Thursday, December 13, 2007

Zee Birzday Extraveganza

I thought that I would simply give a photo display of how my birthday dinner extravaganza went...


Yanaj welcomes us to my favorite restuarant.
Grand Openning in Salt Lake- lucky me! The wait was a tad long...
...maybe too long for some?
I think my toukus looks fabulous!!


The traditional wait staff rendition of Happy Birthday

Of course I look happy...I'm about to partake of some fabulous cheesecake!What was left after we all tried each other's flavors
Apparently I did not receive the "wear black" memo. Oh well!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Sunday, December 09, 2007

My First Dinner Party

What is the best thing about Thanksgiving?....besides the paid days off of work?...besides spending time with the family?...besides crazy early shopping the next morning? Guessed it yet? While all of those things make Thanksgiving a wonderful holiday, the best thing I can think of is the leftover goodness. Unless, you are not the one to do the cooking. Then it is one day of yummy goodness, and then back to your own skimpy cooking. That is why I came up with this ingenious plan. Why not cook my own "Thanksgiving Goodness Dinner"? So I did. November 2007 became the month that I cooked my FIRST turkey.



Boy is it a process.


The Before
The After

I had the house to myself, and was excited for my first Dinner Party to be a success. I had Christmas carols playing in the background, holiday lights twinkling their hearts out, and a table all set for a frolicking time.


I pulled out all the stops by finally unpacking my own dishes and silverware. We toasted the holiday by using my snowman goblets for the first time this season.



Some of the guests were unsure
what to make of the napkin rings...


We enjoyed the food that we all brought and each other's company.
Each time I cook for others, I like to try out at least one new recipe. This year that recipe was the Herb and Cheese Bubble Loaf, from Betty Crocker. It was a winner!

P.S. Do you let the girls-who brought the Green Bean Casserole using 6 cans of green beans for 5 people-near the pumpkin pie? I guess I should have thought that through a bit more...






Thoughts from the Cook
The Consensus; I would definitely do this again. But if you ever find yourself on a guest list to one of my Fabulous Dinner Parties, it would be a good idea to ask some of the veterans how they felt about it.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

when is it a compliment?

I was sharpening pencils in my classroom this morning when a student came up behind me. (Normal student behavior- to be a teacher you have to have minimal personal space!) But the kicker was when this student paid me a compliment...I think.

"MMm. Miss HPLuvr," the student said sniffing. I pause my pencil sharpening and look at the student, "You smell good!"


"Thanks! Thats nice of you to say." My pencil sharpening continues.


Then I hear, "Just like my grandma."


you see...Compliment...I think.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

You might be a teacher if.....

24. You believe the staff room should be equipped with a Valium salt lick.

23. You find humor in other people's stupidity.

22. You want to slap the next person who says "Must be nice to work 8 to 3:20 and have summers free."

21. You believe chocolate is a food group.

20. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.

19. You believe "Shallow gene pool" should have its own box in the report card.

18. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today.

17. When out in public you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.

16. You have no life between August to June.

15. Marking all A's on report cards would make your life SO much simpler.

14. When you mention "Vegetables" you're not talking about a food group.

13. You think people should be required to get a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.

12. You wonder how some parents ever MANAGED to reproduce.

11. You laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the "lounge."

10. You believe in aerial spraying of Prozak.

9. You encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling.

8. You believe no one should be permitted to reproduce without having taught in an elementary setting for the last 10 years.

7. You've ever had your profession slammed by someone who would "Never DREAM" of doing your job.

6. You can't have children because there's no name you could give a child that wouldn't bring on high blood pressure the moment you heard it uttered.

5. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

4. You know you are in for a major project when a parent says "I have a great idea I'd like to discuss. I think it would be such fun."

3. You smile weakly, and want to choke a person when he or she says "Oh, you must have such FUN everyday. This must be like playtime for you."

2. Your personal life comes to a screeching halt at report card time.

1. Meeting a child's parent instantly answers the question "Why is this kid like this?"

WHAT TEACHERS MAKE

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers:

"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Mary. Be honest. What do you make?" Mary, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...) "Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental. You want to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't everything.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them show all their work in math. They use their God-given brain, not the man-made calculator.
I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English, while preserving their unique cultural identity.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.
I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.
Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Mary paused one last time and then continued.)

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

What do you make Mr. CEO?" His jaw dropped, he went silent.


SICK OF THOSE HIGH PAID TEACHERS?


I, for one, am sick and tired of those high paid teachers. Their hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work nine or ten months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do. . . baby-sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage. That's right. . . I would give them $3.00 dollars an hour and only the hours they worked, not any of that silly planning time. That would be $19.50 a day(7:45 AM to 4:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers tobaby-sit their children. Now, how many do they teach in a day. . . maybe 30? So that's 19.5 X 30 = $585 .00 a day. But remember they only work 180 days a year! I'm not going to pay them for any vacations. Let's see. . . that's 585 x 180 = $105,300.00 (Hold on! My calculator must need batteries!) What about those special teachers or the ones with master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage just to be fair. Round it off to $7.00 an hour. That would be $7 times 6-1/2 hours times 30 children times 180 days = $245,700.00 per year. Wait a minute, there is something wrong here! There sure is, duh!