Day 195 - Money for Miracles

We kicked off the Money for Miracles drive today.  The funds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society which is dear to my heart.  My long time friend Paul was diagnosed with lymphoma several years ago and it's been a much rougher ride then either of us anticipated.  Should have sent a reminder email to my homeroom kids so I'm happy to have anything but. . .I'm hoping for more on Thursday.

Day 194 - Eating Healthy

For the past month, I have been trying to cut down on bad carbohydrates, especially sugar.  I don't ordinarily eat much meat so it's been different to eat quite a bit of protein.  It's been especially challenging to cut back on fresh fruit because of the sugar content.

I decided to do some cooking because this was the view out my front window most of the day. . . starting to think about building an ark.

Whipping up a pot of chili isn't rocket science. This recipe is from the South Beach Diet and it's pretty healthy.  I made it with very lean ground beef but you could easily create a vegetarian version by substituting a third (and perhaps a fourth) type of bean.

First you brown the ground beef with half the chili powder (I put it all in) and the cayenne pepper.

Remove the meat and add chopped onion, green pepper (I substituted an orange one as I rarely buy green ones), minced garlic and oregano.

Cook over medium heat until the onion sweats a bit and softens.

Add black beans and pinto beans that have been drained and rinsed along with tomato sauce and diced  tomatoes.  I decided to use the rotel tomatoes with green chilies for more flavor.

Now add the meat back in and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

I decided to throw everything in my antique crockpot at this point and let it simmer for 4-5 hours.

After having a bowl for supper, I can say that it was pretty darn tasty.

Day 193 - Whisker

It was a fairly rainy Saturday so the critters and I stayed inside most of the day.  When the vacuum wasn't running, the pets were just hanging out as evidenced below.

Skye lounging in her favorite spot - the back of the couch

As I started neatening up the couch, look what I found. . .

One of Skye's whiskers

Anybody who has a cat has come across one of these.  They feel almost springy and they are actually pretty cool.

Check out the length of that thing!

Whiskers actually help cats negotiate tight places.  Here's hoping Skye doesn't get her head stuck in some hole.

Day 192 - Nothing Special

No catchy title today because there was nothing special about today. . .not that any other day typically includes anything really "special".

The beginning of my day placed me slowly climbing up the hill to the top of the Sammamish Plateau stuck behind not one, not two but THREE buses. The first was a Metro bus that often stops right smack in the middle of the road followed closely by two school buses.  On some days it gets even better when there's a garbage truck added into the mix.

The middle of my day involved my inbox filling with very long detailed messages typically requiring a speedy response, eating lunch at my desk and teaching a lesson I thought would go much smoother and faster.

The end of my day is best summed up in this picture.

It's 6pm on a Friday night and my car is literally the last car in the parking lot - pathetic

In an effort not to be a glass is half-empty gal (which I totally am), I did accomplish some things.  I made a number of notes on how I will revise today's lesson for next year to make it more effective.  I made up for my less than productive day by getting lots done between 4 and 6 pm.  This also meant, there was very little traffic so I flew home in no time.  Upon arriving home, I made myself an awesome herbed turkey and cheeze quesadilla with salsa verde.  In hindsight, probably should have taken a picture of that.

Day 191 - Technology Training

For as long as I can remember, we have had annual technology training requirements.  The great thing is that we get paid for this requirement.  This year, our training surrounds something called "Communicator".  This is supposed to be a communication tool between teachers and students/parents. Now I've had a very detailed website for a number of years so I'm hoping this won't prove complicated for me.

I did get to spend some time this afternoon "designing" my avatar.  Perhaps I'll post it once I finalize my choice.  These are some of the options I get to choose from.  Where the heck did that pony and those dogs come from because I don't remember seeing them.

Day 190 - Here Comes the Sun

Our current lesson involves teaching kids about the motion of Earth; specifically, how Earth moves in relation to the Sun and how that affects the shadow patterns we see throughout the year.  Several years ago I decided that the kids needed a more kinesthetic method to understand that the Sun doesn't really rise and set every day, it merely appears that way because Earth's rotation.  This post would have been so much better with video.  The whole thing was so funny to watch.

Students rotating their bodies counterclockwise past a giant
Sun while "Here Comes the Sun" plays in the background

Day 189 - Fat Tuesday "Tired Working Girl Style"

I've been putting in too many hours at work lately.  When I arrived home around 6:30 tonight and realized it was Fat Tuesday, I was instantly hungry for some New Orleans cuisine.  Unfortunately, the cupboard was nearly bare.

Had to settle for these. . .

Needed a little music to put me in the Big Easy

and I never get tired of this soundtrack