Life in Denim and Flip Flops

Tomorrow is Spirit Day as we come to the conclusion of Homecoming week. So clearly I'll be dressing up. The board of trustees will be here so nothing too crazy. This year's homecoming shirt and brown cords. And some accessories. Oh right I don't have any blue accessories. I went to Hobby Lobby to find some blue flowers for my hair. I ended up with both flowers and jewelry pieces and this crazy blue beaded flower arrangement accessory. After an hour of playing with it, I ended up with earrings, a bracelet, and a necklace. I'm sort of surprised with how well they turned out. :) Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.2

Ok, I'm making it official. I'm doing the new-food-a-week challenge. Last week parsnips , this week red lentils. I'm thinking that I'll do one of Aarti's preparations . They look pretty similar and use the same technique of adding hot spiced oil to the lentils after they're cooked. Ironically Amy is also cooking red lentils this week, using her friend's recipe . I also bought orzo pasta while I was at my favorite store, Calico Bean Market . I went in for some durum flour and came out with orzo, red lentils, and some munchies. I love it so much. It's got all the spices and herbs I need for my recipes at ridiculously low prices. I mean I bought sesame seeds, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, corn chips w/ flax seeds, plus the orzo and lentils for about $11. How ridiculous is that? Anyway, I'm looking for suggestions for next week. What new food should I make??

This is what I made for lunch today. Chicken marinated in black bean and garlic sauce, parsnip puree and homemade applesauce from earlier in the week. Unlike last time, I pulled out the blender today to get a super smooth texture on the parsnips. The marinade was from a jar, but oh so good. Yay for the organic (or hippie as my boss says) section of the grocery store! These are my contribution to the family reunion tomorrow. They're Italian semolina rolls. Semolina flour is the only real difference in the dough, but it taste just a bit sweet. I haven't made biscuits yet but I think they turned out well. The sesame seeds really make it. :)

You may know that I watch a lot of food-related television. Now in the past, I'd watch because it was fun to see how things were put together and see how something can be transformed from boring vegetable to delish sidedish. But in the past 2 years or so, I've really started applying what I saw on those shows to what I do at home. I've picked up a lot when I wasn't even trying. And now I'm learning that some things I assumed would be difficult really aren't. I can handle spices and fresh ginger and baking my own bread, who knew? Where's this all going, and where the hell are the parsnips, you're asking? Well, it starts in the grocery store last week. There have been a few things I've been looking for recently and have been unable to find. One of which is celery root necessary for a salad I'd made. Suddenly after looking for a few weeks, it shows up in the organic section. While I was back there, I noticed the parsnips sitting next to it. If you...

I've used clickers in the classroom for a while, but this morning our educational media person introduced me to Poll Everywhere . At first I thought it looked pretty cool, but wondered about what happens when students don't have cell phones on them. (Yes, highly unlikely I know...but still.) And then I realized that you can set it up for computer inputs as well. Most of the teaching I do using clickers usually happens in a computer lab, so that solves that problem. We use Turning Point clickers, which I like, but the software leaves something to be desired and is sometimes a bit of a pain. I like that this looks pretty simple and you can embed the poll/results in your powerpoint and have them update live. So I guess this is part of the test run. What do you think? Make your own poll voting question with Poll Everywhere

It's been a while since I've told you what I'm reading. Like most other YA readers I finished up The Hunger Games trilogy. I also read Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel. I really liked it. It has a bit of a different flavor and writing style than the Mortal Instruments trilogy. I'm excited to see what's next for Tessa. And in case you've read it and are wondering, I'm Team Jem. (Not what I would have expected.) I read Friend Is Not A Verb, Audrey Wait!, and Wild Roses in the mean time as well. I liked all three a lot. It was my first experience reading any of those authors which is sometimes a challenge for me. But seriously, I've really got to get better at updating Goodreads so I remember what all these books were about! I've just started my newest purchase, Zombies vs. Unicorns. I love it so far. The 2 shorts stories I have read were good, but the running commentary by the editors between the stories have made a great addition to the coll...

I adore the farmer's market. I love the fresh produce and the smell of baked goods. And oh my God the cheese! That's what the Dubuque one is missing. Where are the cheese stands? Walking around the square with my parents this morning was great. It was colder than we expected with the wind whipping around, but that didn't stop us. It was a very fall day. Cool, blustery, but cozy with family. I love actually recognizing so much of the produce. And now after watching so much Food Network I feel like I actually know how to prepare some of it. Just a great fall Saturday morning. :) Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.0

So you may remember I went to Memphis with a class a while ago. At the time I wasn't entirely sure what I was expecting to get out if it. Even after I got back I wasn't totally convinced that it had been worth the stress and effort. I mean I had fun and enjoyed the sights but what was the real result? I think now I know. I've seen the class twice since we got back. What a difference! The students were really engaged. Not that they weren't last year, but there seemed to be more buy in. Students actually engaged with the digital archives and were genuinely excited about showing what they had found. And the second one was just as good. I'm seeing way more of the students outside of class. :) I'm so glad it's turned out well. Yay! Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.0