesday, oh joy, according to Jeremy one of my professors is hard for no reason at all. He has Power Points but won't post them until the week of the test, and I personally don't buy notebooks and right on Power Points, looks like I'm in a pickle.

We took Joshua for his first doctor's visit Monday, I think he may be a comfort eater since we got there and he wanted to eat and when Dr. Russ handed him back he wanted to eat again. The little piglet managed to go from 6lbs 2oz when he left the hospital{poor thing lost weight} to 7lbs 4oz in less than a week.

 

He was strangely calm for Dr. Russ considering how much he hates being naked these days.

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Apparently there is a squirrel infestation at our house now. Or a Maddie thinks she is a squirrel and insist on bringing pecans in the house and destroying them on the couch problem.


You may have to click on the picture to see the demolished pecan shell, but it is in fact there...on the same couch that the dogs push pillows off of.

Maddie has also decided she likes computer screen savers. A lot.

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Sorry but I forgot to take a picture for this one. I really wanted hot wings this week but didn't feel like the mess that follows eating them so instead I made Spicy Thighs. So feel lucky, our friends always ask what I put in my hot wing sauce but I always leave out an ingredient or two.

Louisiana.Bride Spicy Thighs/Hot Wings Sauce
1 bottle Louisiana Hot Sauce
3 tbs brown sugar
2tbs honey
1-2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
dash of Bacon Salt 
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce 
4 tbs lemon juice
1tsp dried parsley{because I like how it looks}

I marinate either a large pack of chicken thighs or a bag of the Tyson chicken wings in this sauce for a day or two depending on when I think to get started on it. After they are done soaking up the spicy goodness for day or so I grill them off and take the remaining sauce and boil it to kill any bacteria and baste the wings in it while they cook, anything left over after that I toss the wings in. If you are afraid of the bacteria issue you can always just set some sauce aside to toss them in later. 

I always serve this with BBQ Beans, Cucumber Salad and Ranch Dressing.
 
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an unhappy camper

January 16, 2010

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Now that I am at my parents house I can post my absolute favorite picture I took of Joshua after he was born.

As soon as the nurse put him on the table to measure him and diaper him he grabbed onto the top of his head and made it very clear he was not happy about being out. The nurse got such a big kick out of it she stopped and told me to take of picture of this.

And finally me holding Joshua way late at night and looking like it was 1:30am too. As you call tell my mini poof was slightly lopsided due to the fact I was basically asleep when I did it. But it was all good fun.

The little skunk has spent the afternoon pooting and pooping on me. I literally gagged trying to help Laura change that diaper. Nothing that small should be able to make that much noise or smell that bad. Lord knows if he wasn't a breast fed baby I'd probably die, I hear formula babies stink to high heaven.

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Hiking in 20 Degree Weather

January 13, 2010

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Allow me to backtrack.

Remember the Amish outing? Well scroll down a bit. Okay anyway...we started to go hiking to this waterfall close to Mr. James's house the day we went to the Amish store, but it was twenty degrees outside and we were barely dressed for hiking in fifty degree weather.

So the next day...

We headed off to hike to the waterfall much more appropriately dressed.
To get to this approiately dressed point to hike through was use to be mud was was frozen solid I had to put on {since I didn't just pack winter clothes like a sane human} jean with wind pants over them, a long sleeve shirt then a sweat shirt then a wind breaker with a scarf wrapped around my head and huge gloves. Starting this 2 1/2 mile hike I was cold cold cold, coming back up the mountain I got so hot I was pulling off everything, then I got so worn out trying to breathe in that really cold weather I made Jeremy carry me about 100 yards of the way back. Poor Jeremy.

Once we got there the thing was nearly froze over. It was a lot of fun though, and a great workout. I really wish we had places like that to hike here. 

 
 


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Oh Baby Baby

January 11, 2010

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Laura had the baby! Pop{our grandfather} told him he couldn't show up while we were all at the Shrine Saturday night and he did good, we managed to get home before the fun started. Jeremy and I made it to bed about 11 and Pop said he got in bed about 12am and at 12am Mom walked in our room and said Laura's water broke. Honestly I'd like to say we were excited but when she said it I said okay and we both rolled back over, she then said they were leaving and I freaked out {because I finally realized what was happening} and jumped out of bed. We then made it half way through town, realized we left something, turned back around, and finally remembered to call Dad.

Once we were at the hospital no one was taking us serious that she was in labor. They took their time getting down to us and then wheeled us up to Labor and Delivery slow as humanly possible. I don't know about Laura but that this point I was ready to push the nurse to make her move faster.

When they finally got her in and checked her the nurse realized she was dilated ten, which led to the other nurse not believing her and checking her herself. By this point it was about 12:45. They then moved her to the delivery room and came and got me. I won't go into detail because what happened next was the funniest but most disgusting thing I have ever experienced. By the time I decided where the safest and least disgusting place was to stand the doctor walked in, she pushed three times{literally}, and we had a baby at 1:14am.

I was super excited though because not only did I get to cut the nasty cord but I got to hold him first, even before Laura.

Needless to say I told Laura if he was ugly I'd let her know, and as soon as they set him on the table I noticed he had Laura's ugly feet{identical to her ugly feet no less} and yelled back to her that he had her ugly feet. The nurses were cracking up at me for being so blunt with her, at least Laura wasn't mad...but it is no secret that her feet aren't something you'd want to run into in a dark ally.

I even pulled out baby pics this morning to show Jeremy that he indeed was a Cater baby. He looks like a cross between Laura and I when we were little. 

Joshua Liam
01-10-10
1:14am
6lbs 10oz
19 1/2 inches




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Amish Part of the MP Trip

January 9, 2010

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How I forgot my camera I will never know.

I wound up going to Mount Pleasant with Jeremy even though I was convinced that baby would pop out the second I crossed the state line...but it didn't...and it still hasn't. We had a great time as usual, I love going to see his Dad and Sandy. Although Sandy cooks really good, I have to constantly remind myself that I can't eat everything or I will not get out the door. The really fun part though, to me, was that their crazy weenie dog Winston knocked up a Lhasa Apso and made what was a very interesting looking Dachshund puppy named Cindy Lou. Who did in fact look like a Dr. Seuss character. I wish I had a picture of her, she looked like my Maddie but with a less pointy nose and crazy fluffy ears that looked like someone crimped them.

But Saturday was the day that the Mustang wasn't big enough, I didn't carry enough cash, and I totally forgot the camera.


We went to the Amish Country Store and then drove around their community. The whole mission was for soap that Sandy swears by, and I found. I managed to walk out of that ladies house with 3 bars of soap, 1 candle, and some goat's milk lotion. Jeremy for some reason wanted a air freshener that smells like a banana snow cone blew up in your face, smells good, but it really makes me want a banana popsicle. Then I saw it. A Amish made ceder chest for only $110. It was beautiful! But two things were standing in my way, make that three. 1- I only brought 20 bucks thinking there is no way I would need more. 2- It wouldn't fit in the car with all of our suitcases in it too and I couldn't convince Jeremy to leave his clothing on the side of the road to make room. And finally 3- Jeremy. He doesn't see the point in this ceder chest. Notice Jeremy made it to two of the points, I should have left him with the Amish and taken the chest.

But going there made me seriously want to be Amish and made me want to pickle things and make soap. Too bad ole Jeremy wouldn't go for non electrical farm life.

Oddly enough one of the Amish stores was selling Lottery tickets. My comment on that one was "What do you get for a two dollar scratch off? A chicken?" To which Mr. James replied "Their Powerball is probably a cow." Needless to say the "Amish Lottery" gave us a good 5-10 minutes of fun.

When I find my camera I will post pictures of our hike in 20 degree weather to a frozen waterfall.


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