My Freezer

Yup, I just posted a picture of my freezer on my blog!

I like to cook, and when I decide to cook I sometimes go a little overboard. Usually during my morning cereal and coffee I study a cookbook.  Since cutting meat with feet from my diet and trying to incorporate as many vegan friendly recipes and  ingredients, cooking now takes a little studying.  Last week I made a lengthy list of recipes that I wanted to make:

• Minestrone (Moosewood)
• Stuffed peppers(SJ Original)
• Wheat/white sandwich bread (Joy of Cooking/SJ)
• Apple bread
• Salmon pie
• "Chicken" pie (SJ Original)
• Shepards pie
• Spicy tomato soup (Moosewood)
• Tomato sauce (SJ Original)
• Zucchini soup (Moosewood)

(See what I mean by a little overboard?)

 

Dorky math teacher finds humor in her labels!

After creating the list of recipes, I then needed to make the grocery list.  I will spare you the details, but it did take a trip to Shaw's and over an hour to find all of right items.  By the time I got home from shopping I was exhausted, and the cooking hadn't even started.  Saturday morning I woke up refreshed and ready for the challenge of cooking.  I don't think that I have ever chopped or minced as many onions in my life as I did last weekend.  It seemed that every recipe started with "saute onions until tender".  Needless to say, the recipes list was so long that it spilled into Sunday and the last two on the list are saved for another day.  I don't know how many meals all this food equates to, but I do know that dinners for the next few weeks will be a lot more satisfying.

Enjoy ~SJ 

And She's Off....

Learning all about my feet at Maine Running Company

I realized while coaching field hockey season that I need to run.  Not because I see me needing to outrun a charging moose or anything like that.  More because I have a big looming birthday and I realized that what I was asking my field hockey players to do was just not in my ability range anymore.  So now that the field hockey is over, I'm learning everything there is to know about running.  I spent a lot of time learning all sorts of tips for new runners, and even found a training program for out of shape people like me called the Couch to 5K.  It is an interval training program that starts out with a lot of walking and increases over time to all running.  I also downloaded and app for my iPod that times the intervals and informs me when to run or walk. 

My first steps in my new kicks

After my first run in my old kicks my feet were so sore I didn't think I would ever want to go out running again.  One of the number one tips I kept reading about for new runners was to get fitted for sneakers.  When I did a three day 60 mile walk a few years ago I got fitted for walking sneakers, and knew that it was time again.  If you have never gotten yourself fitted for sneakers, indulge and go.  This weekend I went to Maine Running Company and got myself fitted for new kicks.   So after nine short weeks (although I'm sure that they will be very long) I might just be able to make it through one of my own practices. 

Enjoy ~SJ

Craving, Doing, & Thankful For

From the fabulous River Valley Blogger Gals: Amity, Katie, & Rach

Craving
A variety of winter hand coverings for driving, skiing, and playing.
A stocked kitchen to fulfill all my vegan
cooking ideas.
The energy to get through my quantitative research class (and the reason for my lack of blogging).

Doing
Lots and lots and lots of reading, thinking, and writing.
Having fun teaching with lots of technology.


Thankful For
MacPro - the computer and the man
My supportive and fabulously creative Mom
My three wonderful fur-children
Lower my debt one month and one payment at a time.

Consider yourself tagged!

Enjoy ~SJ

"When you know, you know! You know?"

or an alternative title to this post could be "And she said yes!"

 

After  my morning coffee MacPro asked me to find an activity to occupy my time with inside the house and informed me that I shouldn't go outside or on the porch.  Although the directions were odd, I found something to watch on Netflix in bed.  After about an hour, through the sounds of cardboard and the smell of paint and came and asked me to go on for a canoe ride.  I thought it was an odd time of day for a boat ride, but am always up for an adventure.  Upon arriving on the dock I found that he turned the canoe into a gondola!

He instructed me to relax and that he was going to paddle.  Once getting situated in the boat, he started to paddle and sing "O sole mio" (he looked up all of the words on wikipedia).  All good Gondolieres sing!  He paddled us around, we watched a loon family, and then he asked the big question!  I said yes (of course!), and the rest is history!  Well actually, then we went to play mini golf and eat ice cream.  

It was a memorable day, and the whole thing makes for a great story! 

(FYI: No official plans as of yet.  Maybe something small on the dock)

MacPro and his homemade gondola

MacPro singing O sole mio

SJ in the gondola

The view from the boat, perfect day on the lake

Loon

SJ and the new ring!

Mission accomplished!

Skyping with MacPro's Mom and Sister

What day is complete without a little mini golf?

And ice cream!

Enjoy ~SJ

Cool Cat Tech Tips!

This is a cross post from my Educational Technology University blog.  These tips are so great I needed to share twice!

Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis just posted the most insightful list of twelve healthy online habits.  If you are a fellow Walden student you might recognize Vicki from a few mentions in weekly vodcasts from EDUC 8847: Instructional Design & Multimedia.

Here are her 12 tips:
1) Share
2) Respond
3) Comment
4) Link Generously
5) Read (or Listen) Prolifically
6) Distribute Yourself
7) Beware of Flattery
8) Live Life Online AND Off-Line
9) Latch Key Your Legacy
10) Laugh (a lot)
11) Take Every Presentation Seriously
12) Expect Criticism  

Please click through and read her detailed explanation for each of these twelve tips!

Enjoy ~SJ

Friday Fill-In

And...here we go!

1. This is what life does. It lets you have fun.

2. Stop and appreciate the moment.

3. Upon reflection I think that the loons on the pond are trying to tell me something.

4. I haven't gone camping for quite a long time.

5. Later, you wake up and sip coffee with MacPro on the porch.

6. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a walk around the pond, tomorrow my plans include measuring and planning a new project and Sunday, I want to spend countless hours at Lowes shopping for the new project!

Enjoy ~SJ

The Shamrockettes Swim

Last summer my amazing (and crazy) cousins started a little tradition of swimming the length of the Pond. We estimate it to be somewhere around 2 miles from Honey Run Beach to The Outlet. The Swim is a whole weekend of events. Friday night they arrive, we have a carbohydrate loading dinner, make mixed cd's for the boat, and visualize a successful swim. Saturday we try to get out and swimming before noon. And on Sunday we have brunch with our mothers and Grandmother.

Mi Prima brought along her new guy and his canoe, so we could have two boats in the water. The two boats made it safer for the swimmers since we could protect them from other boats better. The second boat even allowed me to swim a portion of the pond. MacPro has came along in one of the boats and was in charge of snacks and photos. He peeled bananas and passed them down to the swimmers along with their water bottle.

And their off!

MacPro and SJ

Mrs. Incredible in the groove!

Look Ma - No Hands!

Mi Prima's Guy, great addition!

SJ giving Mi Prima a little advice "There's plenty of time"

I'd like to add, she didn't hold onto the boat once!

SJ joining the swim

Mi Prima in the groove

The Shamrockettes at the end!

With good tunes and plenty of bananas the cousins made did the swim in under two hours, shaving over 20 minutes off their time from last year!

Enjoy ~SJ

Yeah, I'm That Good!

This past year I successfully learned how to solve a Rubik's Cube.  It ended up being a unit that I taught to my 8th graders.  Today I decided to put my skills to the test and do it on video.

Enjoy ~SJ

Friday Fill-In

And...here we go!

1. Layers of clothes were not necessary this week in the Maine heatwave.

2. A new camera and time to sit and do homework brought insight.

3. I'd be willing to bet this could be the best summer ever!

4. The wild turkey in the backyard scares the dog.

5. I'm fond of popsicles and movies in bed

6. I''m having too much fun!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to barbecued vegetables , tomorrow my plans include breakfast at the Front Porch and Sunday, I want to relax!

Enjoy ~SJ

Your Next Read

Over the last few days I have been trying to get caught up on my Google Reader blog reading.  Getting behind your Google Reader reading is like getting behind in reading Time.... they just keep coming!

I have come across so many fablous new tools and tips and here is one that I have to share with you.  It is called Your Next Read, and it basically recommends books to you.  You simply type in the title of a book that you enjoyed and it will recommend others to you.  Not only does it includ a picture of the book, but it also has reviews and summiries of it.  AND (you better be sitting down for this one) it includes a link to Amazon WITH the price!  Now if it could only tell me if it was available at one of my local libraries I would be all set.

I also have to give a little plug to two of my other favorite book websites, Paper Back Swap and Good Reads.  Paper Back Swap allows you to post your unwanted books that you are willing to mail away to people for free.  The catch is that for every book that you give away you get a credit to get your own book.  It is basically a giant network of people who want to share books.  Good Reads is a social networking website that allows you to connect with your friends.  You can see what books they have read, want to read, and are reading.  Until I found Your Next Read I used Good Reads to find lists of books that I wanted to read. 

How do you find your next book to read?

Enjoy ~SJ

In this critical time

Indexed has been a favorite blog of mine to read for awhile now.  I think it is because they play to my inner scientist/mathematician.  Here is a timely one that I just had to share. 

Enjoy ~SJ

Expanding

It's summer so that means time to relax and get some projects done.  There is no summer school for SJ this summer (beyond excited, you can understand if you have ever had the pleasures of summer school).  The summer so far has been living up to expectations.  My online classes are going wonderfully, learning lots of wonderful new stuff, "meeting" new people, and create wonderful new products.  I have a new blog dedicated to talking about the world of educational technology.  It even has its own domain (huge thank you to MacPro!), you can find it at http://edtechu.org/  I have been working on creating a website all about me (professionally) in hopes of spreading my word and name.  Did a photo shoot last week (again, huge thank you MacPro!) for the pic of me on the new website.  Done tons of reading both professionally and personally, bought a new camera, and have even enjoyed my dock! Overall I would give summer '10 an A+ so far!

Enjoy ~SJ

End Of The Year Wrap-Up

When you say "another year gone by" most people are saying this in January, but teachers (like their students) count years from September to June.  Those months between June and September are special months filled with the excitement of not being bound to an alarm clock, filled with late lunches, and leisurely mornings.  It's getting to be the end of another year, some schools are already out, and some of us are down to the wire counting the days left.

This past school year was a successful one!  My students were funny and entertaining, they worked hard when they needed to, and knew when to have fun.  We learned how to solve Rubik's cubes, some with more success then others.  We can all solve basic algebra equations.  And we all got to enjoy a few days in Quebec.

There are all sorts of ways to know when the end of the school years is coming.  Sometimes your students even go out of their way and get you a gift, and this year I have to say I think I got the best gift ever.  Check it out!

Enjoy ~SJ

Google and Pac-Man

So apparently Pac-Man turns 30 today (didn't know that we shared the same birth year....). I can't do as big of a tribute to this amazing game as Google did though! Not only can you saarch for site through Google today, but you can also play Pac-Man!
Enjoy ~SJ

Time Crunch

I feel like this......Do you?

Enjoy ~SJ

What have I been up to?

Well my dedicated blog reader(s) (I know there are a few of you still out there, at least The Mother still reads.... right? Leave a comment if you came by, please!), I have been busy. When I rattle the question "busy doing what" around in my head nothing crazy like shark tank diving (must put on to do list). It has been a just kind of normal busy. MacPro and I (ok, mostly MacPro) has been working in the yard. There are big doings around the Shamrock - new retaining wall in the front, grass being planted, porch being built, more grass, and a firebrick pizza oven (I know, you just gasped, I heard it).

School has been crazy. I am organizing fantasy baseball for all of my math students and the staff. I know, crazy since I a) don't know a lot about baseball and 2) have never even played fantasy baseball. If that weren't enough I'm also planning an RSU-wide math fact bee, it's just like a spelling bee only with math facts.

The last thing that has been occupying my time is my course work. Besides The Never Ending Paper (it needs all capitals, it is that epic), I am also taking a course on the evolution of educational technology, and getting ready to go to my second residency. A residency is some quality face-to-face time with professors, other students, and faculty members that makes up for all of the online learning. The one I went to last year and Dallas was wonderful, so I look forward to my four days in Nashua, NH.

Enjoy ~SJ

And the Panda Gets An F

I just read this article on NPR about a new book. The premise of the book (The Animal Review) is that two friends (Jacob and Steve) started a blog a few years ago handing out grades to animals. The rank the animals on a variety of skills, talents, and adaptions that they have.

Here is what The Animal Review guys had to say about the Panda (please keep in mind that the Panda might be one of my favorite animals because, well they are so darn cute!)

Panda: F

"Pandas have absolutely no interest in reproducing. They rarely mate," Lentz says. That goes against the raison d'etre of a species. "We spend all this money flying these animals around the world, trying to convince them to mate, and we could spend it on a lot of other stuff."

"Second of all, they eat bamboo. They're not supposed to eat bamboo. Their bodies are not adapted to digest cellulose, but they hang in there with the bamboo. But the result of that is that they have to eat a ton of bamboo," he says. "They don't have a lot of energy to do things like — to mate."

"That could be Nature kind of hinting around the fact that they should collectively shuffle off this mortal coil."

As some of you may know I traveled to China (the country not the town in Maine) a few summers ago. Seeing pandas, and the Great Wall might have been the high points of the trip for me. Since I had never seen a panda before my travels to China I was very anxious to see a real live panda in the fur. So as soon as we got to the zoo I found my way to the panda pagoda and here is my first view of a panda......

I do believe my words were "I traveled over 12,000 miles to see a panda behind!" Don't worry, about this first one was laying so that we could get a wonderful view of its behind, as we moved through the pagoda they animals got more exciting to watch. There were several eating, and one even interacting with the zookeeper. I think that The Animal Review guys might need to go and visit a panda in person before they rank the animals. The panda at least deserves a D- since it lays around at zoos showing off its behind!

Enjoy ~SJ

March 6, 2010

After a wonderful adventure "Down South" for sushi (yes, MacPro and I drove over 50 miles one way for some raw fish!), I decided on the way home to get the motorcycle out. The temperature was over 50 for most of the day, and I saw a lot of other bikes on the road. Here is a little video of the first ride......



Enjoy ~SJ

Getting To Know Me

Thanks to Katie and Rach for this one.....

1. What time did you get up this morning?
Around 7-ish, its vacation who looks at the clock when you get up?

2. How do you like your steak?
Nope, it has feet so I'm not eating it

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Harry Potter this summer (sad but true)

4. What is your favorite TV show?
The Office and 30 Rock

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I love where I live now, but more sun and warmer temperatures might be nice.

6. What did you have for breakfast?
Coffee and wheat Chex

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Right now sushi

8. What foods do you dislike?
Mushrooms

9. What is your favorite place to Eat?
I have lots of favorites, The Bistro, Slates, my Mom's house.....

10. Favorite dressing?
Bleu cheese.

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Subaru Impreza WRX

12. What are your favorite clothes?
Jeans and a fleece vest

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Galapagos Islands

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
1/2 full, no other way.

15. Where would you want to retire?
That is a long ways away.

16. Favorite time of day?
That time of the day where you have all your work done and it is time for yourself. I also like sunny mornings.

17. Where were you born?
Farmington, Maine.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
I don't really watch sports.

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?*
20. Who do you think will tag you back first?*
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?*

22. Bird watcher?
Nope, but I do like to go to the aquarium and watch the penguins (I almost had a job in college as a penguin tank cleaner, but went for the after school outreach program instead.)

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Morning.

24. Do you have any pets?
Two cats Phoebe and Stanley, and a husky Sasha

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I'm on vacation!

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Dolphin Trainer

27. What is your best childhood memory?
Swimming with a sea turtle for the first time

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
Cat.

29. Are you married?
Nope!

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yes.

31. Been in a car accident?
Not really

32. Any pet peeves?
Not pushing in chairs and straightening around the desks (can you tell I'm a teacher?)

33. Pizza?
Feta, peppers, garlic, and basil

34. Favorite Flower?
Tulips

35. Dessert?
Ice cream please!

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
No I don't like fast food, and it doesn't like me!

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
Once

38. From whom did you get your last email?
My advisor giving me feedback on a paper

39. Which store would you choose to max out
your credit card?
I would have to have a credit card first, which I don't.....

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Today is spontaneous adventure day with Mi Prima!

41. Like your job?
I love it.

42. Broccoli?
Yup.

43. What was your favorite vacation?
When I was 9 my family rented a sailboat and we sailed around the Caribbean, that was wonderful!

44. Who was the last person you went to dinner with?
MacPro, on Saturday we went to Dunkin Doughnuts, for sushi, and then to Arby's (I had a potato).

45. What are you listening to right now?
The dish washer, the wind, and the wind chime.

46. What is your favorite color?
Red

47. How many tattoos do you have?
None.

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?*

49. What time did you finish this quiz?*

50. Coffee Drinker?
Yup, drinking some right now!

*Those questions are just not fun, I'm with Katie and not going to answer them!

Enjoy ~SJ

Cooking Challenge 4

This weeks menu did not come from a cookbook, but it came from my head. There is a local restaurant in town that happens to be a favorite of MacPro and I (and a few River-Valley Blogers since I see them from time to time there). We both love one of the dishes on the menu, Gorgonzola Alfredo. Every time I get it I ohh and ahhh over how wonderful it is, and then the cook inside me thinks "how hard can this really be to make", and then I am off trying to perfect it. Tonight was one of those nights, I attempted to make Gorgonzola Alfredo and much admit that it came out amazing. Below is the recipe that I created.

Gorgonzola Alfredo
1 cup gorgonzola cheese
1 1/2 Tb butter
1 1/2 cup milk
3 Tb flour
salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

1 bunch of fresh cooked asparagus cut into pieces
1/2 of a finely chopped onion (saute until cooked)
1/3 cup of roasted red peppers

Mix the cheese, butter, and milk in a sauce pan over a low heat making sure that the milk does not scald. Once the ingredients are well combined, thicken the sauce one tablespoon at a time with flour. Mix well and wait between tablespoons, once it has come to a thickness that you are happy with add the salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. Once your sauce is thickened and seasoned add the asparagus, onion, and peppers. Let simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors blend. Serve over your pasta of choice.

At the end of dinner I relized that I had forgetten to put in the tempeh, oh well. I also decided that this was a sauce to bring out when you want to impress people with your simple yet advanced sense of cooking. Feel free to claim that you made up the recipe yourself!

Enjoy ~SJ