Daybook

For today Monday, February 22, 2010

Outside my window ... Snow, again! Looks sort of pretty right now, but it is big, heavy, wet snow.

I am thinking... very little actually.

I am thankful for... peace and quiet. Tony stayed at his sister's last night.

From the learning rooms ... still learning about gardening. I think I may have worked out how to start my seeds indoors (I don't get much natural light in my house)

From the kitchen... I think chicken soup. Sly is sick.

I am wearing... jeans and a sweatshirt.

I am creating... socks

I am going... have to go back out in the yucky to pick the dog up from the vet. He is having his 21 toe removed.

I am reading... a knitting mystery. Julius Caesar for work.

I am hoping... for nothing actually.

I am hearing... snow falling.

Around the house... the never ending laundry and dishes

One of my favorite things... Winter Olympics.

A few plans for the rest of the week: watching the Olympics and knitting socks.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

I haven't taken any pictures. I need to find the old camera.

EDIT

I had to add this video as soon as I saw it.



Happy knitting (and cooking)!

Daybook

For today Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Outside my window ... Snow

I am thinking... about dinner, I will be posting more recipes this week.

I am thankful for... a hubby who washes dishes.

From the learning rooms ... to budget my time.

From the kitchen... Pork chops and cabbage (recipe tomorrow), Whole Wheat Buttermilk Bread, Apple Cake (recipe soon).

I am wearing... jeans and a grey sweatshirt.

I am creating... socks

I am going... continue cooking.

I am reading... a new knitting mystery. Nothing special, but fun.

I am hoping... tomorrow at work will be as good as yesterday at work.

I am hearing... NPR.

Around the house... the never ending laundry

One of my favorite things... Winter Olympics.

A few plans for the rest of the week: watching the Olympics and knitting socks.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

I haven't taken any pictures. When dinner is done, I plan to have pictures to go with the recipes.

Happy knitting (and cooking)!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Bread

This is a bread machine recipe, but it would also make a yummy single loaf bread using traditional bread baking methods.

1/3 cup warm tap water
1 T honey
1 T white flour
2 t yeast

Place these ingredients into the bottom of bread machine and let them sit for about 5 minutes. This is my bread machine adaptation of "proofing" the yeast to get it ready to make bread. Basically, this process wakes the yeast up (warm water), feeds it (honey), and gives it something to do (flour).

1 cup buttermilk (room temp)
1 T oil (I use either canola or olive)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup white flour
1 additional T honey
1 t salt
1 egg

In the order listed, add remaining ingredients to the bread machine. I use the basic bread setting for my machine. Let the machine do its magic.

Daybook

For today Monday, February 8, 2010

Outside my window ... Bright and sunny, but don't be fooled. There's a storm brewing!

I am thinking... that I really don't want to drive to work tomorrow.

I am thankful for... a healthy dog. Bud gave us a scare last week. He was urinating blood. He went back to the vet this morning, and he is doing well. He likes that mommy is giving him lots of treats to hide his meds.

From the learning rooms ... square foot gardening.

From the kitchen... I used the left over veggies from the super bowl veggie tray (about a cup of broccoli, cherry tomatoes --cut in half, a half a cup baby carrots, and maybe a stalk or two of celery), left over salsa (about 1/4 a cup), a bag of lentils, roughly 4 cloves of garlic, 4 cups of water, and salt, pepper, and cumin (lots). I am going to stick something in the bread machine to go with this amazing, cheap soup.

I am wearing... jeans and a light blue sweatshirt.

I am creating... socks

I am going... grade test, spin a little.

I am reading... a knitting mystery. Nothing special, but fun.

I am hoping... that my drive won't be too bad. I know they won't cancel school.

I am hearing... not much.

Around the house... a few dishes and laundry

One of my favorite things... a truck with 4 wheel drive.

A few plans for the rest of the week: trying to stay out of the snow.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...



This is why we all want to work at Knitpicks!

Happy knitting!

That Daybook thingie

Simple Daybook

For today Wednesday January 20, 2010

Outside my window ... Melting snow, but there is still a whole lot.

I am thinking... about my plans for the Knitting Olympics.

I am thankful for... space heaters

From the learning rooms ... that working part time doesn't necessarily give me extra time to do things I want to do.

From the kitchen... left over ham and beans. Very yummy ham and beans, if I do say so myself.

I am wearing... gray sweats

I am creating... socks

I am going... eat popcorn, knit, watch TV. I am not very ambitious today.

I am reading... Julius Cesar, I start teaching it tomorrow.

I am hoping... that my career path settles down soon.

I am hearing... Sly eating. Can you tell I don't listen to the radio or watch TV much? I love a quiet house.

Around the house... a few dishes and laundry, and one very scary dirty bathroom

One of my favorite things... ham and bean soup even with all the farting.

A few plans for the rest of the week: if the snow melts, riding the Harley.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...




My plans for the Knitting Olympics.

Happy Knitting!

Simple Woman's Daybook

Simple Daybook

For today Monday January 11, 2010

Outside my window ... Snow, and more falling. We have had a lot of snow this past week. There are several feet on the ground right now. It has been cold, but it was colder last year.

I am thinking... not much really. Today is a slow day. A little house work, a little grading for tomorrow.

I am thankful for... automatic washers

From the learning rooms... Still spinning

From the kitchen... Sly has requested Corn Chowder

I am wearing... long underwear -- my winter PJs

I am creating... a clean house

I am going... to take my Christmas tree down, finally.

I am reading... One of the knitting mysteries. I started it at work Friday during SSR (silent sustained reading)

I am hoping... I am too content right now for hope.

I am hearing... nothing.

Around the house... hung new draft blocker curtains, need to vacuum

One of my favorite things... oatmeal

A few plans for the rest of the week: mostly work -- maybe go out with Sly on Wed (we are both off).

Here is picture for thought I am sharing... it has been a while since I posted a picture of Buddy.

Happy Knitting!

Simple Woman's Daybook

Simple Daybook

For Today

January 6, 2010

Outside my window ... snow, but a clear, sunny day. We had a lot of lake effect, so the ground is buried under a couple of feet. At least another foot will be here by Saturday.

I am thinking... my mom's birthday, today.

I am thankful for... my mom

From the learning rooms... lesson plans are on going....................

From the kitchen... chili, corn bread, hot things

I am wearing... long underwear, tee shirt, sweater, wool socks. These are my winter PJs

I am creating... ply some yarn, and make soap!

I am going... to remember my first day at Bendix for the rest of my life!

I am reading... The Knitter's Almanac. Thinking I might spend the year knitting with EZ.

I am hoping... that my second day at Bendix will be better than my first.

I am hearing... nothing.

Around the house... laundry.

One of my favorite things... a nice cup of tea.

A few plans for the rest of the week: work, avoiding driving in the snow too much, knitting, spinning, reading, and making soap.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing... the front of my house.

Happy Knitting!

A New Years update

I really don't want to do a list of resolutions. In a week, I feel guilty for breaking one of them, and forget the rest of the year that I made them. I do, however, want to just recap what I have done this past year.

Actually, I have to say, that the past two years have been like one really long year. Starting in 2008, I began the Transition to Teaching program at Indiana University South Bend. The idea behind "T2T" is to help people who already have a Bachelor's degree to change careers and become teachers. It was an extremely intensive program that took up a great deal of my energy. Last year at this time, I had just finished a semester of working full time at Boston Middle School during the day as a Remediation Assistant while taking 10 credit hours at night. I was also getting ready to student teach.

Student teaching was an interesting experience, and I have already blogged about it, so I won't go into all that again. After earning my teaching license, I began my job search. Looking for work was challenging, but I was able to find a temporary position at Griffith Middle School. I am thankful for the chance to work with the students, and I am very sad that I will not get to spend the rest of the year with them.

In December, I started looking for work again, which is a difficult time for a teacher to look for work. I applied for several jobs, and I had lots of interviews, but none of those worked out for me. Then, out of the blue, I got a call from South Bend Community Schools. I had put in an application over the summer without getting a call. The interview went very well, and I was excited about working in the school, so I was thrilled when I was offered the job!

So, starting this year, I will be teaching high school English (several grade levels and classes) at the Bendix School in South Bend. I am pleased to be working in a district closer to home (GMS was an hour commute). I am hopeful that I will continue to work in South Bend.

What are my other plans for the New Year? Well, knitting has been put on hold for the past two years. I would really like to finish some projects that are bigger than hats. I got a new spinning wheel for Christmas, and I am already addicted to making my own yarns! A couple of years ago, I had a small garden, and I would like to have a garden again this year. Even though we sold the RV, I still have tons of camping equipment, and I hope to take several trips this year. DH got a Harely, and I hope the bike will feature in our summer plans.

Above all, I want to be safe, happy, and healthy. I wish the same for all of you.

Happy Knitting!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

I found this idea for simple, basic questions to answer on a weekly basis as a kind of running journal and glimpse into daily life. While I have no wish to fully participate in the blog, I will provide a link so my readers know where I got the idea.

For Today

December 29, 2009

Outside my window ... snow, but a clear, sunny day.

I am thinking... about how awesome the universe really is.

I am thankful for... my wonderful husband who is picking Greek take out (I love Greek food).

From the learning rooms...the Big Bang.

From the kitchen... leftovers from Christmas dinner. I am thinking a bean and ham soup would be nice.

I am wearing... rose PJs

I am creating... lovely yarns with my new spinning wheel.

I am going... to start my new job in less than a week!

I am reading... textbooks that I will be teaching from.

I am hoping... that my career path with settle soon.

I am hearing... Trooper grunting.

Around the house... laundry.

One of my favorite things... I love this video clip:

A few plans for the rest of the week: Creating lessons plans for new job that starts next week. I will be teaching part time at the Bendix School is South Bend. It is an alternative high school for at risk students, and I will be teaching English 10 and 12 and a GQE (graduation qualifying exam) class.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing... I added the video, so I am not adding a photo here.

Happy Knitting!

Some Really Awesome Kids!

I will miss these kids a great deal!

Bad, bad, bad Blogger

In my defense, I have been very busy the past few months. Being a first year teacher is time consuming. I think I am hitting my stride though. I hope to know this week if I have a regular job or not. I will keep you all posted.

Speaking of keeping anyone who still looks at this blog posted, I have a goal to write something, anything at least every three days this month. I know that people try and hit everyday in November, but that won't be happening.

So, let's just see how I do, and forgive me if I fall silent again.

Happy knitting!

I accepted a job

It was a long search, but I have accepted a job teaching 8th grade Language Arts. Right now, the job is temporary, but there is a real good chance that the job will become permanent. Sadly, I will be filling in for someone who is young and very sick.

I am happy with the school district. I accepted the job because of the small town feel, the clean and friendly town, and I really liked all the people I met in the school. I am making arrangements to see the classroom and pick up my curriculum materials. I am so excited.

Happy Knitting!

Happy Fourth

And Happy knitting!

Today is my birthday!

I am two days younger than the Yarn Harlot!

I am spending most of my day filling out job applications. The last one took two hours.

All the crap that I haven't been blogging about

Well, I applied for a job at the school I had been working at for several years. Some of you may remember when I got this job. The pay was extremely low, and the work was difficult (mostly because I was given little to no instruction about how to do the job to begin with). I worked hard, learned a lot, and was successful. The main reason I took the job was to get my foot in the door, make a name for myself, and hopefully, get a good job.

So, I got my teaching license. There was an opening at the very school I had been working at. I had a letter of recommendation from the building principal. I had it all, good letters, excellent grades, and superior test scores. I thought I had done everything right, and that I would get the job I wanted. The student even like me.

There is no loyalty in education.

I was passed up for the job. While no one will admit it, I know that it is because of my graduate credits. I have had a BA for several years, but I couldn't get a teaching position last year because I didn't have a license. So, I got the license, but now I can't get a teaching position because I had to go to graduate school to get the license. In addition, I had dropped out of grad school (for an MA in English) several years ago. I am being turned down for being highly qualified and well educated. I am totally pissed about it too.

So, I am sad, depressed, and mad as hell. I am applying for other jobs, but very upset that I didn't get the one I SHOULD have gotten.

I'll post something happier about knitting latter this week. Knitting has been a great comfort to me.

Happy knitting!

DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE

I have finished (finally) student teaching. While the job outlook is a bit grim, I am working my connections (it is nice to have a few). Right now, I am just happy to be done with all the classes, and teaching in someone's classroom (very hard to be a guest in someone's room after having my own, however small it may have been). I am going to start knitting Hey Teach to reward myself (and give me something professional and hand knit to wear).

Happy Knitting!

Student Teaching update and Martha Stewart Nerdiness

The new placement is going well. I like the new teacher, and she is so much easier to work with. I am on Spring Break this week, and then I have two more weeks to go. I am very happy that I am almost done. I can't wait to start looking for work.

In the meantime, I found some knitting related goodness over on Martha Stewart's web page. I want to make one of these (be sure to click the photo for a totally nerdy video with Mo Rocca that will give any knitter a nerdy crush on him). I also want to make a few of these for fun. I saw this, but to be honest, I just poke a hole in the lid of an old coffee can. It is a great way to keep yarn free from dirt when camping. I never thought of Martha as a knitter, but there is some fibery goodness for the knitters on her page. It'll keep me busy during my week off.

It is supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. Some Spring Break.

Happy Knitting!

Well, Duh!

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More of my totally nerdy finds

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