Saudi Hospitality

Project for my Curriculum Development class: "Interview one or two people who are involved with curriculum planning or decision making." Then I have to analyze the interview and write a 15 page paper. BORING!

Except, the people I chose to interview are anything but boring.

Mr. and Mrs. Saudi Arabia (their real names are confidential). Mrs. Saudi Arabia is in one of my on-line classes and was more than willing to let me interview her (she has a background in education and administration in her home country).

Today was the interview and the moment I walked in the tiny apartment, I felt as if I were in a foreign country. Beautiful Arabian rugs, burning incense, Arabic calligraphy from the Qur'an on the walls, Arabian decor - it was BEAUTIFUL! I wish I had a picture.



She and her husband were the most generous hosts. Here I was asking THEM a favor and they were treating me like a princess! They served me herbal tea from Saudi Arabia, dates (which I never liked until today), and a delicious variety of Baklava (my absolute favorite dessert ever!) and sent me home with a plate full!

Learning about their culture and education system was also a treat in itself. I was thoroughly impressed and wish I had more opportunities to absorb other cultures here in Kansas. Ma'a as-salaamah!

Yee-Haw!

I don't consider myself very small town but I sure do love a rodeo!



This past weekend I attended the Kansas State University Rodeo! It was a blast! The events were entertaining, the competition exciting and the company of friends enjoyable! Can't wait to go to another one. Yeehaw!

Comfort Food

Do you have a favorite dish that you remember from your childhood? I do, mine is Spaghetti alla Carbonara. It is my father's specialty. I always asked for it on my birthday and my dad would always make it for me when I came home for college breaks. Since I rarely go home anymore I decided to learn how to make it myself. I made it for a special dinner when Rob was home for R&R and it turned out fabulous!


I even served it on the fancy dishes we got at our wedding. It was my first time using them, I was saving them for a 'special occasion' but have now decided that every day is a special occasion and that I will use them whenever I feel so inclined!

Here's the recipe:

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

10 oz pancetta (I use more)
1 hot red chili pepper finely chopped or ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (I use crushed red pepper and add about double the amount, since I like it with a bit more spice)
1 ¼ pound (600 g) of spaghetti
6 TBS grated pecorino or parmesan cheese (I use parmesan and add an extra TBS or more)
6 egg yolks
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 TBS freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. combine the pancetta and chili pepper in a skillet and cook over low heat until some of the fat has melted. Increase the heat and cook until the pancetta browns.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup water. Transfer to a serving dish.
3. Mix the pecorino (or parmesan) cheese with the reserved spaghetti cooking water. Slowly mix in the egg yolks with a fork, then add a little salt and plenty of pepper. Tip the contents of the skillet over the spaghetti. Add the egg mixture and toss well. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve immediately.




Buon Appetito!

the NEW me!

So it is a brand new year and with it comes a fresh start. Each year I always try to write new resolutions - though my consistency with my goals lasts till about...March?? This year two of my goals are to (a) stay dedicated with Weight Watchers and (b) learn how to cook. And by cook I mean try new recipes and experiment, none of my usual heating up a frozen spaghetti dinner and adding spinach and putting it on a nicer plate to make me feel better.

I thought if I occasionally blog about my progress I will stick with it longer than 3 months, and I'll stay on track to becoming a new me with a few new talents.

So after some blog hopping I came across a great blog that has some yummy looking recipes.

So I made Pico de Gallo and Chicken Taquitos. Both turned out delicious especially the taquitos. The best part is they are baked instead of fried so it made them a bit healthier. I tweaked both recipes a bit. I didn't add jalapenos to the Pico de Gallo. For the Taquitos I used fat free cream cheese and fat free cheese instead of regular. I also didn't have onion powder so I just added diced onions to the filling. I used both whole wheat and corn tortillas.



Over all it all turned out well. I added a side of black beans and made a little salad with the Pico and had a fabulous dinner. And best of all it was overall low in weight watchers points - 11 points for everything on the plate. (Each taquito is 4 points, based on the new WW points plus values). Go ahead try them yourself, if I can do it, YOU can do it.

MUST ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END?

It seems so today. This morning, before the sun was even up, I dropped Rob off at the airport so he could return to Iraq. He is 10 months into his deployment so the remaining 2 months should fly by fast (hopefully).


Rob and I have been married 18 months and we've been apart for the past 10 months - the short time together hardly gave us the time to get adjusted to being married. In fact I've gotten quite used to living alone and haven't really minded it, that is, until Rob came back and I remembered how wonderful it is to live with your spouse, to come home and have someone to talk to instead of listening to silence, how fabulous it is to be taken care of instead of taking care of everything alone, and to live every day with the person you love. The past two weeks of bliss have made it harder to say goodbye the second time around.


But the holidays were amazing. We spent a few days at home in Kansas, had an early Christmas, and enjoyed time together...


Then we went to Utah and were able to spend time with family. His parents came in from Seattle and mine came in from South Carolina and we spent time with both sides...
Rob and I with our parents


Rob and I with his grandparents

We also got some quality snowboarding time in...


But alas, the holidays ended and it was time to get back to reality. Rob is back in Iraq and I'm back to normal life. But now the count down begins...less than 60 days!!!

Why I do what I do

If I could share all the stories of crazy things that go on in our classroom no one would believe me. Most days are crazy, but for 45 minutes a day I enjoy the pleasure of working with a 6th grade Aspergers student who isn't in our classroom, but needs a little extra help on schoolwork. He is the HIGHLIGHT of my day, and he LOVES LOVES LOVES me. See for yourself.





this is the truck-house that we will live in together (I had to remind him to include Rob). Not too bad; good natural light, antennas for radio/tv reception...I'll take it!



This is why I love teaching!!!

I'm thankful for...

Juvenal?

You mean Juvenal the Roman satirist who was published in AD 112?

YES!

I know it is odd, isn't it? Here's the deal - so far this semester, I've had to read quite a few books. More than I can count on my fingers. Unfortunately because of all the required reading, I've not been able to participate in our ward's Book Club, since I don't have the time for pleasure reading - and I don't consider any of my required reading pleasurable. That is, until I read Juvenal.



Reading The Satires was so entertaining that many times I laughed out loud. He makes fun of every part of Roman society and culture. In Satire 6: Roman Wives (by far my favorite) in addition to complaining about the lack of morals among Roman men and especially women, he's trying to talk his friend out of getting married:

"Don't you think it better to sleep with a little boy-friend? A boy-friend doesn't argue all night or ask you for presents as he lies beside you, or complain that you are not giving a hundred percent...She rails at his slave-boys or invents a mistress to weep about. Floods of tears are always at hand; they stand at the ready, within the reservoir, waiting to hear the word of command; then they flow as she tells them. You, poor worm, are delighted, complacently thinking it's love. You set about drying her tears with your lips, little aware of what you'd find in her letters if you ever unlocked the desk of that whore who pretends to be jealous." Man, he's harsh.

Apparently even women then had the tendency to gossip:

"That kind of woman knows what's happening throughout the world- what Thrace and China are up to, what secrets a stepmother shares with the son, and who's in love, and for whom the ladies are scrambling. She will tell you who made the widow pregnant, and in which month; with what endearments each woman makes love, and in what positions...she snaps up the latest rumours and tales at the city gate, and fabricates others...that's what she tells to whoever she meets at every corner."

Here's a few more of my favorite lines:

"If you want the truth, it isn't a wife he loves, but a face. Just let a couple of wrinkles appear, let her skin become dry and start to sag, let her teeth turn black and her eyes go puffy - 'Pack your bags' a freedman will cry, 'and be on your way. You get on our nerves, forever blowing your nose; hurry up and be off; your successor is someone without a perpetual sniffle.'"

"If you don't intend to love the woman who was your betrothed and is now your lawfully wedded wife, why marry at all? Why waste money on a meal?"

"As long as her mother's alive, harmony is not to be hoped for."

Satire 9: The Woes of a Gigolo and Satire 10: The Futility of Aspirations are my other favorites. It is very easy to adapt the ways he scorns immorality to our current day. There are a lot of truths to what he says.



So yes, this Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for the unexpected entertainment I enjoyed while doing my homework.

education complaints

I know today is Veteran's Day, so I will honor my veteran by saying, "I love you Rob!" and posting a few pictures.

my soldier


Iraq 2010



But my main purpose of this post is to release some anger and frustration over something I just read in the news. I found this article on Foxnews.com . The title of the article is "Father Sues District Over Reading About Slavery" and tells how a father of a 5th grade African American student is suing the district (for $50,000) because the reading contained racial epithets and racist characterizations. The prosecution claims the reading "affected the conditions of learning duties and the advantages of her further education, and seriously affected her mental and emotional well-being, past, present and future."

First of all, I commend the teacher for incorporating multiculturalism into curriculum by dedicating a unit that celebrates Black History Month. Way to go!

Second, I am SICK and TIRED of hearing in the news that people keep suing school districts. When did schools become the scapegoat for all the problems in the world; for students not learning how to treat one another kindly (bullying), for emotional and behavior issues, for making children to eat crap and getting fat, and for not 'properly' educating youth. Let me remind people that we live in a country where we are blessed with FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION for all. FREE! What a blessing that our education is accessible to so many. Now if there are problems with that education system please let me also remind you that CUTTING education budgets will not help anything. We just had elections, was educational policy a consideration in who you voted for?

Lastly, and more importantly - what happened to family responsibility? Aren't parents supposed to ensure their child is eating a healthy diet (I understand there is much poverty and some students don't have access to that at home). So who is really to blame for your kid being a fatty? Also, aren't parents supposed to teach their kids the golden rule? AND be an example of kindness to others? When did that responsibility transfer to schools? Like I said before, school here is free, so if you think your child's school is doing a poor job, you have a few options: private school or home school. If you don't like how we're doing it, do it your self or pay someone to do it for you. Don't SUE the school district, that's a little counterproductive don't you think?

That being said...

after a long rough day yesterday and today, I decided to take a mental health break from my Thursday night class. Even though the class is 2 1/2 hours long, doesn't get out till 9:30, is with a professor who simply reads his power points and I've rarely ever taken notes in his class (affirming to me that attending is pointless), even with all those considerations...I feel sick and horribly guilty for skipping it.

Heart Attack!

Today was an exceptionally long (but good) day. I left for work at 6:50 - got off work at 3:40 - met with advisor at 4:20 - class at 5:30 - dinner on campus/homework starting at 7 - Birthday dessert with wonderful friends at 8:30 - finally get home at 10:30 and what is waiting for me?? A surprise on my front door!






Muchos Gracias! It made my whole night!

Happy Halloween

I was invited to a Halloween Party hosted by my friend Jessica. I was all happy to go until she said I HAD to dress up. The last time I dressed up for Halloween was when I was in 7th grade. The Halloween spirit is always lost on me. Anyway, I refused to pay a whole bunch of money for a silly costume and I can't sew to save my life, so I had no idea what to be...UNTIL my replacement copy of one of my favorite movies arrived in the mail.



I decided to be an Indian girl! I had a few scarves that I bought in China and that Rob had brought home from Afghanistan that would be perfect for my home made sari. I accessorized with some jewelry and a self adhesive bindi ($2) and voila!



We had a great time!



Maybe Halloween isn't just for kids. Maybe (hopefully) I'll be forced to dress up again next year!

I love my job. I love my job. I love my job.

If I keep saying it will it become true? Don't get me wrong - I like my job. And I think I used to love it, but it is slowly wearing me out. Keep in mind - I am a certified social studies teacher, who is instead working as a para in a self-contained classroom of students with Behavior and Emotional disorders. Days like today I am reminded that it takes a special person to pursue a career in special ed - and I am NOT that person.

Today one of my students stabbed me with a pencil. It bled and I still have lead stuck in there. By the end of the day he had injured all three adults in the classroom. It wasn't intentional, it was an accident, sort of. He had been trying to attack another student either by hitting him or at this moment by throwing books, pens, pencils, anything he could get his hands on. In my attempt to restrain him (one of many times today) he stabbed me. It was actually comical. He felt super bad, he immediately changed his crazy behavior, got me a tissue to wipe up the blood, and after it stopped bleeding, he went crazy again and continued to pursue the other student. Though it might sound like I teach pre-schoolers, it is actually middle school and he is 12.

Can I just say that I am so grateful for the educational opportunities that I am taking advantage of. I can't wait to graduate and have more doors opened up to me (the thoughts of teaching community college sound so appealing right now). I am also so happy to be a part of the military where I know for sure that NOTHING IS PERMANENT!!

Favorite Shows

Challenge 3: Name a show you're currently addicted to




I am not addicted to any show. And to tell you the truth I've never been much of a TV watcher, especially when I was a kid. I'd much rather have been given some crayons and a blank piece of paper. I can never just sit on the couch and channel surf. There MUST be something specific on that I am intending to watch. But there are a few shows I do enjoy watching, though I DVR them and usually watch them all on Sundays, my no homework day when I can simply relax. I enjoy GLEE for the music and for the way they make fun everything. Rob introduced me to THE MENTALIST, which has become one of my favorites now. New this season are MODERN FAMILY which is hilarious and laugh all you want at me for watching MELISSA & JOEY - which is cheesy, light-hearted comedy. That seems like a lot of TV, but when looking at the average of TV most Americans watch per DAY, I think I am ok with just 3 hours per WEEK. And I really don't feel guilty when I consider that a football game on TV is about 3 hours and some men (not to be named) watch 3 games on Sunday and then Monday night FB on top of that. So 3 hours/week is nothing.

Pet Peeves

Challenge 2: Write 5 pet peeves




Whenever anyone asks me my pet peeves I have a hard time answering. It is one of those things where you never remember it bothers you UNTIL it happens. So this one took a lot of thinking. Here are a few things that bother me.

1. Leaving the toilet seat up/peeing on the toilet seat. This is ALWAYS the first thing that comes to mind as a pet peeve. It is #1 on my list for a reason. Though I am happy to say that Rob is a perfect husband and isn't guilty of either. And for all you men who argue they should stay UP and us females need to get in the habit of putting them down and then back up, my question for you is, When you go to LOWES or Home Depot and you are in the toilet section, how are they displayed? Exactly, the seat is ALWAYS down!



2. WhEn PeOpLe WrItE iN bOtH cApS aNd LoWeRcAsE. It definitely bothers me on the computer, but is even MORE annoying when handwritten. Either write correctly (by my definition) or keep it all CAPS.

3. When you are already seated at the uncrowded movie theater, with your feet up on the seat in front of you, and someone STILL sits there. Yes, I know it is not polite to put your feet up on furniture, but I do it at my house and when I pay $10 for a ticket I feel entitled to put my feet up. And yes, I know it bothers me when others do it to me, so I will be the first to admit I am a HYPOCRITE, because I do it to others. But I HAVE to sit in the EXACT middle of the theater.

4. When people pronounce Illinois with an 's' at the end. The 's' is silent folks!

5. I don't have a category for this. But it annoys me when people use the words 'islamic' and 'muslim' interchangeably when talking about a country. They mean VERY different things. Or when people assume ALL Arabs are Muslims or ALL Muslims are Arabs.

6. Creating a familiar enemy in Hollywood. Have you ever noticed that in movies (especially James Bond type movies), more often than not, the 'bad guys' are often from countries that America has fought against or been opposed to at one time or another. The 'bad guys' are often Russians or Germans or North Koreans or Arabs (which is a newer trend since 9/11). For example, the bad guy in Ironman 2, Backlash, is Russian. Why? Is it that important to have a familiar and common 'enemy'? Why can't the bad guys be British? Or Israeli? Or Canadian? Oh wait, because we've always liked those countries.



7. I can only seem to pay my tuition online during business hours. How on earth is paying online anymore convenient when I have to do it between 8-4:30? Hello K-STATE! I leave for work at 7:00 am and don't get back till 4:30? And I can't do it at work. Am I really going to have to take time off AGAIN to pay tuition?

Ok, I know it said on 5 pet peeves, but I was on a role. I kept thinking of them.

What are your pet peeves?

four short term goals

Challenge 1: write 4 simple short term goals for this month and why you chose them

1. Don't get behind in school. This has been quite the challenge. I've already had to take 2 days off work just to stay caught up with school work. Working full-time and going to school full-time was one of my worst ideas ever. I knew it would be tough, and decided I wouldn't do ANY homework on Sundays, so that only gives me Saturday to focus on HW. Now that Rob is working nights, our schedules don't line up well at all, so we'll only be able to skype on the weekends, which sucks, but it gives me more time each night to get school work done.


2. Get up each morning by 5:00. This will allow me to do HW in the morning and/or work out, enjoy a breakfast (other than a fiber one bar in the car), and not start my day off feeling rushed.

3. Fully commit myself to Weight Watchers. This will ensure I'm eating healthy and drinking plenty of fluids which will help keep me healthy and hopefully more alert during the day. Even more important, I want to look HOT when Rob comes home for R&R in December.


4. Submit my insurance claim from the flood. I know, I know. It has been 4 months and I still haven't done it. I'm hating on myself for it too.

30 Day Blog Challenge

My life right now is totally consumed by work and school and so outside of this I have no life. Which means I have nothing to blog about, unless you want to learn about Ancient Rome, assessments or multicultural issues in education. Working with students with behavior and emotional disorders do provide some VERY interesting and entertaining stories that I'd love to blog about, but that would violate confidentiality laws, so can't do that either.

Which is why I'm embarking on the 30-day blog challenge (stolen from Ashley's blog). Since I'm impatient this will probably only last 2 weeks or less since I'm going to want to respond to more than one prompt per day. Enjoy!