All About Cupcakes

I'm ready to jump on the cupcake bandwagon. Here in the sticks, you can't find a cupcake store that has all those fancy (and expensive) cupcakes.  I love to bake, so I would love to try making specialty cupcakes on my own.  I have made cupcakes before for NE's 3rd birthday that I decorated with all that buttercream icing, and they looked great, but the cupcakes themselves were just strawberry cake mix (that's what she wanted).

I really want to start testing out fancy cupcake flavors as well as icing.  The only real problem with this is that I don't think I should be EATING the cupcakes, especially the way they are decorated now with an inch of frosting on top! I'm not sure how I am supposed to test out recipes without eating them... Once I figure that out, I can really start trying out recipes.  Eventually, I would like to test out low-fat, low-sugar recipes and try to make them taste really good.  Somehow, I think the buttercream frosting is the part that will be hard, if not impossible to recreate in a lower calorie version.

Project Redneck...So Far, So Good

I have been hard at work on Project Redneck, and so far it seems to be working.  One of the other teachers even heard the leader say, "She's not so bad." when my name was brought up in her class.  You can't imagine how big that is. 

If I can just get those boys on my side, my discipline problems will be cut in half. That would really be nice for a change. I have fairly good classroom management skills, but those boys can be a handful when they want to, so if I can convince them (trick them) into behaving...

Here's hoping for a good school year!

Small Town Sunday #3 - Small Town Football

In the fall, small towns are all about football. I'm not necessarily a football person (I like basketball better), but there is something about going to a varsity game on a Friday night. You know fall is coming when you have to get out your stadium seats, blankets and hoodies for the game.

I'm not sure why football is so important to small town people, but it is. Everyone comes out to see the game. There is an excitement in the air that you can just feel.   Young and old, everyone is excited to see their boys win.

I took my two nephews to my school's football game yesterday. Yes...on a Saturday.  We played a team that is from Kansas City, so the game had to be on a Saturday because the other team had so far to travel.  Our team is ranked #5 in the state in our division, and the other team is ranked #1. Quite a game.  Apparently we had a free weekend and no one close wanted to play us because our team is so good...

My nephews don't get to go to games because they are too late at night. NL got to go to one last year, but NJ is too young to stay out that late due to his super early bed time. This is unfortunate because NJ LOVES football; even though the only games he's seen are on TV. My brother isn't a sports guy, so it's a little unusual that one of his sons would be so fascinated by a sport.

I just had to take the boys because it isn't often that we have a Saturday afternoon varsity game. They both had a good time. NJ never took his eyes off the field, which is pretty amazing for a boy under three-years-old. Every time the crowd would cheer, NJ would throw his hands up in the air and cheer right along with them.  He loved it when there was a tackle.  He kept saying, "hit" until I explained it was called a tackle, and explained why they were tackling each other.  After that, he would look up at me and say, "Tackle!"  We had to leave at halftime to get NJ back for his nap (I told him the game was over as I pointed out the playing going back into the field house). I hope to be able to take them both to more games soon; it is so fun to watch them as they watch the game.

Single Saturday #3 - Dreams

I hate it when I wake up from a good dream.  I had one of those the other day.  I was getting married.  Now the wedding in my dream was an entire fiasco, but I hate the sense of emptiness when I wake up from a dream where I am deeply in love with someone.  It messes with my entire day.

Have any other singles out there felt that sense of loss?

Really...I Don't Hate Rednecks!

As the new school year really starts to get underway, I am once again up against the redneck students.  In the middle of rural Missouri, there are plenty of rednecks...and they are proud of being rednecks.  I'm talking confederate flags everywhere. Every year there will be a few redneck boys who come into my class having already decided they don't like me. I have two strikes against me before they ever even know me: 1. I'm female and 2. I teach English. 

Being female means that I automatically don't understand them. For some of them, my being female means that I'm a second class citizen, but that's not all of them.

Teaching English is the biggest problem they have with me though.  English is almost always their least favorite subject.  It requires two things they hate: reading and writing. Also, because I speak well, they assume that I am not from around here.

These students always assume that I don't like them, which is not true.  Often I do not like their behavior, but really...that's not my fault. 

This year I have decided to try to get the rednecks on my side.  I may not be able to change their mind about English, but maybe I can get them to change their mind about me.  I am concocting a plan to accomplish this near impossible feat.

1. I have told them (all the classes actually, but even more so in the "redneck class") that I am not prejudging them based on what I've heard about them from other teachers, and as far as I'm concerned they are angels.
2. I have been giving them a lot of praise when they do something right. I told the one class that they were a smart class, and one boy said that no teacher had ever told them that before.
3. I am going to talk about growing up on a big farm, doing lots of farm chores, and how I still basically live on a farm.
4. I'm going to tell my crazy stories about wild animals getting into my house and my having to shoot things like possums and raccoons.
5. I'm going to put pictures I've taken of our farm (animals, equipment, etc) and my niece and nephews dressed up in John Deere and hanging out on the farm as my screen saver for my school computer.  Often, my screen saver is projected on the board, so they will see the pictures.
6. I am focusing on their leader.  If I can get him on my side, the rest will follow.

So far this is working.  I am already ahead from where I was last year with last year's rednecks.  Last year the leader was against me from the beginning and I never got him on my side, this year I think the leader likes me so far (even if he hates school and especially English). Today they were all engaged and participating during class.  I am hoping that I can keep it up.  Regardless, I'm going to keep trying and hope that I can get them on my side for as long as possible.  

Just for fun, I would like to leave you with a few pictures that depict parts of the redneck lifestyle...

That is not a shirt!

Realtree prom!

Pool time!

Lost his toothbrush...at age 5!

School's Back In Session

Today starts the first full week of school.  I always have mixed feelings about another year of school starting. There is always a little reluctance to let go of the summer, but at the same time, it gets a little boring not having something to do every day.  I look forward to starting over with a new group of students; it's like a fresh start every year.  However, it takes awhile to get to know the personalities of each new year's crop of students: which ones are the trouble makers, who is going to be the star student, who will need that extra push. And, of course, I have to learn a whole new set of names.

Everyone keeps asking me how school went, what do I think of my students, are my classes going to be okay? It is hard to say at this point.  Last week was only 3 days long and the first 2 days are just going through the school rules and my classroom rules.  Plus the students are still a little wary of me and aren't really acting like themselves yet.  I will know more after this week.  The regular school routine starts, and the kids start acting like themselves. 

I am cautiously optimistic about this class of students though.  I am hoping that most of the trouble makers are split up enough to not cause too much trouble.  I'm also really excited about the new way we are teaching the classes this year.  We have changed the Honors English classes to College Prep English classes.  This allows us to teach the regular English classes with the knowledge that none of the students in the class are planning on going to college, so I have taken out all the lessons on formal writing (MLA format, literature analysis, etc) and have replaced the research paper with a Career research project which should be much more valuable to students who are going into the work force after high school.

Although I teach juniors, I do have one freshman Basic English class.  I am teaching it as a composition class and plan on trying to get the students caught up on their English skills.  I'm cautiously optimistic about that class as well, but also anxious because I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to teach each skill and will have to write lesson plans throughout the year.  Working without a syllabus is weird for me. I usually know what assignments I'm going to teach throughout the entire year!

I'm Back!

My computer is back up and running! I wasn't prepared for it to be back, so I haven't prepared for a Single Saturday post.

I have been lost without my Mac for the last two weeks, and I'm so glad to have it back. Luckily, it was still under warranty because the logic board had to be replaced and it would have cost almost $1,500 dollars...not that I would have paid that. I am going to hold off on an upgrade for a little while.  Mom is planning on buying this one from me (for a discounted price) and I am going to upgrade at some point to a new Macbook with a faster processor, more Ram and more hard drive space so I can work on my photography easier.

Turtles for Dinner?

Okay, so this was refering to ice cream flavor, but really...it doesn't say turtle sunday. I just had to take a picture of it. I would think turtle would be a terrible flavor of the day; right up there with raccoon or opposum!

I went to the dr. Today and he thinks my wrist is sprained; nothing shows up on the x-rays, so he gave me a shot, told me to take off the brace and just be careful with it, dont over-do it or anything, and if it's not better in 4 weeks, to call back. I can't believe all that pain was from a sprain, but I sure am glad surgery doesn't seem to be in my near future!

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It is Time to Do Something...

It is finally time to yive uo hoping my old Mac will one day start working again. I am going to take it to an Apple store today and see if they know anything about Apple replacing the video cards for free or if I will have to pay to have it done. Either way, I am probably going to order a new Macbook today and my Mom will get my old one. I hate having to start school without my Mac...I feel like I am working with one hand tied behind my back. Almost al my lesson plans, etc are saved on my Mac, not on the school computer. Althoigh everything is backed up on an extetnal hardrive, I cannot access it. I'm just really excited to finally get something done today...

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Making a Meeting Fun

Thursday was our anual district meeting. Basically the osame information year after yrar, so we have to find ways to keep ourselves entertained. This year we used the Tootsie Rolls thaat were spread out on the tables to build different structures...this is one of the many towers that were built.

As a side note...my computer is dead. I am taking it to Apple on Tuesday to see if they will fix it for free.

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Catcing Up

This is just a short catch up note.  I'm at school for the day trying to get my room ready for school to start next week and thought I would try to type up a quick post while I had access to a computer.

I'm still having problems with my Mac's video card.  Not sure what I'm going to do. I will probably buy a new Mac (it's time anyway) and see how much it will cost to fix the old one. They don't sell for much, so I doubt it will be worth it to fix it up to sell, but I may be able to convince my mother to fix it up for herself because she is wanting a laptop and I think she would like an Apple and this one would be fast enough for her (much faster than the dinosaur PC she currently has).

Also, I have an appointment to see a hand specialist about my left wrist. I really hope that surgery isn't in my future...

Computer Down

My computer's video card is showing a black screen again. It has been doing it since yesterday and I am afraid I am not going to get it to work again. I have everything backed up except the wedding photos I have been editing, so if it never works again, I will have to re-edit them... Anyway, that is why I haven't been blogging. It is a pain to type it all out on my phone like I am doing now. I hope I can get it up and running at least long enough to back it up again and order a new Mac.

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Small Town Sunday #2

5 Reasons To Live In A Small Town

I just spent the last week in a good sized city. If you look at a small map of North Carolina you will even see it listed there!  This got me to thinking about why I chose small town life over city life. I know that many people don't get it, and I can understand why. The city has so much available: big theaters, lots of restaurants to choose from, all kinds of stores to shop from and a Starbucks on every corner. So why chose a small town.  Here are 5 good reasons for choosing small town life over big city life.

1. Like Cheers, You want to go where everybody knows your name...and they're always glad you came. While growing up a small town doesn't mean that you will automatically know everyone in town, you will probably know someone who knows that person. Example: I go to the medical clinic to see the doctor (who I am on a first name basis with because we went to church together) and I don't even have to check in at the reception desk. Last time I went, the receptionist was on the phone; instead of waiting for her to get off the phone, I just waved at her and went and sat down (I also know her from church).

2. Going outside without all your clothes on. You may ask Why someone would want to go outside without all their clothes on, but I actually do it all the time...especially in the summer. I tend to spend the first few hours of the day (when I don't have to go somewhere) in my nightgown (read: extra big t-shirt). This means that if I need to go to the mailbox, or run to the car for something, I'm usually doing it with just the t-shirt. With the new front porch, I spent many mornings sitting out there reading...in just the t-shirt. The odds of someone coming by are pretty slim, and there's a good chance that they are related to me anyway. Now, of course, I live out in the country, so that makes it easier to walk around like that. I'm not sure I would do that (much) if I lived inside the city limits where I would surely have lots of neighbors...but maybe.

3. No city driving. I'm actually a good city driver...believe it or not. I have spent quite a bit of time driving in the city; both while in college and when going to the closest big city for shopping. I can zip in and out of traffic with the best of them, but in my everyday, small town life I get to drive without the hassle of trying to vie for a spot or waiting in one stop light after another. My hometown has two four-way stops and no traffic lights. Growing up we only had one four-way stop...so we're moving up in the world. Yes, I have to drive farther to get somewhere, but it probably doesn't take any more time to get there than in would in the city.

4. Small Town Values. Yes, you can meet nice people in the big city, and you can meet rude people in a small town. However, there is a different vibe in a small town. People are generally polite and nice, even when they don't know you. I'm not sure why this is, but it is true. Maybe it is me; I tend to talk to everyone I meet. I go to the store and talk to the checkout lady; even in bigger towns/cities, this tends to go over well, but I find that in cities I have to make the first move. I find that in a small town people will smile at you and say, "hi" when they meet you walking down the street or in the aisle at the super market.

5. Low cost of living. I know several people who have moved here from big cities. We have two different neighbors who moved here from Wisconsin. They didn't know anyone, just wanted to move to the Ozarks. They are able to buy a house and hundred(s) of acres for the price of the house they sold before moving here. I knew a lady who moved here with her sister from Colorado because it is one of the cheapest places to live in the country. I'm always shocked when I've seen an episode of House Hunters or something similar and see how much houses in the city cost. It is obscene. A two or three bedroom house with a small yard will go for half a million dollars (or more). For that kind of money, around here, you could buy a 200 acre farm with a 4-bedroom house and outbuildings...and have money left over! Not to mention lower taxes (sales and property).

For me, the benefits of small town life outweigh not having a Starbucks within 80 miles of my house, and while visiting the city is nice for a day of shopping, I will choose small town life every time.

Did I forget something? Why do you prefer a small town over the city?

Single Saturday #2

I just got home from driving halfway across the United States...By Myself! Needless to say, I don't feel like writing a very long post for this, our second Single Saturday. By while I was thinking about how I didn't want to really write a post, I thought about why...

Vacationing while single. This can be either really rewarding, or a little depressing.  I believe it is all about how you think about it...where your mind is.  I can remember a trip to England with one of my best friends: by the end of the trip, we were getting on each other's nerves and ended up splitting up on our last day while touring Bath. It was easily one of my favorite days.  I enjoyed just walking around by myself.

I actually think I could go on a vacation by myself and be perfectly happy about it. I could go where I wanted to go without having to check with another person to see if they want to go there too. It would be wonderful to just sit at a cafe and watch the locals and become part of the place you are visiting.  I don't think I'd want to go solo on all my vacations, but I would be fine doing it every once in awhile.

But this all brings me back to my original thought...I drove halfway across the country By Myself! Almost 1000 miles from Missouri to North Carolina (and back). I drove it in record time, but man that is a lot of driving for one person. I would have loved to have someone to trade off the driving-duty once in awhile; especially when my back would start hurting!

Have you ever been on vacation by yourself? What is your story?

Atlatic Beach

I finally got to go to the beach today. We didn't take swimsuits or anything; neither one of us wanted to hang out at the beach or go swimming. Yes, I know this sounds weird. I've already heard it: "Why would you want to go to the beach if you aren't going to swim?" and "Why would you go to the beach and not swim?" etc.

I really don't like the beach. I know most people love the beach, but I also know I'm not alone in this. Sand, sand, sand everywhere! And then there is the grimy feeling of being in salt water. Plus, there was no hotel room to go back to so we could shower and change. I would have enjoyed sitting in one of those beach chairs with the surf flowing over my legs and reading a good book if we were staying at a hotel nearby, but we weren't.

I wanted to go to the beach because I feel I should see the ocean every few years. It was time to go, especially since I was so close. When you live in the middle of the United States, you don't get to the ocean very often. 

We walked out into the water and stood there for awhile. I took a few pics (battery died on my good camera, or I would upload a few), then we walked out on the pier. I really enjoyed the pier. It was a really nice day with a cool breeze coming off the water.

I would never want to live by the beach, but it is fun to visit once in awhile.

After the beach, we went to a small, local aquarium. I got to touch a stingray! And see sharks during Discovery Channel's Shark Week! I also got to see the largest hermit crab ever...

For some reason it looks so familiar...

I'm going home tomorrow. I hope that I make good time again. I may miss a post or two because of drive time...

Mall Fun and Big Hats

There are two different types of shopping. You can shop with a purpose, or you can shop for fun.  I hate to shop with a purpose in mind. You MUST get out of the store with the item needed.  Meh. Not so much fun. But I love to just shop for the fun of it. No pressure.

That's what my BFF and I did today. We went to the mall to just cruse the stores and see what deals we could find. It was a small mall, which is even better because even when I shop for fun, I still get burned out pretty fast.  The only thing we had to get was soap at Bath and Body Works, which is a lot of fun because you get to try out all the new scents.

We got some good finds, but my favorite part of the shopping trip was finding and trying on ridiculous hats.

This one was voted as looking best on me

Not sure about this one

Let's go to Ascot!

I was just shocked to find out that both JC Penny's and Sears had hats like these. Our JC Penny's in Southern Missouri doesn't have hats like this. It wasn't until I had tried on (and taken pictures of) about 10 different hats that I realized the reason they had these hats in the Goldsboro, NC mall is because of the older black ladies who need something to wear to church. And here I just wanted to go to the Kentucky Derby to have an excuse to wear one. White people don't get to wear big, awesome hats like this...not even little old white ladies.  I really wish I could bring the big hat to our all white Southern Baptist church.

Is 3D Around To Stay This Time?

I went to my third 3D movie last night; well, I guess they call it RealD now. It is so much better than the old 3D with the red and blue cardboard glasses. Everything is in 3D all the time; it isn't just random objects coming at you. I wonder if it is around to stay this time. I know that they are even coming out with 3D TVs...although I don't really get that. So is 3D more than just a passing fad like it was back in the 80's? I'm giving it a 60% chance of sticking around.

My BFF and I watched Despicable Me in 3D. While the movie was really good, I was disappointed in the quality of the movie; it was really out of focus. I'm sure that the theater didn't have the projector in focus, and it was really distracting. I would have got up to complain, but I didn't want to miss anything, plus it wasn't the theater I'm used to. I might have said something at "my" theater; I know they wouldn't mind.

 

So tell me what you think about the whole 3D/RealD fad. Is it here to stay?

Vacation in North Carolina

Although I'm really enjoying my vacation to visit my best friend, I am having to get used to living on a different schedule than I normally do.

My bff's husband works weird hours (from 2pm-11pm) and so stays up later than I'm used to at home. He will usually stay up until 3am and then sleep until noon.  Considering his work schedule, this really isn't unusual.  I wouldn't want to have to come home and go straight to bed either. However, because of his schedule, my bff also tends to keep later hours than usual (going to bed around midnight and getting up around 9am). Luckily, NC is an hour ahead of MO time, so I'm not staying up much longer than usual. I am, however, eating much later than I'm used to. Not so much breakfast because I get my own when I get up, but lunch and supper are a lot later than I'm used to, even taking in the time difference.

Dinner was started after 7pm

Went to a cheese steak place (after 8pm). Loved it! But I'm no longer used to eating like this...

Considering living with other people is never easy, weird eating hours is not that bad.

My vacation is more like a "staycation" in that we aren't really doing much but hanging out and enjoying each other's company. The only difference is that I had to drive over 900 miles to do it. I wouldn't change anything though. We've just been hanging out, playing games, watching tv, and talking. We did go shopping at Target this afternoon and may go to the movies tomorrow. We were supposed to go to the beach today, but it rained.  I'm excited to go to the beach. I don't really like the beach, but I like to go see the ocean at least once a decade...

Have a banana Princess!

 We've both been playing a lot of My Kingdom for a Princess.  We sit in the same room, on separate laptops, playing the same game. It's a time management game. They finally created a version that will work on a Mac, so I downloaded it the other day so we could both play at the same time. It's definitely my favorite time management game.

I really wish my bff lived closer so we didn't have to pack in an entire year of hanging out in a week's worth of time. I'm hoping that she will get back to MO in the next year or so...

I'll leave you with some wonderful advice from Dwight K. Schrute.

I found this poster at Target and since I couldn't think of a good reason to buy it, I took a picture instead. My favorite quote is "Whenever I'm about to do something, I think, 'Would an idiot do that?' and if they would, I do not do that thing."

Small Town Sunday #1

I'm really excited about starting a weekly post devoted to small towns. I really hope that others will eventually join in and write their own blog posts and link back here. Comments are also welcome. 

I'm excited because I'm such a huge fan of small towns. I live and work in small towns; each with a population of under 3,000. That, of course, is the population of those living within the city limits and doesn't include the local rural population (which can come close, if not exceed, the "official" population).

I have always lived in a small town with the one exception: college. Even then, it would be considered a small town by anyone who lived in a mega-city (New York, Chicago, LA, etc). I define a small town as being under 10,000 in population. Our county seat has grown to just over 10,000, and I would never consider it a small town...a small city perhaps, especially since it is where all the other small towns have to go for most all their shopping needs.

I'm interested in what others consider a small town.

I encourage you to add lots of pictures of your favorite small town (or any small town). We would love to see them.

If you would like to add your own post to Small Town Sunday, please link back to this site and leave a comment with a link to your post (not your website).