lady pains and midnight rains

I feel like my whole lower left mid section could be cut off of my body and it would hurt less than it does right now. Seriously. I was trying to talk to students today about their essays, and any time I turned or stretched the wrong way...ZING! I yelped in pain several times, but luckily sixth graders are so self involved that none of them noticed.

The only thing that made this affliction tolerable today was that we had a two hour late start. Yes, wind and thunderstorms scare us in Maple Valley, so we start cancelling things. This is Washington after all, and we don't handle adverse weather well.

In the middle of the night, I was awoken by the horizontal rain pelting my window. My poor pup was crying in her crate, but I just stayed in bed. Right as I started to fall asleep, bright, bright lightening lit up my whole room. About four seconds later, BOOM. That only happened about twice. Both the dog and I seem to have been relatively unscathed. It's hard to tell with the dog, though.

Happy Birthday, grandpa!

My maternal grandfather died about nine months before I was born. Today is his birthday, and I find myself thinking about him and missing him, even though I never knew him in person.

I bear his namesake as a middle name, and I've always fancied myself close to him because of it.

When I was little, someone told me that maybe he and I passed each other on our separate journeys to and from the spirit world. Since my mom says the first time she really felt me kick was in April, it could very well be. Wouldn't that have been something? I can imagine him saying "Take care of my family, okay? See you soon!" How grateful I am for belief in a world beyond this mortal realm where I will be able to meet him again face to face and feel his arms around me. I hope he'll be proud of me. I hope he'll smile and tell me how much I look like my mom, how much he wanted to be a part of my life, how much he has been a part of my life through the veil.


I love seeing old pictures of him and hearing stories about him from my parents. My grandma once told me that he loved children so much. She said he must be so sad to have missed out on all the grand kids that came after he died. She patted my head and told me "He would have loved to know you." Especially today, I would have loved to know him. I find myself occasionally thinking of a phrase he used to use with his children "I have a bone to pick with you." And for a moment, my frustration with the person (usually a student) is lessened by my tender memory of a man I never knew. Thanks, grandpa!

So, happy birthday, Don True! I hope you have found joy, peace, and happiness in the next life. I can't wait to meet you!

The bumpy road to Open House 2010

There are a few events each year for teachers that add unneeded stress. One of those is Open House. In my district, we have Open House in October. Didn't we just meet parents at Orientation in September? Yes, we did. Aren't we going to meet with them again for Parent Teacher Conferences in November? Yes, we are. Why are we having Open House in October? No reply…and then "That's just the way it works out."

So, since I am ridiculous, I decide that I will put my new cake pan to use and bake/decorate and Open House cake for the staff. Yeah, not really a big deal, I mean, it's only like two and half hours the night before, and let's be honest, I have nothing else going on in the evening. Plus, I really enjoy decorating cakes, and the staff loves it. The only thing this narcissist likes more than telling myself how amazing I am is hearing it from others.

I make and decorate the cake while watching The Lightening Thief and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (thank you Red Box). I got a lot more work done during the second movie since it was…how do I put this lightly? LAME. Sorry, I just couldn't get into it. I LOVED the Lightening Thief though.

Anyhow, while putting on the finishing touches, I realized that the house was starting to lean. That was a bad thing. I started shoving the extra cut off parts under the back of the house. This, I believe, is a common practice in actual house building. The problem then became the lean in the other direction. Let's just leave it with saying that the cake and I had several abrupt conversations about foundational integrity and time.

In order to look more grown up and professional, I chose a very nice outfit and laid it out the night before. I also had great plans for my hair and make-up. When I got dressed that morning, I hated what I was wearing. So I changed. Twice. Finally satisfied, I started on my hair. Since I was in amped up and speedy mode, my little dog was running around jumping on my legs. This usually isn't a problem, until she jumps on something important. Like the cord to my flat iron. As it started to fall, I grabbed it, around the plate. Luckily, it was only a minor burn on one finger.

Now, I live about 20 minutes from the school I work at. That means, in order to run home and let my dog out, I need at least 50 minutes of time. That was time I did not have. So, I decided to just take the dog to school and leave her in her crate in my trunk. I've done this before, and it isn't a big deal. Don't feel bad for the dog. This added a heightened sense of anxiety in the morning as I packed up the crate and food and dog. I was, of course, irritated about the burn it seemed like she caused, but at the same time not being mad at her since she's just a dog and didn't mean to do it.

It took several trips to get everything down to the car, but I was feeling good about the time frame. I put the cake in the backseat (which was down so there's be more room in the trunk) and the dog in the front seat. Now, as I was putting the dog in the front seat, she started to squirm and jump around. I finally dropped her in with the keys that were in my hand. Still not letting myself get angry, I closed the door and went over to the trunk to put the crate in. Oh, forgot to pop the trunk. Oh, the doors are locked. Oh, the keys are in the car, locked in the car, with the dog…and the cake.

Never before had I wished so strongly that my dog could do tricks, like unlock doors. Instead, she just started whining and running around. The one fortunate thing in this particular aspect was that her spastic episode wound her leash around the e-brake handle causing her to be just out of reach of the stupid cake.

So, I stop trying to get into the car, since there isn't even a possibility that I can at this point, and start trying to find a maintenance man. There are no less than three maintenance men smoking outside of my apartment window every morning. This morning, not a single one, anywhere. The light was on in their office, so I knocked and knocked on their door without success. I walk over to the office, which I see opens at 8. It is now 7:45. If I wait 15 minutes, I will most likely get caught in Renton and Maple Valley traffic, causing me to arrive at school 5 minutes after the final bell. As I figure all of this out in my head, it starts to very lightly drizzle. Remember that I have already burned my finger so I could have straight hair.

Just before the inevitable freak-out, and amidst feverish and fervent prayers, I realize that the maintenance guys are probably over at the other building, the one that is getting new paint that week. I dash across the parking lot and find them busily joking around and smoking with the painters. I explain that I'm locked out of the building and I need in. Finally, one comes with me back to my building. He puts in a code and the door pops open. Smiling, he tries to walk away. I assure him that his work is not done, and that I need into my apartment since my house keys are locked in my car with my car key, but my spare car keys are locked in my apartment.

The spare apartment keys are in the office, which I remind him is not open, but he reminds me that he has a key. Good, great, let's go! Only, while we are on the way to the office, he gets a call on the radio to go help someone in my building…AND HE DOES! I was less than happy. Finally, he goes to the office, gets the key, comes back, lets me into the building, and then into my apartment. I grab my spare key and have him relock my door.

I arrived at school just in time to remember that we had a mandatory staff meeting at 8:00. It was then 8:20am. I took a deep breath, started my computer, and in walked my students. The cake was a big hit, Open House was a breeze, and I now triple check where my dang keys are.

Blah blah blog.

I was reading Renae's blog and thinking, "Wow, aside from the tedious first person train of thought prose and blaring grammatical errors, that girl's got insight!" So I began wondering... What words of wisdom and insight do I add to the blogosphere? I mean, yes, my cakes are neat and my dog is cute, but I never pour out my soul like Renae does. Or, give helpful information and pictures about life like Colleen does. Or, even have super smart and witty posts like the Reichman-Blakes do.

Then I realized, my blog is about me being boring. BINGO! I don't have to be smart, or funny, or even valuable here. I just am. That made me smile.

Happy Birthday, Miranda!

Randi and Renae turned 21 this year. I thought, for a very brief moment, that the "coming of age" year would bring some refinement and maturity to my dear sisters. Not so.

"Bugs get mad, Bugs get strong! Arrrg!"

Randi and I celebrated her birth by going to Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, then out to dinner in Tukwila at Azteca the weekend before her birthday.

Two of kind, that Randi and Renae. Though, Renae is looking a little hairy these days...

Meerkats: So Cute!

Ah yes, the hippos.

This guy came right up to the glass to give Randi a birthday wish.

Let her make cake!

I made this cake for Sophia T. in my ward. She was having a pink puppy themed 5th birthday.
I auctioned off a fancy cake as part of a Relief Society service auction. Sister T. didn't win, but mentioned that she wished she had so Soph could have a pink Barbie cake. I'm a sucker, and I actually really like Sophia...so I said I'd do it anyway. When it came down to time to do it, Sister T. gave me this magazine clipping for a puppy cake. "Do you think you can do this? She really wants this instead of the doll cake now."
"Oh, yeah, no problem." Seriously? Luckily, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.



In fact, it turned out really well. I used just a boxed fudge brownie mix because I wanted it to be dense. My mom gave me the tip *freeze cake you plan to cut to reduce crumbling and give sharper edges.* Thank you, mom! I hadn't thought about that!

I used a six inch round pan to bake the brownie that formed the rear, head, legs, ear, and tail poof. The tail itself is just a piping of butter cream frosting. I used a little glass dish to bake the main body part.
The embellishments (ie. eye lashes and nose) are chocolate sprinkles. I just did a squeeze of frosting and placed the sprinks where I wanted them. The fur effect is pink colored coconut. I refrosted those spots and pressed the coconut into the still soft frosting.

I figured that the dog needed someone to walk it, and the brownie wasn't very big...
That and I really wanted to make another doll cake! I used a standard silver cake recipe for her skirt and baked it in a Pyrex type bowl. I didn't consider that the batter wouldn't raise the same way a box cake does, so she was a little short. Luckily, again, I'd made a small round cake for something else that served as an impromptu pedestal.

















I bought a little frame stand at Michael's so the pup would stand up. He turned out way bigger than the girl, but Sophia and her mom loved it, so that was all that really mattered!

P.S. Did you notice that I now know how to make grey icin'? Pretty cool. Now, if I just had the counter space...

Grr!

I just spent the last 20 minutes typing only for it to mysteriously disappear! Now I'm going to bed. I will try again later.

Man's best friend...Woman's little annoyance.

This is when I very first got her. She would sit and stare at me all the time. At first it was cute, then it was annoying, now she's gaining some courage and independence...so I miss it a little.

Today was the first really nice day here with her, so I left the door open to the balcony. She discovered the beauties of sunbathing!

Same song come back again.

Here's the flower pot cake made for the lady who gave it to me! We had a fun birthday breakfast with her the Saturday after. You can see Johnny was there too!

Grandma took the cake over the table at one point in the day, and she stumbled a little, and it looked like the cake was going down. Grandpa and I both reached and gasped, but good old Granny had it all under control. We laughed about it, but it was tense for a moment!

The colors turned out pretty cool since the pink didn't mix into the purple completely. The purple flowers have a bit of a pink splotchy quality. I liked it though and thought it added character.
I didn't really get the green to be two different shades, but it still turned out. I don't like the petal outlining, but the center stars turned out better this way than the other way. Give and take!





I used a strawberry box cake this time, which was delicious. My hand got a little tired by the time I put the words on, so it isn't my best work. That, and I was taping myself for youtube so I had some stage anxiety. Also, something funky happened with the frosting. I'm still not sure.

I really liked the color of the pot on this one. It was harder to do the pot frosting since the consistency was off, but it looks fine.

Table for One

Here is my favorite part of being single. Dinner. Not that I don't think "oh, I have no one to take me out to a nice restaurant, or even a super sketchy dive of a restaurant..." because I totally do. No, my favorite dinner is at home. My favorite part of it is that I can eat whatever I want.

Here are some things I've eaten for dinner that if I had a husband or children I wouldn't (and probably shouldn't) have.

1. Hot dogs with mustard and avocado. I know, sounds so gross, but maybe like it would be good. It is good. Nay, it is DELICIOUS!

2. Tortilla strips chips with chocolate chips as I waited for my cheese pizza to bake. Salt and sweet followed by a saucy/cheesy/carb loaded chaser? Yes please!

3. Three different kinds of cereal (the cheap brand equivalents of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Blueberry Muffin Top, and Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries). Popcorn for dessert.

4. Chicken Taquitos dipped in garlic dip (the kind for chips) and baby carrots.

These are just a few. Of course, every meal is accompanied by a pitcher of Crystal Light...and usually not a flavor that would compliment.

Here is some pasta... Penne noodles, alfredo sauce, olives, tomato, cucumber, onion, maybe chicken (I can't remember now!). Yum.

"I wish I had two hours to spend on that!"

Yes, this statement makes one feel really great about their life, or lack there of. In fact, it is pretty much a twist of the "oh yeah, you don't have a husband, or kids, or any serious commitment in your life" knife that's already sticking awkwardly ('cause really, how else could that knife stick?) out of your chest. The same chest that houses that big heart which encouraged you to do whatever cool thing no one else had time to do. Case in point: Happy Birthday friends at work!

It isn't like this was even very hard, or that I did a really spectacular job. I mean, I was proud of them, and they turned out really nicely, but seriously. A simply, "wow, great work!" is sufficient. Save the "You must have a lot of time on your hands..." comments for when I accomplish world peace, or cure cancer, or actually write a lesson plan. Then I will not be disheartened by those comments.

When's your mom picking you up?

I have a friend at work who goes to concerts all the time. Some of the staff (myself included) like to tease her that she's too old to go to rock concerts. Her response usually contains a curse word, so I'll leave that up to your imagination.

This last Friday we had a teacher in-service day. Beautiful, student free day. So, I'm sitting in meetings and I get a text from my friend Katrina. She invited me to go to a concert that very night with her. Now, I'm not big on "going out" or "hitting the town" or "having a good time" so I was hesitant at first. Then I remembered that my friend who was supposed to come down to spend the night totally backed out to "do homework" and be home taught. Fine, said I. I will find other entertainment.

So, we're sitting in a meeting and Amy (concert going work friend) says
"Hey, let's listen to some music! I'm going to the jack's Mannequin concert tonight, so I'll put him on."
"Oh," I reply, "My friend just texted to see if I wanted to go to that concert, she has an extra ticket."
"Text her back YES right now!" Amy shouted excitedly. And so, I went to the concert.

Now, this is my first real live stand around being excited rock concert. I've been to a couple Country concerts at the fair, and of course, Elton John at the Colosseum in Vegas. None of those prepared me for the hoard of obsessed teenagers who fought and pushed and shoved and made snotty faces while whining about not being able to see.

Seriously, 80% of the room was either shorter or younger than myself, and I tend to think most likely both. My Katrina friend mentioned to me that she felt like and old lady amongst the teeming teen crowd. Indeed.

True to our super oldness, we were totally not cool with the girls who shoved their way into a tiny crack of space in front of us and refused to move. I did my best to annoy them by coughing and blowing hot breath on their necks, "bumping" them with shoulders and elbows, and taking awesome flash pictures aimed at their faces. The one advantage to being so old and lame was that we got to go through the bar, which greatly expedited our coming and going.

The music was good. Do a Youtube search for:

"Bruised, Jack's Mannequin, Seattle" and select the video posted by issaquahwa. That's the best example of the incredible fan sing alongs.

"Satisfy, Vedera, Seattle" and select the issaquahwa video. If you watch the "Vedera, Goodbye My Love" video, you get a glimpse of Amy's fingers!

"The Gambler, fun. Seattle, WA" and again select the issaquahwa video. This was a beautiful song about his parents. I almost cried a little.

Check out Amy's Youtube channel for the whole concert.

http:www.youtube.com/user/issaquahwa&rclk=cti

Click on the Uploads tab and scroll down the right hand side to the Jack's Mannequin, fun., and Vedera videos from February 5th.

Delish...

Funnel Cake Sticks from Burger King. Almost the real thing. Most exciting thing today!

Also almost as exciting as the real thing, the 2006 BBC version of Jane Eyre movie. Total loss of character developement, embellishments that were just weird, and all sorts of incongruent details that distracted from the actual plot. Yes, I understand that for adaptation into a visual medium requires changing and shortening scenes, but at the expense of the integrity of the story? I feel the same way about the Kira Knightly Pride & Prejudice.

Flower pot cake

For Christmas this year, my grandma gave me a flower pot cake pan. I love to bake, to decorate, to create! So, I made the cake on Tuesday night out of a yellow cake mix (it just makes things easier) and spent and hour or so on Wednesday frosting it. This may have been the very first time my frosting has turned out basically perfectly! I was so well pleased with it that I may even proclaim myself a competent frosting maker again.

The last thing I need at my apartment is a whole cake, so I took it to school and forced it on other people. Luckily, it was a big hit. I was told by several people that I can bring cake anytime. I may have to now!

Pictures as follows...

The New Year

Hello, 2010.

I recently watched two movies which inspired me to blog and to read. So, I think I will read and blog about what I read along with other things that happen in my life. Should be pretty boring, but will hopefully help to keep me a little more sane than I was in 2009.

Here we go!