Life in a Nutshell

So the play is over...WAHOOOOO! It went really well, the kids were adorable, and the superintendent started our standing ovation...can't complain about that! I don't have ANY pictures because we have a Mom who is a professional photographer who took our pictures and I didn't have to! I've seen some, but the rest will be proofed on her website (www.amandalewisphotography.com) starting tomorrow. The only bad part about the play being over (I really do love the chaos) is the clean-up! I never realize how much crap I've hauled to school until I begin loading my car and it fills completely to the top! Thank heavens my Mom has such a lovely costume/prop room, but I'm afraid we're going to need more space!

Other news in life..yes there is life outside of the play...
The house is STILL on the market. Things are slow, which is expected, but not enjoyed. So if you know anyone who wants a great house in a wonderful neighborhood.... Check out the house blog: http://perfectsandyhome.blogspot.com/

Art and I went camping this weekend, sort-of, it's a long story. We took some beautiful pictures and saw some amazing things. The dogs had the time of their lives and wonder if we can go camping every day?? I am working on the video and then I'll upload.

CRT's approach, summer vacations are being planned, we are trying to live "Penny-clean" (just in case we need to show the house), I'm thinking of taking up gardening, and I'm off to make a sugar-cookie cake (you've got to do something fun and creative on the last day of spring break!) -and that is Life... in a Nutshell.

Play Week...

Need I say more???

It's very crazy to think that all this chaos is finally coming to an end. We've rehearsed for months. Danced our hearts out. Sang til' we all lost our voice, and this week we prove it was all worth it.

I started my morning with an apology to my class for the potential irritability and lack of patience. I told them I still loved them, but that I wouldn't be able to successfully show it this week.
I reminded them that I would return to a loving, kind, well-planned, over-achieving teacher...next Monday. And then I proceeded to burn my finger with a glue gun (dog costume made entirely of velcro and hot glue - i have skills...) and yell in a very loud voice..."sh.....HOT!" Yes, I editted the word that was coming out of my mouth - there are certain things you can't yell across the classroom.

I could have yelled far worse things when my less-than-muscular stage crew attempted to pick up the scenery and popped the hinges off and I realized I was going to have to rebuild in 2 days. I didn't cuss at all ...... I just pondered the strength of hot glue...

But alas, I did not settle on hot glue as the solution to my scenery, I have an alternate plan that I really hope is going to work. I am taking a drill, rope, and washers to school in hopes of creating a free spinning orphanage and mansion. (You may need to pray for me)

And so play week goes on, my room is constantly full of kids running lines, I put together scenery finishing touches during spelling tests, we dance "Hobo Man" one more time, and I have a constant barrage of kids at my door wondering, "What time is dress rehearsal?" "What if I fall down on stage?" "Where am I supposed to be in Scene 10?" "Can I save seats?" "What if my microphone breaks?" "Do you think we're ready?"
(deep breath) "Of course we're ready!!! We've been practicing so hard, it will be great!"
Oh the joys of Play Week....

On Second Read...

Circumlocution...look it up... or read previous blog post for example.

It was our vocabulary word last week, and man does it accurately define me! I really shouldn't do anything after 9 pm.

You Really Ought to Blog...

I've been pondering, puzzling, debating, and struggling over a new blog post. It's been a while; I like to keep things fresh, but, no matter the thought I put into it, I come up with nothing. It's certainly not because I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs wondering what to do with life. In fact, my thumbs have been especially busy lately. Just this morning as I was driving to work I was pondering what to do for math that would be an entertaining review of Add/sub of Integers, when I thought of a swell holiday themed game, a game that would require me to die-cut and number 60 + shamrocks and about 30 gold coins, and hide them before the bell rang. I put my thumbs, and the rest of my fingers, to work and got it accomplished and it was actually a good game, and I am proud to say my kids can add/sub integers. Which meant that during math I had to do my before school chores of getting ready for "workshop" and figuring out whether to dance or draw magnetic fields. And with the play approaching (April 2-3 - so soon!!) I have my recesses fairly booked to organize costumes, do fittings, sort tickets, and build NY. By the time the bell rings I usually have 10 kids at my door that need "something" and we only have 12 minutes to get through them all. And so the day progresses, bouncing from one activity to the next; I made hats during writing, I built a powerpoint during Lit. Circles, I wrote a to-do list during an assembly. Frankly, I've been going all day, and so when I sat down to write this I reflected on a statement made by one of my students when we were brainstorming about Spring...as I called on him to share his idea for our web he said, "distracting, Spring is distracting!" And so all my random rambling, inability to focus, and last minute scrambling are the fault of the ever so present spring! Sorry, can't do anything to change the seasons!
(And Yes, I took this picture. It was a beautiful lily I planted last year that just sparkled one morning and caught my attention. Good thing I took the photo last year, this year I'm only growing dirt. Can't really blame Spring for that can I?)

It's Done!!!!

I can't believe it! It seems like a miracle! But it's true, the house is done!!!!

After 4 years (almost to the day) we have finally 'finished' the house. (Finished is questionable because I look around and see tons of things we still should, and could do, but you know..the big stuff..that's done...) Since we moved in we've painted every wall; put up new base/casing/crown in every room; new windows, roof and AC; laid an entire backyard of sod and a new sprinkler system; built a new family room/entertainment room downstairs; updated 2 bathrooms with new tile, fixtures, trim (and custom built cabinetry ala my talented husband); put in new flooring throughout the basement; updated all the electrical and plumbing with a new water heater and light fixtures and wiring throughout; lots of custom built-in fancy trim work; and planted miles of flowers I'm hoping will bloom quickly!!!

So I thought I'd share some pictures...
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All that work, time, sweat and money....for it to go on the market tomorrow!!! FOR SALE!!!

For Cookie Emergencies....

After reading Jamie's Blog and Kelli's apparent cookie craving emergency, I decided to post my best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. They're delicious (if you chill and use bread flour). I think that everyone should post a delicious recipe- dessert or otherwise. It would fun to see what everyone else likes to make!

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Hardware:

• Ice cream scooper (#20 disher, to be exact)
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheets
• Mixer

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.