Parking lot of grace

Last week I stopped to fill up my car with gas. Side note: to me, the gas light comes on to tell you it is time to  stop at the nearest gas station and fill up, obviously. To my husband, who never lets it get below a quarter tank, it is a ticking time-bomb just waiting to blow up and put me, on the side of the highway, stranded with no gas and no hope. The fact that I let it get so low drives him crazy, which is partly why I continue to do so (cue evil laugh...muahahaha). Anyways, I stopped to fill up, watched the numbers tick by way too quickly on the price side and way too slowly on the gallon side, and was prompted to decide whether or not I wanted a receipt. Although I always say "yes", they inevitably end up somewhere in the car only to be thrown out with other trash (no..."treasures") that collect in the crevices of the dear Rav4. This time, like many times, the words "Please get receipt from inside" or something along those lines flashed across the screen and this time, like many times, I decided that required way too much effort and instead got in my car and left. How many of us do that?? When a slip of paper requires a short walk across the parking lot rather than being handed directly to us where we stand waiting, we decide it is just not worth it. I had a moment when I pulled out of that parking lot when I realized not only my own laziness but how grateful I am the Lord does not treat us like that receipt! He waited for generations for His people to come back to Him. He was right there. And yet people were difficult. They were rebellious. They were sinful and disobedient. They didn't come right to Him like a receipt shot out of an automated machine. And yet the Lord didn't decide to just leave when it required too much effort. He decided to rescue us the only way possible - by sending His perfect and only Son to the cross where every other person should have hung instead. He not only walked across a parking lot for me, He picked me up, washed me clean, and saved my life. And the best part...He wants that for every single person that lives and breathes on this earth.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8

A couple weeks ago I tried out this recipe from Skinnytaste.com. It was really taste and share-worthy. Plus no matter what comes from that website, since everything is "skinny", I feel the ability...nay, the obligation, to eat twice as much. Does that negate the point? Not in my logical world!! And of course, my versions are never quite as "skinny" due to the fact I have normal ingredients.

Lighter Baked Macaroni and Cheese

From: skinnytaste.com

12 oz high fiber elbows (I used whole wheat penne)

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp light butter (I used 2 Tbsp of regular, good ol' butter)

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup minced onion

2 cups skim milk

1 cup fat free chicken broth

8 oz. cheddar (she used reduced fat...who are we kidding? We eat regular cheese. Amen.)

Salt and Pepper

4 cups baby spinach (I gave mine a rough chop)

1/8 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Cooking spray

1. Cook pasta in salted water according to the package directions. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter. Add flour and cook over a low heat, stirring with a whisk. Add onions and cook another 2 minutes. Add milk and chicken broth and continue whisking, raising the heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil and becomes smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Once it becomes thick, remove from heat and add cheese. Mix well until cheese is melted and adjust seasonings if needed. Add cooked macaroni and baby spinach.

4. Pour into baking dish. Top with grated Parmesan and bread crumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for a few to get the topping golden.

Well my attempt at organization with meal planning last week actually paid off! And we actually ate all those meals listed! Although, we did have a leftover night so I moved the tacos to Cinco de Mayo which worked out perfecto...ole! Okay that was really cheesy...moving on. The BBQ Beer Chicken in the crockpot was an instant fave and we will definitely be making that again! The Mexican Stuffed Shells were also awesome as were the Pioneer Woman's meatball sliders. I am going to do the same this week and plan out ahead of time. How many times do you have to do something to make it a habit? Let's hope two.

Monday - Cheesy Tortellini Spinach Bake  (I pinned this then had the sneaky feeling I may have made this before...obviously it's been too long!)

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

Wednesday - Perfect Potato Soup (perfect way to use up some potatoes before they sprout eyes and creep me out)

Thursday - Spicy Bean and Rice Burritos

Organization Attempt: I repeat "attempt"

Alright so I am going to turn over a new leaf, as some say, and I am going to *attempt* to plan out meals. Not that I don't enjoy running to the grocery store or nearest Super Target as the oven preheats to grab those couple ingredients I didn't bother to check on beforehand. I always wonder if the cashier is thinking "Hmm wonder what y'all are having tonight" as my jars of marinara, couple of onions, and loaf of garlic bread  go sliding down the.....conveyer belt? What is the name for that slidey thing - is it really just a mini conveyer belt? If someone knows the name please tell me. Oh dear, I just got the feeling that it is super obvious and everyone knows but it temporarily slipped my mind. Oh well, moving on. I figured if I posted our plan it would keep me slightly more accountable...maybe. Click on the meal below and it will lead you to the original recipe!

Monday: Mini Meatball Sandwiches

Tuesday: Stuffed Mexican Chicken Shells

Wednesday: BBQ Beer Chicken

Thursday: Oven Baked Tacos - these are so good I have to resist making them every single week!

Friday: Hopefully convince my hopefully-not-too-tired husband to go out somewhere! If not, there's always a good PB&J :)

If y'all have a good recipe, pass it along! Happy Monday!

Adventures, Part 2.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 "'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the Lord." 

So our new life chapter adventures have begun! It all started with a freaky cold front blasting through Bryan, TX on the day my dad, husband, and assorted friends were loading the Uhaul, bringing sheets of rain and 45 degree weather. It was off to a great start! Our first day of driving was accompanied by that same cold, dreary rain aaaalllll the way through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and into Alabama. And obviously with that cold, dreary rain came a flat tire on the Uhaul a couple hours outside of Birmingham where we had plans to join our dear, sweet friend Aimee for dinner. And obviously with that flat Uhaul tire came the wait for the repair guy to show up on the side of the highway, a man we affectionately named "Billy Bob". Take the initial image your mind creates when you hear the name "Billy Bob" and there you have him. But the Lord was teaching me valuable lessons on that side of the highway...be thankful for a seat inside a warm, dry truck, be grateful for time-killing activities such as Pinterest, and don't make time-sensitive plans on a long move.

Fast forward three days and we made it to sunny and cool Virginia! Needless to say the kitties were happy to get out of the truck, although they did do surprisingly well with a dog kennel and a makeshift foil-lasagna-pan-litter-box. There was a slightly tense moment along the way when Mumford began whining, something that sweet special-needs kitty doesn't do often, and was making it clear he needed to use the little boys' room asap. Me, backwards over the seat, setting up that lasagna pan on the truck bench all while moving at 70 mph and being warned not to get any litter on the leather...quite the sight!

It was such a blessing to have my parents with us and we got all unpacked, set up, and settled in just a few days. This left us some time to explore the area, including making a trip to Washington D.C. and seeing some of the monuments! One of my favorite sights had to be the elderly man jamming on a bench wearing nothing but some cut up denim shorts, shorts we had to search for before realizing they were actually there. Unfortunately, I did not get a pic to share the glorious sight. I did manage to snap a few of some other sights, although not quite as colorful...

 

 

   

Speaking of adventures, we decided to go for a run along one of the Civil War battlefields in Fredericksburg. It was an absolutely picturesque day, cool in the shade, warm in the sun, with sunlight streaming through the woods around us. Here's a glimpse of our run...

Pretty nice, right? Well we decided right then and there that we would make a goal to run every single battlefield trail in the area. So we went the very next day to the Battle of Chancellorsville. A bit of a longer run which had me slightly worried since I have put on my running shoes oh let's see.....twice....since we ran our 10K...in February. But the day before had been so beautiful we decided the longer route would definitely be worth it. And so we set off, not realizing that the incredibly strong storm the night before would leave entire trees laying across the badly marked path as well as puddles of black mud which I swear was quick sand (picture the scene in the woods in The Princess Bride). Let's just say it was not the picturesque run of the day before as we picked our way through the woods to get around the completely blocked path, through the prickly things, through the Princess Bride mud, under giant branches which left a gash on my shoulder since apparently I have no depth perception. But in the end, still fun and still amazed at the beauty of God's creation :)

Oh and as for our goal....yeah those are still the only two we have run...

Alright next adventure....fabric flowers! I saw this tutorial on Pinterest forever ago and have been itching to try it out, I just never had time while I was teaching. Well now I've got nothing but time so my dream of fabric flowers finally became a reality! I found some random fabric scraps on sale at Hobby Lobby, picked up a straw wreath (unfortunately not half off but I had no patience to wait another week so I reluctantly paid full price...something I swore I would never do at Hob Lob!) I also found some wide burlap ribbon and, glue gun in hand, attempted to make my own flowers. Turns out they are super easy to make! Just kinda twist and fold to get your center going, secure it with hot glue, then twist/glue in a circle-ish pattern. Now I am obsessed and have to resist the urge to glue a fabric flower to everything in our apartment. One picture frame already fell victim to my obsession...

                                

Here it is on our front door...I love the contrast with the red!

Anyone want one? I got tons of the gray, white/gray and yellow fabrics left and loads of time :)

Here's the link I found that gives you a step-by-step tutorial:

http://www.sasinteriors.net/2011/09/fall-wreath-with-fabric-flowers/

Adventures, Part 1.

Hebrews 13:15 "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." 

Well, needless to say the three weeks after Spring Break were, to put it delicately, insane. Not only were we preparing to move, living among floor-to-ceiling boxes, adjusting to their presence so well that I feel a slight emptiness now that they are all gone, I was also preparing for my last few weeks of work. Throw travels every weekend in the mix, along with two 4-day weeks back to back and an accreditation team scoping out our school and it was...crazy. In all the busyness I neglected this little blog like I neglected doing dishes and making home-cooked meals...

But now that I have some time on my hands I want to show what we had been up to the last couple weeks of school. We were knee-deep in an awesome space unit in Science. The kids had a blast and were soaking up information and facts like nobody's business. Here's a look at some of the space adventures we embarked upon...

We learned all about the moon and made these fun moon facts. The kids used liquid glue to make designs on a gray construction paper moon (they were making craters and mountains like we learned about). After the glue dried they colored over their moons with white and gray crayons. The resulting texture was so cool and each moon was so different! Then they wrote a paragraph with at least 5 moon facts they learned.

We also wrote fiction stories about an adventure in outer space. This was an awesome opportunity for the kids to be creative while applying everything they had learned about complete and descriptive sentences in Grammar. Then we made what has to be my most favorite thing ever....little astronauts with plastic Starbucks lids as helmets! We found a clip art astronaut body on line. Then I took a close-up pic of each kid making an excited face (the first kid opened his mouth as wide as it could go...and each successive pic featured the same look haha). They decorated their astronaut suit then glued their face in the helmet. Our first grade aide hot glued the clear plastic lid on for the final touch. The kids absolutely loved seeing their funny faces beneath a 3-D astronaut helmet. And Starbucks gave us all the lids for free!

After learning all about the sun, we made these little sun craftivities to hang above their cubbies in the hallway. It was pretty simple and they had a lot of fun making them! The kids wrote one fact about the sun on each of their triangular rays, glued them to a paper plate, and covered the plate with squares of red, yellow, and orange tissue paper. 

We also made these cute, quick stars to hang in our classroom. The kids wrote how they could be a "shining star" to others and decorated a little star with glue and glitter. Oh glitter, how I love thee and abhor thee at the same time. You lend such fun to any activity, and yet I find you all over every surface within a 6 foot radius for a month.

Click on the link below for the template:

"I can be a shining star..."

On my very last day of school we learned all about space food that astronauts eat on missions into outer space. I prepared a power point with all kinds of info from NASA's website, including pics of food floating in mid-air, that we read through together. Then each kid transformed into an astronaut ready to sample "space" food. I had prepared three baggies per kid - each with a couple tablespoons of mysterious powder (in actuality it was pink lemonade mix, chocolate pudding mix, and instant oatmeal). They also received Dixie  cups of water to rehydrate their dehydrated space food. On a chart the students had to record the state of matter of each substance in the beginning, their observation, what happened when they added water, and the state of matter of the substance in the end. Then came the best part...eating it! Not many kids ate the oatmeal which I expected...it looked pretty gross all mushed up in a baggie. The pudding and lemonade, though, were huge hits! 

Click on the link below to download the chart!

Space Food Experiment

This sauce is the boss.

Exodus 14:14: "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Sometimes simply being still is more difficult than balancing and juggling the many tasks that each day brings. I can just imagine that our sacrifice of control and time must be such a sweet gift to the Lord. He will fight for us. He has already won our battles for us. All we have to do is be still and relinquish control, to loosen our grip on our own tiny little worlds. My Heavenly Father goes before me and fights for me. And for that I am so grateful.

Sorry for the lack of posting recently. My life has been consumed by first grade to say the least, along with preparing to move. One month from today we will be on day two out of 3 days on a journey to Virginia!  But in the meantime I have three more weeks of life with 6- and 7-year-olds that keep me on my toes! Here's a little peek at how our packing is going....

Apparently we need to be featured on "Hoarding: Buried Alive...Cat Edition". I found their...ahem*treasures* while moving the chair to search for boxes we stashed when we first moved in. Disregard several points that this picture makes....

A. That we have obviously not moved the chair to sweep in a while. 

B. That we have been enjoying Hershey kisses and Starbursts from the wrapper evidence.

So that's where my aquaphor has disappeared to! I paid some good money for that no-ordinary chapstick!

And another peek...

Moving for three days with cats brings up all sorts of things to ponder. For example, litter box. In an enclosed space. Delightful. 

Well, school and life have kept me from trying out new recipes for a while and I have kinda been stuck in a cooking rut. Until this week...Spring Break 2013 baby!!! My exciting week has included...doing school work, packing boxes, laundry, etc. Highlight of the week though, in all seriousness, has to be not getting out of pajamas or putting on makeup for days on end. Poor James. I have also had the time and energy to try out some new recipes, both of which I'd like to share here. 

Queso Smothered Orzo

From: http://www.plainchicken.com/2012/10/queso-smothered-chicken.html

For chicken:

1 bottle Lawry's Baja Chipotle 30 minute marinade

4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness

**The above chicken marinade is from the original recipe. For those of you with a grill...go for it! For those of us in a tiny apartment with a tiny mini-Weber grill and no charcoal (our only bag got soaked when left on the porch in a rainstorm...go figure.) I just cooked up some chicken in a skillet. Still good!

For orzo:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup orzo

2 cups chicken broth

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp chili powder

For queso:

8 oz Velveeta, diced

1 can Rotel

1. Pour Baja Chipotle Marinade over chicken and let marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Grill chicken  until done. (Or cook up in skillet!)

2. While chicken is grilling, prepare the orzo. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add orzo. Cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned.

3. Stir in chili powder, tomato paste, and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

4. Combine Rotel and Velveeta in a medium bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 30 second intervals until cheese is melted.

5. Place orzo on a plate, top with chicken, smother with queso. Devour!

---------------------------

This next recipe made me never ever want to eat jarred pasta sauce again!!! Who am I kidding...I know I will but I am totally head-over-heals obsessed with this sauce! I was practically licking my bowl after my second helping. A side of bread to completely sponge off the sauce sticking to the side of your bowl is a MUST. Move over Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce...this sauce is truly the boss!

Roasted Pepper and Basil Pasta

From: http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/2012/08/butta-la-pasta.html

1 lb. penne pasta (I used whole wheat)

4 cloves garlic

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained

1 cup fresh basil leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)

Roasted rotisserie chicken (optional)

*I didn't add the heavy cream - the sauce is perfect and creamy without it! I'm telling you I have an obsession with this sauce. It can do no wrong in my book, other than leaving you with some nice garlic breath. Also, I didn't add the chicken and my carnivore of a husband didn't miss it!

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil on medium heat and cook garlic until it is golden and fragrant.

3. In a food processor (or blender), pulse the olive oil and garlic until it makes a paste.

4. Add red peppers, basil leaves, grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Pulse until it makes a thick sauce. 

5. Pour sauce over hot pasta and top with more cheese, if desired.

6. Become obsessed!

Where have you been all my life?

Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." 

I have never been a fan of tomato soup. Despite the fact that I am a fan of all things tomato (just not raw tomatoes themselves...or tomato juice...) the idea of plain tomato soup in theory seemed unappealing. Well, I watched my husband pine for canned tomato soup during the holidays (somehow he had already eaten lunch each time his sister heated up some of this coveted soup for her own meal and resorted to just watching her sip the steaming red liquid. That makes him sound creepy when in actuality it wasn't. Moving on.) After observing his strong desire for tomato soup I decided to take pity on this man and cook him up some homemade tomato soup. I also decided that I too would partake in a bowl. And that bowl has changed my entire perspective on tomato soup. Why did no one tell me what I was missing all these years??? This soup is creamy heaven, in part due to the little touch of heavy whipping cream. It also has just the right hint of heat thanks to a pinch of red pepper flakes. I paired it with a twist on a grilled cheese and did toasted cheesy french bread to sop up some of that deliciousness. Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Soup

From: Simply Suppers by Jennifer Chandler

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 (28-oz.) cans whole tomatoes with juice

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

4 cups chicken stock\

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper

1. In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, warm the oil until hot. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the whole tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon or fork. Add the oregano, thyme, and sugar, and stir to combine. Pour in the chicken stock and stir to combine. Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.

3. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Whisk in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

**If you don't have an immersion blender (that would be me...I need a few more years in the kitchen before I would feel worthy of an immersion blender), puree the soup in a regular blender!

Bon Appetit! Serves 4 to 6.


Here's a look at some little Christmas items I made for my students, teachers, and room mom this season. Each one was very cost-effective and pretty simple to make!

Clear goody bag, red and green M&Ms, ribbon, scrapbook paper for tag

Candy canes, ribbon, scrapbook paper

Plastic jars or containers (I found mine at the Dollar Tree), peppermints, ribbon, scrapbook paper

Starbucks gift card and scrapbook paper = quick and easy room mom gift!

Turkey Break

Psalm 100:4 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

From: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/11/crock-pot-chicken-taco-chili-4-pts.html

1 onion, chopped

1 16-oz. can black beans

1 16-oz. can kidney beans

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce

10 oz package frozen corn (I used a can)

2 14.5-oz. cans Rotel

1 packet taco seasoning

1 Tbsp cumin

1 Tbsp chili powder

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

Chili peppers, chopped (optional)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I omitted)

Combine all ingredients (except chicken and cilantro) in the bottom of your crock pot. Place chicken breasts on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours (my crock pot runs hot I think and it did not take me nearly this long).  Half an hour before serving remove chicken and shred. Return to pot and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro....or a mountain of cheese and crushed tortilla chips like we did!

I am at the same time amazed and astounded that we are entering Thanksgiving Week! With only two and a half days of school this week I know it is going to fly by! One of my boys asked me if we would have to clean out our desks before we go on "Turkey Break"...so cute! And yes, your desk is like a black hole where pencil shavings, goldfish, unfinished papers, random assortment of trash, and who-knows-what-else go to die...not so cute! Here's a quick catch up of just a few of the things we have been doing recently...

In math we've been talking about skip counting and they made these precious ten frame skip counting turkeys. Believe it or not the orange one below, complete with the fabulous long eyelashes, was created by one of my boys! He wanted to make a girl turkey and was kind enough to supply her with the lashes every girl desires. 

Previously in math we had been studying patterns. They made some really cute pattern turkeys using four different kinds of patterns on the feathers but unfortunately I forgot to snap a pic. We also reviewed patterns using Sweetarts. There's no better way to get them excited for math than to pump them full of sugar at 9:00 in the morning! They had to use their sweetarts to create different patterns then record them using corresponding colored pencils.

We've also been super busy traveling the world in our history unit. The kids have been learning about different countries all over the world and recording a fact about the country and the flag in a passport (it actually looks like a real passport complete with their picture and info). To help with the concept of directions and maps we read "Rosie's Walk" and made these Rosie's with directional words...

We also made these awesome maps that made them totally understand concepts of state vs. country vs. continent. All along our traveling unit they would ask, "When are we going to study Texas?" Texas is a state, not a country. "When are we going to study Austin?" Austin is a city, not a country. Before we started I found our school on Google Earth. Then we slowly zoomed out so they could see our school, street, city, state, country, continent, world. Then we zoomed back in....all these concepts totally clicked! Then we started on our time-consuming projects...but it was definitely worth the time and effort! We started small and worked our way out, beginning with our school. The kids drew pics of our school, street, and different symbols of Texas. For the country, continent, and planet layers I supplied a little map for them to glue on and label. Sorry about the photo quality...

After we'd been traveling to all different countries, I decided that we would establish our own country. First we had to brainstorm everything a country would need. I was amazed at some of the actually realistic ideas they had! Transportation, money, stores, roads, etc. This was a really great time to stretch their brains and really make them aware of so many parts of our country and how it is run. It also hit a ton of Social Studies standards that are sometimes tricky to fit in. From there we had to name our country. To practice voting, we created our list of names and took an anonymous vote. Surprise, surprise, our country was named Aggie. That's what I get for living in Aggieland! Although, "Sebestaland" was a close second :) Then I put the kids on four different committees: the Flag Committee, National Symbols Committee, Rules and Laws Committee , and Leadership Committee. I love some of the rules and qualifications of a leader they brainstormed! It was a really neat time too because every committee member had to agree on whatever they were working on before putting it on the paper. Since creating our country we've also talked a lot about goods and services (the kids made "Goods Road" and "Services Street" to put in our country) and needs and wants. Needs and wants came at a perfect time as we focus on being thankful around this time of year!  

Finally, to prepare for our Thanksgiving party on Wednesday, we made these "I am thankful for..." placemats that will be laminated and set out on their desks. I set out pre-cut turkey bodies (which James pointed out looked like a drumstick when turned on its side) and all different scrapbook and construction papers. The kids had free reign in creating their turkeys and I love how different they all turned out! It was so cute to see their creativity shine. Some kids really went all out but I thought this little guy was so precious and simple....

Happy Thanksgiving!