Snow Day Power Outage!

We had a freezing rain day today. Which was actually kinda legit at a few points. Unlike Friday's "snow" day.

It was wonderful anyways. Sleep-in, company over, breakfast & lunch at home...

And then, about 2:30, the power went out. Long enough for me to realise how stone-cold bored I'd be if it stayed off all night. And how beautifully quiet it is with nothing running. I'da been fine if I had a book I've never read.

Started book five in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but as usual I need to take a break after a couple of chapters to let my brain rest. (Ok, I took a nap...)

Then I listened to the radio for news on the power outage. They  said to check the internet for closings. Like the internet was working during a POWER OUTAGE people!? (Unless you've upgraded to a 'smart' phone, of course.)

And this:

I got to use candles (thanks for this one, Rink!)

Radio news updates on power outage, journalling, and texting others about power outage.

See that radio in that there picture? That is gold, my friends. Check out my giftlist tab to find out where you can get yours. (Eton Corp, I take cash, you're welcome for the advertisement.) Anyways, it's wind-up & solar powered, has a flashlight (great for windowless basement apartment bathrooms during power outages.) And it has wireless radio (great for listening to news updates on the same.)

By any other name...

Think about this: if you had to change your name tomorrow, would you still be you?

Of course. Simply because you're used to going by one name does not mean that you would cease to exist if you were given a new name. Likely by the witness protection agency. In which case your life would change so maybe you would cease to exist as is. But not because your name changed.

My name is Emily. My parents thought it was a great, rather unusual name.
Then they posted my birth announcement. In the same paper that two other sets of parents announced the birth of their Emilys. They'd thought the same thing.

And thus began the era of the Emily's. Sure, I was the only one in my class at school with the name.

But now? I can't wander into a store and pick up something on the shelf to look over without hearing every so often
"EMILY! Don't TOUCH!"
I'd jump and sheepishly begin to place the object back, whipping my head around to find the source of the voice.

Only, the voice was usually an aisle over, reprimanding little toddler Emily for attempting to touch shiny sparklies in the glasswares section.

Toddler Emilys abound, believe you me. The name was top of the charts for at least 5 years running, and hovered up there for many more than that. It's only just now sinking & being replaced by similar, but different, Emmas and Emilias. My cousin named her daughter Emmalee. I like that better. Much more original.

And certainly better than "Bella" which is sopping up attention by parents everywhere, unfortunately due to the Twilight drama these days.

But back to Emily. Do ya know how many different nicknames can stEM from the name?

Emily
Em
Emmy
Aunty Emmy (Serena version #1)
Aunty Emily (Serena version #2)
Aunty Em
Embily (High school memories...)
EmbilyB (...turned into an e-mail address.)
Ellamy (back when my nephew couldn't say it properly.)
Aunty Ellamy (when he learned to tag aunty on the front.)
Emberly
Emerson
Emster
Meem
Me-me (by myself, as a toddler.)
Emmer
Eminem (unfortunately.)
M
M&M's (ewwww.)
Ematree
Ematwee
Emerly
Emergency
And multiple others that I'm not thinking of at the moment.

I am well -loved.

But you know what? My favourite is simple "Em" - I always catch it the first time a new friend uses it. Sometimes I'm a little upset by people who use it too prematurely, but usually it's a thrill.

It's especially special when used by the people I love most of all.

Thank you, people.

Why I blog

Why do I blog?

You might notice that there's a wide assortment of "stuff" on here (heavy on the recipes lately.)

So what's my purpose?

Well,

1. I like lots of stuff. 
2. People ask me to share stuff (pictures, recipes.)
3. I like to journal about stuff.
4. Blogging with pictures makes it easy to put down memories of stuff for the future.
5. I don't want to forget good stuff or favourite stuff.
6. Sharing stuff which is important to me.
7. Family & friends far away can keep up with stuff.

I think I'm over that word now. You can stop reading.

Wanna see pictures?

I made cheese pizza. I used homemade bread dough for the crust. Cottage cheese was a poor idea though. Not flavourful enough. The rest was delish!

The girls viewing a particular dress.... :)

next time you're over for dinner...

...remind me to make these.

They sound good, and like she says: MUCH better than the store-bought kind. Or worse yet: the fast food kind. Blech.

And I'll serve them with sweet potato fries...

Overdrive

So last night I was thinking I'd write me up a blog post. Then it got too late, so I just went to bed instead. Past midnight. Again.

I'm telling myself that tonight, tonight I will go to bed early. I doubt it will happen. Too much is going on around here for sleep. Sleep? What's that? Why, I'd much rather plan out morning staff devotions in my dreams and mark Bible assignments (before the next ones come along) and write tests for my World Issues course (because unlike last semester, this course has NOTHING prepped.) And then my mind wanders to "what groceries do I need to get for food lab this week?" And then it moves on to Kentucky. I have to get the devotions all set up for the week, and photocopy. Gotta photocopy lotsa forms. And then wonder "Is the send-off good to go? I should check in with the people who are on-duty for planning it..." And then there's Japan.

Oh yes, did I mentioned I am for sure-zees headed to the other side of the northern hemisphere this summer?
Leading a Faithworks team, lotsa working alongside Japanese Christians, and hopefully sushi & tea.

And that's how my mind works. Overdrive.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Of course, I do have other, far more exciting things to think on too.
That's why my weekend was a good one, folks.

Because I have friends and I know people. And they are pretty special and quite lovely.

(I also went snowboarding. And we actually had some real winter. 2 hours north of here.)

Home-made Biscuits

We Canadians don't typically do biscuits. Which confuses me.

I mean, we take on [often] cheesy, crummy American movies & music, and Tim Horton's has even adopted American cup sizes (a small is now medium-sized - what?!?) But we won't borrow the tradition of biscuits with our meals?

No one ever said we were bright. We DO allow the US to affect a lot of our social & economic development (digression?)

I think Canada needs a good biscuit recipe.

But I'm a little reluctant to share this recipe so quickly. I mean, it's my go-to "secret" for pretty much a lot of things.

After church on Sundays there's often a friend get-together. At someone's house. Sometimes (a lot of times) we all bring food to contribute. If I have nothing else, I whip up a batch of these. Because I always have the ingredients on hand and they're super quick & easy!

Also, I top my chicken pot pie with these. Best move I ever made (I was too lazy to make pie crust.) Just make the fillings, pop these on top, & bake as usual.

Baking Powder Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• (½ tbsp parsley - optional)
• 1 tsp salt (or 1 tsp sugar, if you want them with something sweet.)
• ½ c. Butter or shortening or hard margarine
• ¾ c. Milk
• (cheese - optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 450°F
2. In medium bowl, mix flour, salt or sugar, baking powder, & (parsley). Cut in butter/shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions) until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk until dough leaves side of bowl (dough will be soft & sticky)
3. Place dough on lightly floured surface, Knead lightly ten times. Roll or pat ½ inch thick. Cut with floured 2-2 ¼ inch round cutter (or small coffee mug/glass). Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart for crusty sides, touching for soft sides. (Sprinkle with cheese.)

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Basically, you can spice these or sweet these however you like. 

Herb & garlic? No problem, just throw in your fave herbs and a bit of garlic powder.

Raisins? Sure, throw in what you'd like (these are called scones/tea biscuits if they're sweet.)

Down-south style?  Serve them warm & topped w/ sausage gravy.

I'm getting all sorts of ideas here. Oh my... I think I know what I'm whipping up when I get home from the "spa night" tonight! (Marsha won a package for all of her bridal party. Sweet!)

Or, maybe the promised storm will bring enough snow for a snow day, and I could whip them up tomorrow, after I sleep in but before I leave early for boarding.

 

Versatile [Oatmeal] Cookies

Funny Story: I got this recipe from a co-worker a few years back. She usually makes it with chocolate chips, I typically make it with raisins. Today, when we made it with the food & nutrition class, we made half the batch raisin and the other half chocolate chip. The teachers got one of each. My coworker asked for the recipe for the raisin one. "It's your recipe!" (Guess that tells ya how well the students made them!)

Funny Story II: I forgot to take pictures. Again.

That wasn't funny - but these are good!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients:
• 2 cups all purpose white flour
• 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound (1 cups) butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups raisins
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or spraying with vegetable shortening.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
4. Using a beater attachment and a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until creamy.
5. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Scrape bowl.
6. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and beat again. Scrape.
7. Turn mixer to low speed and add the flour and oats mixture a few cups at a time.
8. Add raisins and give it one final mix. Scrape the bowl good to make sure everything is blended well.
9. Using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon, measure out cookie dough and place on prepared sheets leaving some room between them to spread.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until slightly firm around the edges. Cookies will continue to bake even after you take them out of the oven.
11. Remove to cooling racks and cool completely before storing them in airtight containers.
12. Makes 25-30 warm, chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!
Variations:
• Oatmeal Scotchies Cookies: Substitute butterscotch chips for raisins.
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute chocolate chips for raisins.
• Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute chocolate chips for raisins and add 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
• Oatmeal Craisin Nut Cookies: Substitute craisins for raisins and add 1 cup chopped nuts, your choice.

Kentucky!!!!

In less than three weeks, we will have completed our first work day in Kentucky with the 2012 Faithworks SALTeam!

Can you say excited?? Cuz that's what I am!!!! Oh I love, love, LOVE this place on earth.

Last night, to celebrate Family Day, I had an impromptu party. There were seven of us girls at one point. And all of us but one had been to Kentucky. It was so great being excited together (not the whole time. We played Apples to Apples as well. And discovered that to some people, large mouth bass are sensual (or cuddly.) And to others, construction workers are irresistable (or dainty.) I handed out some help-line numbers in both cases :P)

Send-off is in less than TWO weeks! Contact one of us if you'd like to come :)

I'm already half-packed. Hold your comments. It's the work clothes bit that's packed. And these aren't the kinda work clothes I can get away with as a teacher. Unfortunately.

And...the people! Can't wait to spend time bonding with the team, and of course getting to see some of my favourite Kentuckians, and meet some new ones too!

As for the work? The work's great, but it's mainly the means to building new relationships. An excellent means, if you ask me.

Can't wait to visit my very favourite place on earth, once again!

Quite Convoluted

Some days, usually when there's nowhere to go & no one to see, my hair does something great.

Today...it went crazy. But in a good way. Hello curls!

I hate selfies. I usually take 20 before I give up & declare it to be 'good enough'.

Versatile Cookies

A friend requested a copy of this recipe again. It's the same one I made two weeks ago with my class. They loved it, everyone loves it, I'm not sure where it originally came from, but I've been making it for years. I call it versatile because you can mix anything into it.

With my class, these were chocolate chip cookies.
My personal favourite: white chocolate & macadamia
My brothers love multi-chip (choco, peanut, white, butterscotch etc.)
I've made white choco-cranberry, butterscotch-pecan, choco-walnut....

Pretty much, be creative!

Ingredients:

• ¾ c. sugar
• ¾ c. packed brown sugar
• 1 c. Hard margarine, softened
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ¼ c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1.5 c. total of a variety of mix-ins (choco chips, etc.)

Directions:

1. Turn oven on to 375 degrees
2. Mix sugars, butter, vanilla & eggs.
3. Mix in flour, baking soda & salt
4. Stir in mix-ins.
5. Using 2 dessert spoons, drop onto a cookie sheet (12 to a sheet)
6. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes until brown around just the edges. Remove to cool.

What A Wonderful Saviour!

Staff meetings this year are opened by reading consecutive passages from the book of Mark and then singing a verse out of the Book of Praise.

This morning we came to Mark 6: 30-44, titled "Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand."

" ³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹ Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

 ³² So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. ³³ But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

 ³⁵ By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

 ³⁷ But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

   They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages^[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

   ³⁸ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

   When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

 ³⁹ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³ and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand."

I've heard and read this story multiple times in my life. My mother read it to me out of the children's story Bible when I was a pre-school child. Bible classes in elementary school, sermons on Sundays, Bible study discussions...

And yet, today, reading it together with the staff I felt it more than I ever had.

Jesus had compassion.

He had compassion on his disciples - he drew them away to a quiet place to get rest.

He had compassion on those who showed up at the quiet place before they even got there.

He fed:  five thousand men.

Grown men, presumably.


It makes me feel emotional. I don't know how you can feel emotional. Emotions are feelings, right? So, I just hope you know what I mean.

And then we sang a verse of Hymn 63 (based on the Lord's Prayer.)

Verse 5:

"Give us this day our daily bread,
that we may from your hand be fed.
In all the work we need to do
remind us to depend on you,
not trusting creatures here below,
but you from whom all blessings flow."

Dessert Crepes

Easy. Delicious. Quick.

Did I mention delicious??

Everyone knows that crepes are easy to make. At least, I hope everyone knows, or they are missing out on an easy and deliciously versatile food opportunity.

This recipe I made with my students today. It turned out SO well. And looked pretty too. I'm going to have to remember to take photos.

Here's the recipe:

Dessert Crepes

Yield: 20 small crepes, or 10-12 large.

Ingredients:

• 2 c. all purpose flour
• 4 eggs 
• 1 c. milk

• 1 c. water
• 4 tbsp butter , melted.
• 2 squares baker's chocolate, shaved
• 2 cups frozen mixed berries, thawed 
• 2 c. prepared whipped cream

Directions:

• Whisk flour & eggs
• Gradually add milk & water
• Add  butter, beat until smooth
• Heat griddle/frying pan to medium-high heat. Scoop about ¼ c. of batter onto the hot surface with your ladle. Tilt pan to spread batter evenly. (Use 1/2 c. of batter for large crepes.)
• Cook for about 2 minutes, flip & cook another minute.
• Turn onto a plate & keep warm in an oven heated to 200 degrees.

To serve: Fill crepe with ice cream. Roll, top with light dusting of icing sugar, sprinkle with choc shavings, add a dollop of whipped cream and a spoonful of the mixed berries. Serve & enjoy!!! 

You can change this recipe however you'd like. 

Some ideas, you say? Well, :

- Add a dash of cinnamon to your batter and serve with ice cream & apple pie filling.

- Serve with maple syrup

- Toss some sliced chives or spring onion into the batter & serve with "Chinese" hot & sour soup.

Valentine's Eve

I made a mistake tonight.

I went shopping.

At the mall (where I'd hoped to find a Benix store & buy a pizza stone for school...forgetting that Stone Road is pretty much the only mall on the Canadian planet without a Benix.)

Sorry, where was I? Oh yes.

I went from work to the mall. And as I walked in the doors, there were two guys arguing over where to shop. That was my clue number one. Then, a few steps further, I glanced into Metalsmiths & saw a sales lady helping a guy choose out a necklace. Clue numero dos. Then I stopped into RW&Co & was browsing through the rack when I guy walked from outside straight up to the counter and asked for a gift certificate.

By then I'd clued in. Tomorrow is February 14. Lovers' Day. St. Valentine's Day.

I was aware that it was going on. I'd gone out to dinner on Saturday with a friend. We went early & still had to wait to be seated. And the Valentine's decor was a not-so-subtle hint. And Saturday night I was chatting with friends & we came to the conclusion that places were busy b/c it was Valentine's weekend. The Vow came out in theatres. Romdram always comes out for V-day. And I also have a friend coming over tomorrow so we can watch The Help and eat good food (in celebration of what she likes to call "Singles' Awareness Day" or S.A.D., for short.)

But after a long day at work, I hadn't quite clued in to the whole pre-v-day salesation I was going to run into on Monday the 13th. I figured it out.

After visiting Dollarama for some birthday favours - and being the only one standing in line without Valentine's themed something (I didn't even have anything red! OR pink!) - I decided this holiday, while good in theory, is over-commercialized. Instead of putting heart & thought into it, people were scrambling for tacky dollar-store cards to express their 'love.' Since when did heartfelt go out of style? (I suppose you can still write a heart-felt sentiment in a dollar-store card.)

And finally - why I still thought this was a good idea, I don't know - I went to Walmart. I had to pick up some groceries for school. By the time I got to the cashier's station the ice cream was soft and the frozen fruit mushy. Good thing the rest was a little hardier.

But good news, y'all!

I picked up supper at Cultures - delish. I had the grilled chicken & avocado sandwich with 2 salads. (Fruit. And veggie.) I'm pretty sure avocado is my new favourite food. LOVE it! And, it's sooo good for you! (In moderation. Always in moderation.)

And, I picked me up some flowers. Yellow tulips. I've been seeing tulips all over lately. And I love them. And there was this one-night only stand in the mall, run by what HAD TO BE people of Dutch background (they looked it.) And the tulips were only $4/bunch!!! You weren't gonna find a better deal anywhere else. V-day usually isn't a good time to find deals on flowers, but what the hey. I like treating myself to flowers every once in awhile. They make me happy :)

Pretty, right!?

Jammin'

So here I am...at home ON A SATURDAY!!!

Don't worry, I'm not ill. And I'm leaving tonight.

But, in the meantime, I am totally enjoying a smoothie & grapefruit, and cleaning this place up while jamming out to WOW worship while actual winter weather goes on outdoors!

Would you believe my Christmas tree & other decorations are still up?? I know. It's nearly mid-February. That's why, today, it's getting packed away for another season. {and done!}

My sink & counter this morning were piled HIGH with dishes. Now I can use my counter. Like, for actual baking or something. I might even make cookies...

And then there's the papers and junk. I keep all my receipts & stuff, pile 'em high on the desk for a couple months & then tackle the stack. It's easier than filing everything right away and having to sort through the files all the time to ditch old things. Speaking of the desk...it is NOT moving with me. And I am willing to give it to a good home. But you need strong arms to carry this thing out!

Would you believe I've half-packed for Kentucky too? Just the work clothes, mind. Had to sort through them anyways, and I'm trying to take just my small suitcase along this year, with my sleeping bag separate (last year I fit all my bedding into my suitcase too.)

And then the rest of my clothes got sorted, laundry folded, & I managed to empty drawers, baskets, wardrobes & closets of some excess clothing which I'll bring to the clothing exchange in a couple of weeks.

And now, after a lovely evening with Andrea, I'm headed to Hamilton to hang out.

(wow...this was like an all-day post. I've been writing it bit-by-bit since this morning.)

I like productive days. Hope yours was too!

Places

There are SO MANY places in this world I'd love to see. I'm a homebody with the travel bug.

I love my home. I love having a place to call mine to go home to every night. And, secretly, I even love having my own time. Just as long as there's not too much of it, you understand.

But traveling??? Oh yes please. Give me the guarantee that I'll go home sometime and we're good.

I have loved every time I've traveled so far. Whether for a weekend, or for 7 weeks, or somewhere in between, I love visiting. That might be key. I don't think I've ever gone a trip where it was all about what was there, rather than who was there. I'd be pretty pathetic at the whole "let's explore this new place all by myself!" I like to share my experiences. It's also cheaper to stay with people you know :)

The actual "trying to get there bit" can be boring, especially as I've done most of my traveling by myself - but usually there's new scenery (driving) or people to watch (flying.) The only thing that's sad is when I get motion sick. Airplane aisle seats & car front seats for me! But ferries? Don't even talk to me about ferries.

Some places I'd yet love to see:

• all 50 US states, and their major attractions.
• all the Canadian Provinces & territories - and the national parks
• the CN tower (yes, I've lived an hour away my entire life. No, I've never been up the tower.)
• Europe: I'd do this the backpack method. So if anyone wants to join me....
• France (Nice, and Paris of course: with Notre Dame, and the Louvre, and the Eiffel tower, and L'Arc du Triomphe, and Les Champs Elysees.)
• Switzerland (the Alps, Geneva)
• Italy (Florence - Dante's hometown & Rome. Also Cinque Terre & Venice.)
• And whatever else catches my eye. Do Britain/Scotland Ireland fit in this category too? If so, add those.
• Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland
• I don't know what it is but I'd LOVE to just explore & see the sights in these countries. 
• Australia & New Zealand
• Who doesn't want to see the sights & enjoy the weather?
• Africa: S. Africa, Tanzania, Mali, 
• I'd love to visit these places, mostly if there's some way in which I could work effectively alongside the people living there.
• Caribbean islands like St Lucia, Aruba, etc. Just not if I have to stick to resorts the entire time.
• India - to experience the culture.
• South-Eastern Asia. For the food and the culture...but I need to research these places better.
• Etcetera. Give me an opportunity to go somewhere new, and I will grab it. Kinda like this Japan thing. Hope it works out!

February Recipe: Creamy Tomato Soup

This recipe was a stand-by for me when I lived at my parents. I loved this soup, and therefore loved to make it. Unfortunately, I've gotten out of the habit since I moved out. Living on one's own means having to eat the entire pot of soup by oneself, and I haven't yet figured out a way to downsize it appropriately (or in a way that's worth the effort.)

So, now I've been resorting to heated V8. Nutritious, but not quite as delicious. And then I made this with my Food & Nutrition class again yesterday. They made it perfectly & I was won over once again.

This soup tastes best when made with home-canned tomato juice, but if you're not the type of person to have home-canned on hand (I'm not usually), then store-bought is just as well.

  Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. hard margarine (or butter)
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 large can/bottle of tomato juice (48 fl. oz/1.38L)
• 1 can of water (I use tomato juice container)
• 2 tsp beef bouillon
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• Saltine crackers
• Grated cheddar cheese.

Directions:

1. Melt butter over low heat in bottom of soup pot, stirring constantly.
2. Slowly add flour, stirring constantly, until you have a thick yellow paste (roux) in the bottom of your pot. Do not burn!
3. VERY slowly, add tomato juice a little at a time, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
4. Your soup will thin as you add the tomato juice, but if you add it too quickly, your soup will be lumpy.
5. Once it is thin enough that you are sure there are no lumps, add remaining tomato juice & water, stirring continually.
6. Add bouillon cubes, salt & pepper.
7. Turn heat to medium & stir constantly until the soup comes to a rolling boil.
8. Once soup boils, turn to low & add dried parsley
9. Serve with saltine crackers & grated cheese. Or, do as we did & serve alongside some baked mac'n'cheese!

Mmmmm.
We made this soup in class as part of this meal:
Theme: Kid-friendly.
Appetizer: Veggies & Lemon-Dill dip (I'll share the dip recipe at some point - I made it up one day when I ran out of the Victorian Epicure dip mix...)
Main Course: Baked Mac'n'Cheese & Creamy Tomato Soup
Dessert: Chocolate Chip cookies (also delish - the kids LOVED them :)

Summer Outlook

Oh, this summer's gonna be an interesting one.

And with all this gorgeous blue-sky, sunny-day kinda weather happening over here, I can't wait for it to arrive. That kinda sky with negative temperatures is rather a teaser. This whole winter's been like that, to be honest. I think we're getting an early spring this year.

I really shouldn't say that. I've been saying "It's finally winter!" every snowfall since December started, and every time it warms up & melts away. So if I start claiming an early spring, it might just give us blizzards and -35C through to the end of May.

Anyways...this summer.

Should things work out, there's a good chance I'll be travelling to Japan for a couple of weeks. Which would be soooooo awesome. Even though it's been far down on my list of places to see (mainly because I couldn't think of when I'd ever have a real chance to go) it'd be so neat to experience a new culture like that! And eat sushi in the sushi country itself :) And drink tea on yet another continent :)

But, the BIG trip, the one I've been hoping to take for over a year now, is working out!
Despite my initial thought that I'd be setting aside my planned "summer trip for 2012" and replacing it with an epic wilderness trip, it turns out that Mingan-Anticosti-Forillon is just the epic wilderness trip we were looking for. Yay!

It's gonna be a lot of kayaking (in my new kayak - woot!) and back-country camping and exploring/sightseeing some really unique Canadian landscapes in the mouth of the St Lawrence River.

Anticosti Island is right in the mouth of the St Lawrence, and isn't a huge tourist destination, but it's got gorgeous cliffs & sunsets & wilderness areas with wildlife everywhere. I read a Canadian Geographic article on it when I was in uni & I've wanted to visit ever since.

Mingan Archipelago National Park is on the north side of the St Lawrence. It's got islands, monoliths, rare birds, barrenland, etc. It's a really unique place. My students have presented on this one in geography class a few times and every time again I want to go.

Then there's Forillon. It's more of a tourist destination, with awesome coastal hiking trails & great overlooks, as well as a bunch of lighthouses.  It basically called "The Jewel of the Gaspe" - and I think that says it all.



Anyways... if you'd like to join us, I'd love another girl to come along!!!

Solution

Solutions to dread:

1. Cadbury cream egg minis. (Now out for Easter.)
2. New bottle of essie nail polish in lovely red.
3. Dinner: Popsicles made with real fruit (fruit & veggies portion), oven fries (grains & starches), ice cream (dairy.)
4. Warmth, shower, naptime!

I'll let you know if its a good solution!
So far, I just feel a headache from the chocolate :S.

Through the Looking Glass

Have you ever looked ahead and just dreaded the next couple of weeks?
Without any good reason?

I'm in that stage right now. And I'm trying to think of possible reasons. Because when you have reasons for feelings of dread, you can attack them & get them gone. Far gone.

This is what I've come up with:

1. It's the start of the new semester, I have challenging curricula in 3 of 4 courses that I teach this semester. And because of all the work for second semester, I never got to enjoy a moment of peace & celebration. Instead, it was headlong plunge into challenging curricula, and I'm still not ready. And yes, this is all one thing. It's all interconnected.

And that's all I've got. And I've got my plan, and I'm getting it done, which is usually all it takes to dispel the dread. But it's not going. I'm going over the other usual reasons, but they don't work either.

Shoot. This week & next week, get gone, will ya?

Cause # 2: Faithworks

Faithworks is a cause very near & dear to me, and one that you can support in a way that doesn't involve your pocket book (though it could!)

James 2:18 "But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." 

I'm actually on the Faithworks committee - I'm the secretary as well as a Kentucky SALT trip leader. And this is one committee that I don't want to give up any time soon.

Faithworks is a sub-committee of the Canadian Reformed World Relief Fund (CRWRF). As a committee, we run short-term service trips. There's a lot more to it - paperwork, evaluations, meetings, etc.

But here's where you can support us:

1. Prayer - for us as a committee, but also for our SALT trip members and our partner organizations - that all of us can praise God in our deeds
2. Join a SALTeam! Look for our upcoming trips & application deadlines. Find a contact form on our website or e-mail us (servewithfaithworks @ gmail . com.)
3. Support a team member - look for bulletin announcements, contact us, there are lots of ways to get to know the people who are going on these trips to serve & learn. 
4. Become a committee member - we're looking for a couple more right now, in fact.

Students Sayings II - The GSV

Geography.

These kids weren't quite as funny, not like last year's class. (Probably a good thing, considering what's considered funny is also often wrong!)

However, there was this little gem:

"Convectional precipitation is the mix of water, wind and fossil fuels in precipitation."

And then the multiple choice winner: (student selection in bold)

Q: People are able to live further apart today but still work together because of the:
       a) Car
       b) Computer
       c) Internet
       d) All of the above
       e) None of the above
(Well, how then? Certainly not by teleportation!)