I apologize on my lack of blogging recently. Life has gotten super busy but I have many random, odd things to update you on...where to begin....
So, we got an email the other day from our cable/internet provider about the suspicious (and enormous) amount of Internet use through Netflix recently. Apparently our Mad Men addiction has been found out! However, we still refuse treatment. Instead, to counteract the withdrawal symptoms we had been experiencing, we got hooked on another show supplied to us by Netflix...Parks and Recreation! (Or PAR as we like to call it. The first time I said that James thought I was trying to spell out "park" and just forgot the "k"....really? I'm a teacher here!) Unfortunately, we might have already finished all the seasons. But in our defense there were not as many seasons to begin with and the episodes are only averaging about 27-ish minutes! We don't need help!! (Denial, anyone?)
In the C25K update, I just finished the second day of week 4. The first one was quite a shock...I don't know where Clarisse is getting this from? After the usual 5-minute warm-up walk, it is 3 minutes of running, 90 seconds of walking (which is like the time it takes me to take a drink of water and will myself to continue living), 5 minutes of running, then 2 and a half minutes of walking. Then repeat! As I was complaining to myself and a bird watching me from the stoplight, I almost forgot that the whole point of this thing is to run for longer than running from Chick-fil-A to my car on a rainy day so as not to let the rain ruin my crispy waffle fries. I guess I'm just going to have to get used to this so-called "five minute" thing. Also, a gnat literally flew into my mouth. Today was slightly better. I didn't as tired as quickly, although by the end of the last five-minute run (before which Clarisse always says, "You've got just one run left, keep going!" Yeah, but it's for 5 minutes. I believe that far outweighs the excitement one feels knowing it's the last one), I definitely got my running mullet on. That's where you pump your arms like you are running at a good, hard pace, but your legs are moving so slowly it's more like a walk with a slight spring in it. Running on the top, walking on the bottom. Oh yeah. Finally, I was taking my three-minute running segment into a neighborhood when this guy, with his military haircut shining in the morning sun and his t-shirt dripping with gross exertion, came flying by me, Forrest Gump style (head slightly back, arms pumping ridiculously, sprinting). Although he did have to run with his arms away from his body because, as we all know so well, our biceps sometimes refuse to let us put our arms touch our sides. I just really hate it when that happens to me. Between the deep breaths I was suppose to be concentrating on as dictated by Clarisse, a quiet, gasping "show-off" might have escaped. I also fulfilled my dream of listening to British rap.
As far as school is going, these kids are definitely showing their true colors. What a group of, let's say, "bold" or "strong" personalities I got! But in all the challenging times, they still say and do the cutest things, which just
keeps me coming back. One of my precious little girls, whose mom very accurately describes her as the dog from the movie "Up" that gets distracted by squirrels, was sitting on my lap the other day on the playground, facing me with her tiny little legs wrapped around my waist. She began to inquire about my freckles on my chest and arms, wondering why I have polka-dots and asking if they can come off haha! Yesterday, during lunch, this same little one wanted my opinion on Cheetos. After I shared that I do in fact find Cheetos most agreeable, she offered me one of her way-too-bright-orange-to-be-natural snacks. I declined, asking her to eat it instead because it was her lunch. She continued to push the Cheeto closer and closer to my face, saying, "The airplane is cominnnnggggg". Haha, I wonder where she has heard that one before?
This week, to practice their scissor skills, I boiled a big pot of spaghetti and brought the cooked noodles to school. Piling up the noodles in big pans with fairly deep sides in an attempt to keep most of the noodles off of the floor, I set out scissors and let them go to town. Oh my goodness, we sat there for so long cutting and cutting and cutting and cutting some more. Alot of my boys were really engaged in this activity which was awesome considering many boys tend to shy away from fine motor skills like cutting or painting. After most of the noodles had been cut into small pieces, we started hunting for the elusive noodles that somehow had escaped. We also painted with ice on a huge piece of butcher paper on the floor. What a mess! But it was a fun, learning-filled mess! They noticed that the ice was melting and somehow (gasp!) turned into...water! I love it when they discover new things that seem so small to us. Keeps life in perspective :)
In food news, we got the cookie bug the other day so I made some oatmeal raisin cookies. Except, I had one teeny little box of raisins so I made craisin-raisin-oatmeal cookes instead! Seriously, this dough was SO addicting! I think from dough alone we probably inhaled at least 3 cookies. Each time I set a ball of dough on the cookie sheet I had to eat it off of my fingers. Dough on the sheet, dough for me, dough on the sheet, dough for me. Of course then we had to try the baked ones too, in order to make sure they really were good. I can say with complete assurance that yes, these cookies are good, not only raw but baked as well. And the craisins really add a nice touch! I think James was iffy when I told him my master plan of mixing the two, but the tartness goes so well with the sweetness and cinnamon.
Oatmeal (Craisin) Raisin Cookies
3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup raisins (or craisins, or both)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)
1. Combine eggs, raisins, and vanilla and let stand for 1 hour, covered with saran wrap. This is seriously the secret to this family recipe!!! Do not omit!!
2. Cream together butter and both kinds of sugar.
3. Add flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda to mixture. Mix well.
4. Blend in egg-raisin mixutre, oatmeal, and nuts if using. Dough will be stiff.
5. Drop heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet or roll into small balls and flatten slightly.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
I also tried a recipe from my family that I had not made before...crispy sesame chicken! So tasty and so easy! James had a super long day yesterday and didn't get home til 9:00 so we definitely pigged out on this one! I made a few changes and additions.
Crispy Sesame Chicken
(This makes 4 servings, I halved it when I made it.)
1 1/4 cups cornflake crumbs
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
dash of red pepper
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 Tbsp. honey
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
(I cut mine into bite-size pieces. Cooked way faster and easier to eat!)
vegetable cooking spray
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large ziploc baggie, set aside.
2. Combine yogurt and honey in shallow dish, stir well to mix.
3. Add chicken (breasts or pieces if you cut it like me) to yogurt mixture, turning to coat.
4. Remove chicken from mixture and add to bag. Seal and shake to coat.
5. Place chicken on baking sheet coated with cooking spray and drizzle with melted butter.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minuted (my small pieces cooked in about 15 minutes) or until done.
Here's where I made some additions: I mixed up another batch of the yogurt-honey mix and added the spices that you made for the chicken (paprika, salt, ginger, and black pepper - I didn't have red). Then I cut up broccoli, green onions, green bell pepper, and shredded carrots and stir-fried them in a skillet in oil over high heat. I made some microwave brown rice, added the veggies and yogurt mixture, stirred together, then topped with the sesame chicken. The yogurt mixture helped the rice stick together more (no one likes dry rice, it's all about the sauce!) And the veggies made it a complete meal!
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