Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Impact Back to School Shopping
A Weekend Away
Thursday, July 23, 2009
IMPACT
Wedding Cake
Monday, July 20, 2009
Official
Friday, July 17, 2009
Eating Good In The Neighboorhood
This is strange because I come from a legacy of wonderful cooks. My mother and grandmother are spectacular in the kitchen! I was wondering why I had not inherited this trait.
Ryan and I received many wonderful cookbooks as wedding gifts. One is particularly great for me because it explains what a 'pinch of salt' and a 'dash of sugar' actually are.
This is beneficial because whenever I call my grandmother and ask for cooking instructions, she is great to give them to me, but sometimes I am left wondering what she meant when she said 'a little bit of milk and a pinch of salt.' How much is a little bit? That could really vary between people! But now I have an index for these questions.
Another of the books is called Peace Meals. It has exquisitely beautiful pictures of the food, and being the aesthetic person that I am, this encourages my cooking gene.
So, all of that being said, I have taken a leap of faith and tried out several new recipes. As of yet, I haven't even purchased one single can of tuna since we got married, and I only bought one box of Macaroni and Cheese--as a back up or on a comfort food night.
On a typical evening, Ryan grills whatever type of meat we are having on our awesome indoor counter top grill, and I make the side dishes.
Last night was our best creation yet. We had Grilled Tilapia with a wonderful lemon-creole seasoning that Ryan came up with, Home-made Mashed Potatoes (thanks for the Milnot, Mom!), and a Champagne Feta Cheese Asparagus and Tomato Salad. I included a picture for proof!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Impact
Clementine is an imaginative, creative, artistic 3rd grader with a huge heart. Her creativity and imagination often cause Clementine, and her parents, a great deal of grief. She is constantly in the principals office for her impulsive behavior. Her best friend Margaret is one year older than Clementine and the complete opposite. Margaret is neat, organized, and never gets in trouble.
One day, Margaret gets glue in her hair. Clementine decides that she will help her cut it out. Something goes horribly wrong, and before the two realize what they are doing, Margaret is without any hair. To make her feel better, Clementine cuts all of her hair off too! The story unfolds from there, taking unexpected twists, turns, and trips to the principals office for Clementine.
The story is about unconditional love, friendship, and Clementine having the courage to be herself. The 5th graders loved this book! We took turns reading out loud, brainstorming solutions to Clementines woes, comparing and contrasting Margaret and Clementine, and enjoying this great story!
This week, we talked about different kinds of literature and read a different style each day.
Monday we took a literary journey to Africa! The kids imagined an animal never before discovered that they had come into contact with on an African safari. They described the animal using different adjectives and gave it a clever name. We had a gorilla mixed with a dog, called a Gog. There was a lizard crossed with a butterfly, and dragon mixed with a lion, and other creative animals found deep in the jungles of Africa.
We then read a book of tales from long, long ago in Africa. It was called Misoso (Mi-SAW-SAW)
The kids really got into reading this one. Our goal was to read it like an African storyteller might read it around the campfire.
Tuesday we rapped. Yes, that is right, rapped. You can imagine the 5th graders entertainment with my rapping. We read a book called Yo, Hungry Wolf by David Vozar.
It was a nursery rap about Little Red Rappinghood, The Three Little Pigs, and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The kids were anxious to read this one aloud! After reading all three stories, we made up our own rap to the Three Little Pigs. It was hilarious!
And today was poetry.
This is an assortment of children's poetry resembling that of Shel Silverstein. The kids LOVED this! They each read several poems out loud to the entire group. The crazier and sillier, the better.
I had a really great time working with these kids. They were so good and so much fun. Today wrapped it up for this session, but the next session begins on Monday and I am already looking forward to it!