The Sunday that was fun.

And where the West was won.
Upon where shone the sun.
As fun as a sesame bun.

That, my faithful readers, was my Sunday.  All those things. 

We high-tailed it out of Top-town and headed to the sparkling metropolis of Nebraska City to explore a classy little apple orchard.  A lovely place for a Sunday funday.  Naturally, the trip was made in an effort to see our besties Nicky and Rocky-sissy.  (Note: She and sweet Tessa have a bah-log, and it is full of awesome, easy tips for staying in shape.  Check it out.  Seriously.  Go now.  Skip the rest of this and go look.  You can always come back...)  And it was a delight.

We wandered through a trail.

 Enjoyed some photo-ops.

 Made our mouths water at their smells-like-Christmas-which-makes-me-want-Christmas-NOW store.

 Desired to add pounds of butter to our thighs...or maybe that was just me...

 Tasted a variety of applicious wines.  No joke - this tasted like an apple.  Say what!?!?

 Made the in-laws pose because they were dressed like twins. 

 Posed with the brosy.  Someone, please, notice the accidental coordination.  Someone number 2, please, notice my BOOTS!

 The boys played games with the child-friendly trail attractions.

 We scheduled in a few self-timer group shots. 

 The boys found a fort.  (first person who finds Nicholas wins 10 fake points - cash them in soon, people)

 Crazy face time...

 I remember my lower back hurting a tremendous amount during the shooting of this picture.  Worth it?  You be the judge...  Rocky, I'm not sure that squirrels have tongues.  Just saying...

 One chair was too big.  One chair was too soft.  The other chair was just right!

 I'm totally going to be the mom who tells her kids to write on this blackboard after the experience...and make them take it seriously. 

 We picked a half-dozen kinds of apples

 with this contraption

 to put in our apple bag.

 Our relaxing hay-rack ride turned out to be a shuttle taking us up the hill.  Lame.

 The corn maze proved to be for children.

 And I proved to be a decent stalker.

 I love my new sissy. 

 And we love to pose.

 And I love to contort my arms.  Misty, if you're reading this, tell me you love this picture.

Most of all, I love time with the 4 of us.  We're all at the same life stage.  We dream together.  We understand one another.  And we're ridiculous together.  I can only imagine what the next 60 years of doing life with these folks is going to look like.  I know one thing, though...it's going to be absolutely delightful.

Say what?

Student:  misbehaves

Mrs. Carlson:  walks over to student

Student:  avoids eye contact

Mrs. Carlson quote of the day (just after demanding eye contact):  "If this behavior becomes a trend, you and I are going to have problems bigger than you could possibly imagine."

I walked away and started laughing.  Only because I have no idea what these larger than life "problems" will be.  The good news is that I didn't need the answer right then.

Oh teaching, it's a funny thing.

Arteecal

A friend posted this today...and I deemed it worthy to post again.  It's that good.

It's about...busyness.

In other news, I was super proud of my sophies for their work on their rough drafts.  They are learning something...

Oh sheesh.

Days like these make me wonder, "Why can't I work at Burger King?"  JK.  Kinda.

Not a bad day.  Just a full day.

Sophies (sophomores, if you're new) started writing today.  Writing projects = exhausting days.  I think (and hope) the kiddos learn, but, oh mah word, they have a zillion questions.  Today I instated a new rule:  before you ask Mrs. Carlson, you must ask your neighbor.  I think it worked.  At least a little.  I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to answer as many questions as I could while trying to explain as clearly as I could.  Oh goodness.  I also wore a dress.  Bad decision.  Bending over in a dress = awkward.  Squatting down in a dress = awkward stand-up process.  Wearing a dress on a writing day = poor decision.  Oh sheesh.

I have one incredibly high-functioning class of freshies (freshmen, again, if you're new), and one incredibly low-functioning class of freshies.  The high class always blows me out of the water and the low class leaves me dumb-founded as to how to teach them better/differently.  Oh sheesh.

I had my first crier of the year.  I tend to have lots of tear-filled students...hopefully that is unrelated to the fact that I am their teacher.   Hopefully.  Today's situation was unique.  And good.  Not good because aforementioned student was crying.  Good because it caused me to pause.  I had a million things going through my head, but talking with that student was not one of them.  It made me slow down (VERY difficult for me), be patient, and listen.  I asked student if he wanted to talk to me or a counselor, and he said he wanted to talk to me.  So I suppose I'm doing something right.  Oh sheesh.

I took my sophies' tests home yesterday...and totally forgot to grade them.  I suppose I know what will entertain me tonight.  Oh sheesh.

Last week I had a sweet student say, "I don't ever say this because I think it's dumb, but TGIF."  Touche, sweet student, touche.

TGI(almost)F.  Oh sheesh.........

Just a Bit

Tonight "Parenthood" premieres.  It's been on my calendar for 6 weeks.  Can you tell I'm excited?!  If you don't watch it, you should.  Oh mah word.

To celebrate,  I'm making these and this.  To say I'm pumped about all the above is the understatement of the year.  Of the year, people.

I'll let you know how it all turns out...

Domestic Day Update: Recipes!

Per the millions of requests I received for the recipes from Domestic Day, here they are...and they are all super delish.  In fact, I'm eating a sampling of the first recipe right now.  Yumo.

Healthified Oatmeal Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

1/2	cup mashed banana (about 1 large)
1/2	cup chunky natural peanut butter (unsalted and unsweetened)
1/2	cup honey
1	teaspoon vanilla
1	cup rolled oats
1/2	cup Gold Medal® whole wheat flour
1/4	cup nonfat dry milk powder
2	teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4	teaspoon baking soda
1	cup dried cranberries or raisins

	Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat two cookie sheets with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together banana, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, milk powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir the oat mixture into the banana mixture until combined. Stir in dried cranberries.
	Using a ¼-cup measure, drop mounds of dough 3 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. With a thin metal or small plastic spatula dipped in water, flatten and spread each mound of dough to a 2¾-inch round, about ½ inch thick.
	Bake, one sheet at a time, for 14 to 16 minutes or until browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months; thaw before serving. Verdict:  the best after school snack.  Just enough sweet to satisfy and enough protein to rid me of my afternoon headache.  Perf. Whole Wheat Pizza Crust Ingredients: 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F /45 degrees C) 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour Directions: 1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy. 2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled. 4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables. 5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top. Verdict:  we froze these, and we have not tried them yet.  I imagine they're better fresh than frozen, but I never say no to a solid freezer meal option.  Whole Wheat Challah (Cheri prefaced this in her e-mail with "hahahahahahahaha" because it was such a disaster.  We haven't dove into our stash of it yet...) 4 cups whole wheat flour 1 t. salt 2 1/4 t. active dry yeast 2 T. vital wheat gluten 1/2 c. honey 1/2 c. olive oil 1 c. warm water 2 eggs 1/4 c. raisins, to taste (optional - we optioned not) In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, yeast, and vital wheat gluten until well mixed. In another bowl, stir together the honey, olive oil, water, eggs, and raisins. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture, and stir until it forms a dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a round shape. Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn the dough over a few times to oil the surface. Cover the bowl with a cloth, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, knead it a few times to remove some of the bubbles, and cut it into 2 equal-sized pieces. Set 1 piece of dough aside under a cloth to prevent drying out while you shape or braid the first loaf as desired. Working on a floured surface, roll the small dough pieces into ropes about the thickness of your thumb and about 12 inches long. Ropes should be fatter in the middle and thinner at the ends. Pinch 3 ropes together at the top and braid them. Starting with the strand to the right, move it to the left over the middle strand (that strand becomes the new middle strand.) Take the strand farthest to the left, and move it over the new middle strand. Continue braiding, alternating sides each time, until the loaf is braided, and pinch the ends together and fold them underneath for a neat look. Repeat for the other loaf, place the braided loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve warm for best flavor. Verdict:  I dunno. Whole Wheat Bread - Mama Joye's adaptation:  2 Cups warm water 1/2 cup brown sugar OR 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup oil 1 egg 1 Tbsp Lecithin granules 2 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 Tbsp instant yeast 2 TBSP dough enhancer 2 TBSP gluton 4-5 cups whole wheat flour (white whole wheat is preferred - but we mixed regular and white whole wheat) Mix together first 9 ingredients along with 1 cup flour. Beat ingredients together well for 2-3 minutes. Add additional flour until dough comes cleanly away from the bowl. Place dough into a greased bowl and cover. Allow to rise until doubled. Divide dough in half and roll out into a rectangle and roll up. Place seam side down in bread pan. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise until "light." Bake at 350 for 24 minutes. Remove from pan, brush top with butter and let cool before storing. Makes 2 loaves. Verdict:  Um, so good that we may have eaten an entire loaf in a few days.  Embarrassing?  No.  Bloated?  Perhaps.  TMI?  Never. Oatmeal Bread - Also by Joye Combine in large bowl:  1 cup oatmeal 1/2 cup wheat flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tsp salt 2 TBSP shortening Pour 2 cups boiling water over the aforementioned ingredients. Let set until cooled to luke warm. Pour into mixer bowl and add:  1 TBSP instant yeast 1 TBSP dough enhancer 1 TBSP gluton Beat in 4-5 cups of flour until dough leaves sides of the bowl clean. Place dough into a greased bowl and cover. Allow to rise until doubled. Divide dough in half and roll out into a rectangle and roll up. Place seam side down in bread pan. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise until "light." Bake at 350 for 24 minutes. Optional: brush dough with shortening and sprinkle with oatmeal before baking. Makes 2 loaves. Verdict:  Um, also super yum.  And since there's oatmeal inside, you can feel good about eating an entire loaf at once.  Not speaking from experience... We also made oatmeal/peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies, but I figured you already had a recipe for that.  If you didn't or if you're in need of a newer, more pizzazzier recipe, holler. Enjoy!  And let me know how much you love it all! PS:  Because every blog post is better with a picture school tale, I leave you with this one... My freshies were being just that (freshman like, that is) on Wednesday, and I couldn't take it anymore.  Sooooooo, I stopped what I was doing and said, "Listen here.  You know how in first grade, whenever the teacher says something, every student must make a comment?  Like, 'Children, today we're going to do math with apples.' 'Oh, oh!  My mom makes applesauce sometimes!' 'Oh, oh!  Apples sometimes make me toot.' Etc.  Well, that's how I feel right now.  It is not necessary for you to comment on everything I say.  So, please. keep your comments to yourself unless they apply.  Okay, let's get back to work."  And the strangest thing is, it was mildly effective!  Note to self:  while comparing teenagers to children may occasionally be inappropriate and quasi-humiliating, it actually works.  Do not do every day, but once every two weeks is okay.   Have a happy weekend, gang.  More tales to come...

Mid-week Funnies

The stories are starting to roll in...so if you follow purely because of my hilarious school tales, stay tuned.

Today I:

• tripped over a girl's backpack.
• stumbled over the phrase "World War I" for 10 minutes.
• made the kids who forgot their textbooks march back to their lockers...and counted them tardy (I was that teacher today).
• dropped my notes 5 times (yes, five times) in one class period.  What does that say about me?
• paused mid-reading to my 7th hour and proclaimed, "I feel like I'm talking to a wall."  Blank stares.  So I continued, "Are you guys just so incredibly exhausted?!"  Blank stares, blink, blink.  "Oh my word!" (yes, I used the cliche, totally over-used Heidi/Mrs. Carlson phrase).  Blank stares.  Suffice it to say, new reading strategies will be used tomorrow during 7th hour. Tired students = exhausted Mrs. Carlson.  Current mantra:  the students should be working harder than the teacher.  I need to make that a reality. 

As I mentioned, the stories are coming.  And they are good.  Stick around.