Ode to the Mongolian Grill

I have been meaning to tell you that we tried a new restaurant the other night. We don't do that very often because I am a creature of habit so I have to be in the right mood to do that. Since this is a break away from the norm, I decided to write my review here to tell you all about it.

OH...I also decided to be a bit creative.

Enjoy!

Dear Mongolian Grill,
How do I love thee? With all of your fresh veggies and various meats to satiate my waiting tastebuds. My eyes dance at the sight of your noodles all in a row, all noodles from which I make my selection. I smell your many various oils and sauces that I can mix and make my own, unique, yummy creation.

How I do love the way your grill sizzles when my yummy creation cascades down from my bowl onto the surface. The chef, he walks in circles as my meat and veggies grill in my very own sauce. How the delicious smells waft through the air. MMMMmmmmmm.......

How I do savor the first incredible bite of my own creation in my bowl....fabulously mine. Yummmmm. I never knew restaurant food could be so creative. Thank you, Mongolian Grill, for bringing out my inner Chinese Chef.
Love,
Me

Adult temper tantrums

We have been so busy in our happy little home. School started again...by school I mean college classes. Whenever that gets goin' again it takes a few weeks to settle into the routine. I have learned that I initially have a total breakdown over all the work it APPEARS that I will have to complete in a mere 5 month period. I begin throwing a temper tantrum, in my head...not literally, about the atrocities that have been inflicted upon me by this uncaring instructor. Inevitably, I drag my feet on getting started and fume over the work that I need to get done. And then, one day, I see that a classmate has completed an assignment and all of a sudden it's like the fox whistles have been blown. I am so dang competitive that, all of a sudden, I want to be first! I HATE it that others are already ahead of me in turning in assignments. So, this week I have been attempting to catch up AND surpass my classmates in completing assignments. Then, at the end of the term, I always feel a little bit sad that it's over. Is that what addiction feels like? If so, I think I am addicted to learning...

or is it winning?

Heath Ledger

I just read that Heath Ledger has been found dead in his apartment over on Kris's site. WHAAA???? My first thought was "Isn't he that really cute tough guy from "10 Things I Hate About You" and "A Knight's Tale?" I thought that there must be another Heath Ledger because he is really young and that couldn't be right. So...I looked it up and, yep, that's the guy. They are thinking it was a drug overdose or pneumonia. Whatever the case, I think it is really sad to see a 28 year old die and I feel really bad for his little girl. You can read more here.

The Mom Song

Thanks to my friend, Amy, for this link. This mom sings everything a mom says in a mere 2:55 seconds. I laughed and laughed. Enjoy!

Can Smarties be considered an occupational hazard?

Today at school I was teaching a vocabulary lesson around words that are needed to understand the Reading story this week.

blah blah blah....

Anyway, I took out my massive bag of smarties and announced that I had a smartie for any student could use one of the words in a sentence. (I also had a few other yummies in there in case they really didn't want a smartie.)

So, a student correctly used the word "opponent" in a sentence, and I dutifully tossed him a smartie. He asked if he could please have on of the other candies in the bag. I said "Sure, toss yours back to me!" I put up my hand as he geared up to "toss" it back.

He launched it at me and I MISSED the pass. (Seriously, smarties can be slippery little suckers in their wrappers.) I missed in front of an entire group of fifth graders. Then, in that split second while I was processing that fact...the unthinkable happened.

The airborn smartie hit me smack in the middle of my forehead. How many fifth graders can honestly say that they hit their teacher in the head with a smartie? During class? Let me tell ya, Not. Very. Many. But, you know me, I go the extra mile to make things memorable in the classroom.

At first the kids gasped and waited for my response. I burst into laughter and they did too. We just laughed and laughed about it.

I don't know if they learned the meaning of the word "opponent", but hopefully they learned the meaning of grace and and a lesson in being able to laugh at yourself.

What a day at the office. Or is it at the "classroom?" Hmmmm...

Oh Brother...

This is a call out to all of you who would be willing to pray for my brother Leon. He had a heart attack on Saturday and had two arteries blocked and had to have a stint put into one of them. I know he and his family would appreciate any prayers you would lift up on his behalf. Thanks.

Friday Five

I have had friends in the past answer the friday five questions each week and this looked fun today. So...here are my answers to this week's list:

1. Do you like looking at stars?
Yes I do. I think they are one of God's glorious creations and we are blessed to have them!

2. Who do you say "I love you" to?
Brothers, sisters, mother, nieces, nephews, husband...whew...lots of people!

3. Did you say "good night!" to anyone last night?
Yes I did. I say "good night!" to Drew every night.

4. When is the last time you felt blue?
Hmmmm...I don't remember. It's been a while since I truly felt blue.

5. Tell us one of your dreams:
I dream of spending a week or two on a tropical island in the Caribbean. (I don't that that's what this question is asking, but that's how I am going to answer it anyway!)

What are your answers? Post them in the comments section!

Back to School, part two

Yesterday was Back to School day...again...

When it's back to school time in August, there is a certain excitement about it. You know, new year...new clothes...new haircuts...new pencils, books, and paper. The kids are excited. The teachers are excited and, I'm told, the parents are excited. (The jury is still out to confirm that fact!)

The back to school time in January is marked with a quite a different feeling. A sort of, you know, tired feeling.

It's marked with the same things...new year...new haircuts...new pencils, books, and paper. But, the excitement just isn't the same. Everyone is still recovering from the activities of the holidays and so. very. tired.

Maybe someday I will find a way to make the back to school in January as exciting as the one in August. Until then, can we all just take a nap?

Comments

I have been informed that the comments section of this blog was difficult to use so I made some changes. You can now make comments even if you are not a "member" with a google account. You can leave a comment as an anonymous OR using a nickname for yourself. I used to have it set that way, but Blogspot must have reset some of those settings. Please feel free to try out the comments section now!

Seasonal Photos

It's been a while since we have posted some photos so I thought I would show you a few that I have recently taken. We woke up on the morning of December 26, 2007 and saw the views you see below from our front porch. I grabbed my camera and went outside in an attempt to capture the images.

This one is directly across the street from us. The camera was straight, the trees are leaning.

This photo is the corner by our home. It's an old tree that is always full and beautiful when it has leaves. I just love the way the snow blanketed this tree. Isn't it beautiful?