Beach Day 1

We're here...

We arrived yesterday about 3:30 and unloaded the cars amid the blazing Florida heat. We're staying in a house that has a nice, open floorplan with huuuuuuuge windows overlooking the road and the beach.

Here's one view:

I know it looks like we're the only people for miles...but that's just a tricky shot.

Here's what the main view looks like:

We're not right on the beach, but it's a very short walk to get down there. It's also very quiet, which is great for us, since we brought Doc and if you know Doc at all, you know how much of a handfull he can be when he meets strange dogs...

You wouldn't know it looking at how calm and happy he is now though.

Resolutions

I know it isn't January 1, but for me the beginning of school is another New Year's. I always have goals and resolutions for the upcoming school year, and it makes me feel fresh and gives me a sense of accomplishment to put my goals down on paper and see to it that most-ahem-ok maybe about half of them go through.

1. Come up with some sort of schedule for housecleaning to get done during the week.

I love having a clean house, but usually all the cleaning tasks that need to get done on a regular basis get pushed off to the weekend. I'm always so busy once school starts, staying late to plan or grade papers, PTA meetings, blah blah, etc., that there never seems to be enough time to do it all. Then, either I'll spend a good five hours on Saturday catching up, or we'll make plans with friends and I end up saying "oh well, I'll get to that later". I figure if I sort of map out one or two chores per weekday, the house will stay cleaner and I'll feel less harried and stressed from trying to get it all done on the weekends.


2. Be better about getting lesson plans done ahead of time.

OK, time to confess my dirty little secret from last year: I was HORRIBLE about not having lesson plans for each subject each week. I knew in my head what I was doing, but it was never laid out on paper. It all worked out fine in the end, but there were several times when I would start off the day going, OK I know I want to do this...but what needs to get done in order to get there...? When you know what you're going to be doing ahead of time, it's sooooo much easier to have copies done, and when unexpected things come up (such as last minute meetings, conferences, etc.), you're like "Hey, no big, I'm all set for the day!"

Moral of the story, kids: procrastination=bad. If you're a teacher, don't be like me. Please. Remember, I'm changing my bad, bad ways.



3. Find time every day to read a devotional.

I have been reading an online devotional that is put out in conjunction with the Presbyterian church, so usually it goes along with the scriptures we read in church on Sunday, which I really enjoy. It even emails me a reminder every day to log on and read the devotional. Here again, I think my biggest enemy is p-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-i-o-n.


4. Figure out a way to effectively run Guided Reading Groups.

Ugh. In five years of teaching, I have yet to make this work. The year starts off great, groups get to meet with me, mini-lessons are done...but it just never seems to work. There's constantly someone off task, meaning my small group doesn't get my full attention. Or I end up starting late, so the first group get shorted on time. Or there's a "surprise" fire drill that takes up the second group's time slot.

There's got to be a way to make it work better, and I'm hoping to get that figured out this year. I'll keep you posted...


5. Keep the blog up to date.


6. Pack my lunch the night before.

This way, I'm not stuck eating the random things I pull out of the fridge while I'm still half-asleep at 6:30am. Also, I probably should eat fewer sandwiches of the Nutella and peanut butter variety...even though I swear all the protein makes it healthy...right?


7. Beat Andrew at Settlers of Catan.

That's right. I went there.

In the Kitchen

Hello, my name is Jessica and I am a baking addict. I. Love. Baking. Bread, biscuits, cookies, pies, tortes, quiche...you name it I've probably baked it at some point. My absolute favorite thing to bake are cookies. They are quick, portable and yummy. Used to be I could take them to work and get rid of them in a day or two. Now I work with all these people who are always trying to stay healthy and I can't give 'em away. What's up with that? My waistline gettin' bigger is what's up with that.

Anyway I digress...

Here's what I made tonight to share with a friend who's coming over to play Settlers of Catan with us (yep, we're a bunch of certified nerds):

**I absolutely did not take this picture...Martha Stewart did.

The recipe is from Martha Stewart's Cookies and it's one of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes. Also, it doesn't have eggs in it, which we are currently out of.

Here is the recipe...along with my ahem, modifications. I have made these several times before with most of these same modifications without any adverse affects.

Ingredients: (I listed them all and then put stars next to the ones I left out because I didn't have them...or thought they were silly)

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder **I used regular old store-brand**

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

**1 tablespoon freshly grated peeled ginger**

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water

7 ounces best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, cut into chunks (I used chocolate chips, Tollhouse)

1/4 cup granulated sugar



1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. I don't have any but I did use those handy silicone baking mats and that worked fine. You honestly probably don't have to use anything if you have non-stick baking sheets.

2. In a bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cocoa.

In another bowl using an electric mixer, beat butter and (if you're using it) fresh ginger until lightened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar, beat until combined. Add molasses, beat until combined.

**I would like to stop here and insert a piece of advice which did not come from Martha, but instead from Paula Deen. Paula is a genius.

See this? That's right, a girl's best friend when it comes to cooking with molasses. When you get ready to measure the molasses, give the measuring cup a liberal hosedown with Pam. So that when you get ready to pour it:

You get just about every last drop of molasses without having to scrape it all out.


3. In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water.

Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking soda and water, then beat in the remaining flour mixture. Mix in the chocolate, turn onto plastic wrap or wax paper. Pat out to a 1-inch thickness. Refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or overnight. (I was in kind of a hurry, so I put mine in the freezer instead for about an hour)


4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Chill 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar.



Bake until surfaces just begin to crack, 10-12 minutes. Do NOT on pain of death overbake these. They will be hard as a rock and Martha Stewart will come hunt you down.


Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cook completely.

Memory Lane

So, about a month ago, my friend set out to make a T-shirt quilt. I had been thinking for years I should do the same. I have so many old shirts from my college days and thought it would be nice to put them all on display together.

So we made the trip to Hancock, and 5 yards of quilting fabric and 3 weeks of sewing later:

ta-DAH!

And the super cool, quilty green back:


And although I know nobody asked...here are a few of my favorite shirts and where they came from!

First and foremost...Bid Day shirt from the day I joined Alpha Gamma Delta!

Oh Agnes. Our resident ghost at Brenau...I remember one time she turned off the lights in the middle of a formal Convocation. I also remember quite a few spontaneous ghost hunts in the late night hours...She is still my homegirl.

Sophomore year. The retreat was fun...the year not so much. Sophomore slump is for real, yo. A small group of us wanted to get shirts that said "Sophomore year sucked out my soul". Obviously that was vetoed.

GO GREEK! From my days as a Rho Gamma.


As a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Alpha Gamma Delta at Brenau does and annual Sugar Strike. We swear off sugar for a week and take pledges from people who pay us for doing so. 25 sugar-addicted FEMALE college students all going through withdrawal at the same time. So many memories...

This is without a doubt my very favorite Alpha Gam shirt. Designed by the lovely Summer...it hurt me to cut this one up. But I figured it would just get all the way torn up if I continued to wear it.

This one is for Sarah Cosey. Hee.

So...it's been a while. A loooong while. And while I feel it is my duty to say sorry, should have been better about blogging this year...well, that's just kinda how I roll. I have been thinking "I realllly need to update the blog soon" for the past two weeks.

Anywho...

Obviously lots of things have been going on since well, last YEAR. The biggest and most recent change happened about 6 weeks ago when my Granddaddy passed away.

That's him last year at his 90th birthday party...pretty much the whole town threw him a "surprise" party, and they actually named his birthday "O.T. Adams Day".

The funeral was the biggest I've ever attended (not saying I've been to all that many), a very fitting tribute to a really great man. He did so much in the community, serving as chief of police, working with the fire department, being a coroner and working for the courthouse.

He would always bring my and my brothers and sister whole watermelons, which we would of course eat outside (the better for spitting the seeds wherever you please).

He took us all fishing in turn and we all knew how to bait a hook (but if you know how to sweet-talk, you don't have to bait your own hook).

Every year, he would plant beans and tomatoes and would always bring mom the harvest.

He will be missed. A lot.