Christmas vacation... in pictures

Driving to Kansas, learning how to
use the special function for moving
objects on my camara

Playing on Madison's bunk bed...
so much fun

Playmates for a day

Dylan, Brian, Madison and Julie in Andover, Kansas

Making cookies for Santa























In the kitchen with Grandma


Cleaning out Ben's old bedroom

A gift under the Christmas tree
for me... in pastel baby shower
paper? Gift tag upside down?

Taylor...all grown up

To: DT
From: Santa
Shuttle Mission
Time with Grandpa

Leaving Nebraska and another recipe

We're getting ready to go back home. We've been away exactly one week and 45 minutes ago. We spent the first 13 hours driving to Andover, Kansas and less than than 24 hours visiting my brother's family. It seemed much too short... spent the night, had breakfast and lunch at their house, watched the kids exchange Christmas gifts, and left.

Then, we drove an hour north to McPherson, Kansas to Ben's brother's house. This visit seemed even more abrupt... had dinner, played the game Apples to Apples, spent the night, and left before breakfast.

Our final stop was Holmesville, Nebraska to visit Ben's parents. I'll have to give the details of this stop later. Even though there's not much to tell, we spent 5 days here. All I'll say at this time is, because of the extremely cold temperatures, DT and I stayed in the house most of the time. And we seemed to eat 90% of that time. I managed to score a new recipe for Toffee... I found myself indulging in this decadent treat daily. It was wonderful!

English Toffee

Oil a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with edges) and place 1 package of graham crackers + 2 additional graham crackers to the edge.

Combine 1 cup butter 1/2 cup brown sugar and boil 3 minutes. Add 1 cup chopped pecans.

Spread over the graham crackers and bake 10 minutes at 350. Turn off the oven, remove pan, and top with 12 oz. chocolate chips. Return to oven to melt chips until you can spread smooth. Refrigerate to harden. Cut or break into pieces.

News-Making, Drive-Offs, and Road Food, Oh My!

Did anybody see my icy picture of the Center Twp Library on WNDU Channel 16 News Friday night? I had emailed it to their "Weather in Your Backyard" site and while I was on the phone with my sister at 5:30, there it was on TV with my name to credit. I was so excited and thought I'd get a call or email from someone who saw it on TV. Was absolutely no one watching? How sad.

Anyway, we did break free from our icy wonderland. But as we drove 13 hours to get to Andover, Kansas, we drove through one equally wintery scence after another. No state between Indiana and Kansas was untouched by snow and ice. It was beautiful, but caused problems for other travelers on our path. This was especially true on a particular 20-mile stretch of I-80 in Iowa. At that point we had just eaten lunch at Subway and were moving with traffic between 5 and 30 miles an hour as we watched drivers and passengers climb up from their cars in the gulley in the median between east and west-bound traffic or from off the right shoulder. No one ever appeared injured. And every time, it was a single-car slide off. Despite their misfortune, lost time, and expense, I believe every one of them are saying "Thank God!" and meaning it. They were safe.

On another separate note... If you've ever been on a long road trip with another person, you'll empathize when I say -- The smell of each other can become too much. When I was a kid, my family took lots of vacations and always by car or van. And the worst offender of bodily function was always my dad. I know it had something to do with the pathetic mix of foods we were eating along the way, but it didn't matter. The effects were toxic. The lingering stench was unbearable. And with freezing temperatures outside, we couldn't let the windows down. We were stuck with it... time after time.

Our generally uneventful trip yesterday began to remind me of those family vacations as a kid. It wasn't the same noxious fumes, nor produced in the same way. But somewhere in Iowa I smelled a horrific unidentifiable smell and quietly asked Ben, "Did you burp?" He admitted he had with a simple, "Sorry." I was disgusted, and my face curled up to show it. "What did you eat?" I asked.

His sad response: "It could be almost anything." And he began to list an appalling combination of road foods he had put into his body to that point....
"A sausage and egg McGriddle, hashbrowns, 2 coffees, pork rinds, rice crispie treats, skittles, a tuna salad sub sandwich, Dr. Pepper, Cheetos, harvest grain and salsa Sunchips, A&W root beer, Tic Tacs, a Hershey chocolate bar with almonds, dried apple chips, corn nuts."

Ice Storm Beauty

The students of South Bend Schools had a planned day off today, but the teachers were to report for a Record Day. The staff at my school planned a potluck lunch and Christmas ornament exchange on this last day before break. But as I watched the growing list of school delays and closings on TV this morning, I quietly hoped South Bend would excuse teachers for the day. DTs school was one of the many who announced they would be closed due to the winter storm that we all began to expect last evening. Throughout the night I woke up to the sound of freezing rain hitting the house. And this morning I could see bright blue flashes of lightening through the curtains as I heard the rumbles of thunder. In the end, Ben and I went in to our schools (dragging our feet) and DT enjoyed the morning at my school, playing games with another teacher's kid. Afterward, we headed to our library where the iced trees made the entrance of the library glisten like lacy glass. The previous 2 photos are there in front of the Centre Township Library.

And these 2 were taken outside our house right when we got home.

Follow Up to "One of Those Days"

In a recent post titled "One of Those Days," I wallowed in the disappointment of breaking my school soup bowl, having the Christmas tree ornaments I decorated the teachers lounge with turn up missing, and snapping at a co-worker in a rude email. By the end of the day I was disgusted with myself.

My, how things have turned around. Let me share...

The rude email situation- The next day, I received a phone call regarding the co-worker situation. Because of a severe hearing loss, the woman didn't call me herself but relayed the information through a colleague-friend of mine. She helped the woman understand where I was coming from and managed to turn the situation around completely. I was relieved. Shortly afterward, I had an email apology from the woman which made me feel terrible. I quickly responded with my own apology, and I think she understood. I still wish I hadn't sent the email, but I began to feel a little better about it. I just haven't let myself completely off the hook.

The missing ornaments situation- Not knowing where my ornaments had walked off to, the school principal made announcement for me asking that whoever "picked up" my decorations for me, be sure to return them. It worked. The next morning, I found my ornaments safe and sound in the teachers lounge. I don't know where they had been, but it didn't really matter. I had my snowmen back and a renewed faith in the people I work with.

And finally, the broken bowl- Without a bowl, I haven't been able to have soup at school since this incident. I've joked at lunch about the frozen dinners I've been eating. I just haven't allowed myself to buy a new bowl because I'm the one who broke it... even though I would have replaced it by now if someone else had done it. Anyway, this morning after getting some business done around school, Miss Kate a preschool teacher saw me and said she had just left something for me on my desk. She had been the person opened up to and shared that day's misfortunes to. She listened, sympathized, cared and understood. Well, I returned to my office today to find a gift delicately wrapped in pink tissue paper and red ribbon. Inside the tissue paper was a stone-colored, hand-painted ceramic bowl and a bag of ready-to-make soup. As I admired the beautiful bowl, my eyes welled up with tears. This kindness meant so much... it was a gift I hadn't asked for or hinted at. It wasn't a holiday or special occassion. It was unexpected, from the heart, and something I wasn't willing to do for myself. This woman who I met only months ago, saw a hurt and acted with such love and kindness.

When I grow up I want to be like Miss Kate.

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

I must give credit to a 2nd grade teacher at Holy Family School for this recipe. Her class was making these ornaments when I was there on Wednesday, and no matter where I was in the school, I could smell the cinnamon... so good and Christmasy. She was kind enough to let me have her leftover dough and the recipe so that we could make our own at home. They were so simple and I think they turned out beautifully. They're something I'd like to make each Christmas, with a new picture of my little boy every year.



Cinnamon-Applesauce Christmas Ornaments

Needed:
1/2 cup ground cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons white glue
1 heavy duty zipper bag
wax paper
cookie cutter
straw
lid from salad dressing
10-inch lenghth narrow ribbon
child's photograph

Instructions:
Measure cinnamon, applesauce and glue into the zipper bag. Zip. Mix the bag by mashing with hands. Place ball of dough on wax paper. Pat or roll flat to the thickness of gingerbread cookies. Use a holiday cookie cutter to cut the ornaments. Use the straw to punch out a hole at the top of the ornament so that it can be hung by ribbon later. Use the salad dressing lid to punch out a circle in the middle of the ornament for the picture to show through later. Peel up the surrounding dough and let the ornaments dry at least 24 hours. Halfway through drying, gently flip the ornaments. When completely dried, thread the ribbon through the small hole and tie it off. Affix the photgraph from the back. Hang from a doorknob or your Christmas tree. Enjoy all season.

What's for supper?

I honestly don't hear that question at my house very often because my husband usually makes something fantastic (without even using a recipe) before my little boy and I notice that we're hungry... we usually start getting hungry when we hear him working in the kitchen and smell the garlic and herbs. But, tonight I was the one to suggest that it was time to think about dinner... and when I opened the fridge, nothing looked good. My husband suggested going out to eat, but I said no. You just never feel good about eating out when the only reason is you haven't thought ahead.

My husband decided he'd finish up the gumbo he made a few nights ago. It was delicious. He'd add some more sausage and make fresh rice, and pour the gumbo over it. I decided on a baked potato.

So what would my little boy eat? 5 years old and rather picky. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have been popular lately, but maybe too popular. My husband decided on chicken nuggets from the freezer called "Dino Bites." What a perfect theme meal for the Flintstones Christmas movie we just picked up from the library. But to go the Dino Bites... black olives and a sliced hard-boiled egg. And in the middle of the plate, my husband created a ketchup and mustard volcano which earned a "Cool!" Now, this meal may sound like a mismatched and thoughless form of child abuse, but honestly these are 3 things that he loves most. And my little boy loved it! I have no explanation and all I can say is "Eeewww."

One of Those Days

I felt like my day got off to a decent start... but by about noon I could see it taking a turn.

I went into the teachers lounge and dumped a Healthy Choice Campbell's soup into my school soup bowl. While it was warming, I went to retrieve my snowmen Christmas tree ornaments that I had decorated a table with last Friday for our staff payday Friday breakfast. I brought my cheesy crock pot potatoes, marble pound cake, and a few festive table decorations... my box of snowmen ornaments and 2 new ones... snowmen on skis that I just bought last year to add to my tree this year. Where were they? I looked under the table, on top of the refrigerator, in the cupboards. I couldn't find them. No, I shouldn't have left them, but I'm only at that school til noon on Fridays and didn't want to take anything away prematurely. But then, shouldn't they be there when I return the next work day? The principal made an announcement for me asking that whoever "picked them up" for me should make sure I get them back. But I haven't seen them yet.

Then the microwave beeped. My soup was ready. Healthy? Yes. Tasty? No. I ate the tasteless soup anyway (not having any other options) and went to the sink to wash my red school soup bowl. My hands were wet as I grabbed a few paper towels to dry it, and in slow motion... my beautiful red bowl slipped out of my hands and broke into countless pieces on the floor. I picked up what I could and was disgusted with my loss.

It didn't end there. Already being in a foul mood because of the missing ornaments and broken bowl, I let loose and emailed a co-worker about a situation in which I believe she used poor professional judgment. And of course I feel terrible for doing it NOW... Although completely true, it wasn't necessary and I'm sure it made her feel terrible.