Pasta with Arugula

Where did the weekend go?

Monday appeared faster than I could possibly recognize.

Regardless of my personal wishes, today was indeed Monday.

I slept in as late as possible before getting up and making a delicious nutrient-packed smoothie.

Smoothie Contained:

• 1/2 cup plain kefir
• handful of blueberries
• ground flax
• Sun Warrior protein powder
• Tons of strawberries
• 1 frozen banana
• heavy handful of spinach

All blended up until smooth and delicious!

Half of the goodies pictured below were meant to be my snack… but I didn’t have time for a snack today.

It’s hard to believe that I’m in the final weeks of this school year. It has just flown by!

Ending the school year feels like packing to travel around the world only 45 minutes before your flight leaves.

Ok, I’ve never been in that situation, but I imagine it feels like trying to finish everything before the year ends.

Next week will be particularly stressful.

Tuesday- parent teacher conferences

Wednesday- my class’s whole school assembly, baking treats for our party on Thur.  and parent teacher conferences

Thursday- hosting a poetry party for the parents

Friday- Sports day

As I always tell my students (and they’ve started telling to me) We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Ok, back to today. Lunch was an amazing salad

Amazing once I picked out all of the watermelon chunks that  had gone bad. Oops.

Gotta love a fruity salad!

• baby spinach
• arugula
• cucumber
• blueberries
• strawberries
• watermelon (past its prime…. but I didn’t know it at the time)
• pecans
• balsamic glaze

After school, I tutored, came home and took a much-needed nap, then made a delicious dinner!

2 servings

Ingredients

• 2 servings whole wheat pasta
• 1/2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 heaping tsp. red onion, finely chopped
• 6 button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1 Tbsp. lightened-up pesto
• tofu, cubed
• fresh arugula
• fresh lemon wedge
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. Melt the butter and oil together in a large non-stick pan. Add the onions and mushrooms and continue cooking until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are lightly browned.
3. Add the pesto, tofu and tomatoes. Continue cooking until heated through. If the sauce becomes too dry, add a bit of the pasta water.
4. Toss the cooked noodles with the sauce. Serve topped with fresh arugula, spritzed with lemon juice and seasoned as desired.

Because I’ve been very stressed lately and not very good at photographing everything I eat (especially the less nutritious choices) and I have a guilty conscience…. here is a list of what else has been consumed throughout the day.

• 2 cups of coffee with milk
• After school snack of Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
• 1 glass of coffee flavored soy milk
• 1 piece of dark chocolate topped with peanut butter

That will do.

I hope your week is off to a great start!

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Deutschland Wins!

It’s been another exciting day to be in Germany!

I walked along the Rhine with my friend, talking and taking pictures then watched an exciting football game.

The city hall has even been covered with a huge mural showing the real exterior pulled to the side to reveal a football game.

Today was Germany’s first game in the World Cup.

They WON!!!!!

Germany 4 Australia 0

I went to the large screen public viewing which is located on the Museum Mile in Bonn.

The atmosphere was so energetic and exciting.

I had a wonderful time!

Being there with the only Australia-supporters was also fun.

600 Germans against a handful of Aussies (and Kiwis) made for a night full of friendly rivalry.

These strangers were lookin’ the part!

Germans love their football!

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World Cup Fever

I’ve never been into sports.

Baseball. Football. Basketball. Hockey. Soccer

None of them.

But there is something about being in Germany during the World Cup that makes me passionate about soccer (affectionately called football throughout the remainder of this post.)

The last few days have been busy enough with work and life… but throw the World Cup in there and I really have no time.

No time to blog. No time to work out. No time to even think of new and exciting things to eat.

I do have time to get together with friends, eat, drink, cheer, scream, jump around, and laugh.

Basically, I have time to LIVE!!!

Last night I did my living at my friend Kate’s house. She had a bunch of people over to watch the England vs. USA game.

There were only 2 of us Americans…. and about 20 English.

Luckily we had a lovely German girl to cheer on our side!

Let’s just say it made for a fun game. Especially since their Goal Keeper scored a point for the US, making the game tie.

A draw is a victory for the USA but certainly a total loss for England.

Regardless of the poor performance by the English team, the cooking performance by my English hosts was certainly World Cup worthy!

The tiny red spotted grill is their dedicated vegetarian grill.

My contributions to the feast included watermelon salsa, guacamole, spring rolls and peanut sauce.

Guacamole

• 3 ripe avocados
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 tomato, chopped
• cumin, salt, pepper to taste

All smashed up together.

I should have made more because this stuff was gone in no time at all.

Fresh Watermelon Salsa

From How Sweet it Is

This was wonderful! The watermelon was a wonderful treat. Many people didn’t notice the watermelon until I mentioned it was in there.

Strange but true.

Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Butter Sauce

I followed Iowa Girl’s step-by-step instructions. She’s a genius. If you want to make these spring rolls, head over to her website.

These rolls included:

• rice noodles
• cucumber
• carrot
• tofu
• basil
• avocado

I didn’t have all the ingredients for Kristin’s sauce, so tried to mimic her recipe with ingredients I had on hand.

Spicy Peanut Butter Sauce

• 4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. raw sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 4 tsp. soy sauce
• 4 heaping tsp. peanut butter
• 1 tsp. Thai sweet chili sauce
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch dissolved in 2 Tbsp. hot water

Mix all ingredients together and microwave 1 min. 30 seconds, stirring half-way.

I made a ton and they were all eaten, a great sign of a good recipe!

What do we say? Go USA!!!!!

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Bloggers’ Best

My oven and food processor are still sweating from the workout yesterday.

5 new recipes later, I’m making some progress on my recipe wish list.

It’s so much fun to use a recipe that has come from someone else. I felt like all my favorite bloggers came by to play last night. Pure bonding, I tell you!

So let’s jump right in, shall we?

As I mentioned, I volunteered to make the Baby Shower treats for my colleague who is unable to eat sugary sweets or anything made with white flour.

I love a good challenge.

My challenge was made easier by the help of the Happy Herbivore. I slightly altered the recipes, but the link is to the original recipe.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cups whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 whole banana, very ripe
• ½ cup raw sugar
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ cup non-dairy milk
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin pan and set aside.
2. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together.
3. In a food processor, cream together the mashed banana with applesauce and sugar.
4. In a small bowl, mix the banana mixture with the soymilk, vanilla, zucchini and any other optional add-ins you might like such as vegan chocolate chips or chopped raw walnuts. Stir until evenly combined.
5. Add flour mix to wet mix in 3-4 batches and stir until just combined.
6. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan and bake 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Butter Bean Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp cinnamon (optional)
• a dash of ground cardamon (optional)
• ½ cup canned white beans, liquids reserved
• ½ cup raw sugar
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
• a dash of salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a large cookie sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Transfer 3/4 cup of the oats to a food processor and pulse, about 15x, until crumbly but not powder. Transfer to a mixing bowl and combine with flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cardamon. Whisk to incorporate and set aside.
3. Transfer beans to processor then add applesauce, sugar, vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of the bean liquid. Whiz until smooth.
4. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir about 10 times. Add chips, remaining 1/4 cup oats and the rest of the bean liquid, stirring until combined. If the mixture is too wet, add more oats. If it’s too dry, add a little water.
5. Drop tablespoon’s of batter onto the cookie sheet, leaving an inch of room between each. Bake 15 minutes, until edges are just turning light brown and middles are firm. They will firm a bit more as they cool. Check the bottoms to make sure they are golden brown.

At the baby shower today, very few people were touching the treats I brought, not even the guest of honor!

Cookies, chocolate cup cakes, strawberries and whipped cream are my contribution.

Once I let her know about the nutritional value of the recipes, the table was flocked with “Oh thank God,” and “I was desperate but didn’t want to break my diet,” and “Really? NO WAY!” I’ve been asked to bring copies of the recipes tomorrow so I’d say the Happy Herbivore’s recipes were a hit! I came home empty handed.

The Guest of Honor was most satisfied. Chocolate cake is her favorite but she thought those days were gone. How wrong she was.

I was just happy she could have her cake while eating for two.

So back to the crazy cooking last night. We’re on to dinner!

On Monday night, I put out a ton of black beans to soak, following Allison’s helpful guidance. Yesterday, I continued the process by cooking the beans until ready to be used. These little gems can’t be found in canned from in Germany.

Vegan Black Bean Burger

Again, click on the link to see the original, unaltered recipe by Emily from The Front Burner

Ingredients: (makes 6 burgers)

• 3 cups cooked black beans
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup dry rolled oats
• 1/4 pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4  tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 tsp onion powder
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Next, add the oats and pumpkin seeds to your food processor and grind until coarsely chopped (they will still be a little chunky).
2. Grate the carrots, and then add to your mixture in the food processor. Add 3/4 of the beans, all spices, and the olive oil. Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whir and mix it all together.
3. Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and then fold in the rest of the whole, reserved beans. Wet your hands and then form into 6 medium sized patties. Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet or into a baking pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle. If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning.

These veggie burgers were pretty good, but I prefer my old-stand-by which is chock full of fresh veggies.

I topped the burgers with a super-simple yet delicious alternative to guacamole.

This recipe comes from Liren over at The Kitchen Confidante

Avocado-Corn-Tomato Salad

• 1 large ripe avocados, diced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise
• 1 small can of corn
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
• handful cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced
• 1 lime, juiced
• salt & pepper to taste

Toss ingredients and enjoy!

As if my life wasn’t full enough after such a good dinner and a sickening amount of batter eater while baking the cookies and cakes, I had a dessert yet to enjoy!

Brandi at bran appetit always has such wonderful ideas. She is probably featured more than any other blogger on my recipe wish list.

There’s a reason I like her so much.

She does good. She does real good!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Ingredients:

• 3 cups strawberries, halved
• 3 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1/2” pieces
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup agave
• 1/2 cup oat flour (simply oats ground in the food processor)
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp canola oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix strawberries, rhubarb, honey, and agave in large bowl and pour into greased 8×8 baking dish.
3. Combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, salt, butter, and oil until mixture is crumbly and butter and oil is incorporated.
4. Sprinkle oat mixture over fruit.
5. Bake 40-50 minutes until edges are bubbling and topping is golden.
6. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

This was so, so good!

So good in fact, it made a reappearance on my breakfast oatmeal this morning.

Don’t be surprised to see this again tomorrow!

Here’s what else I ate yesterday. Simple and repeat items. I just felt I had to share, what with my promise of catching you up and all.

Breakfast

Snack

One of the only photos I have of the Butter Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lunch

Lamb’s Lettuce and Spinach from the balcony

After such a busy day yesterday, I’m taking it    e   a   s   y    tonight.

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Cat-ching up

I have been so busy in the kitchen today that there’s no time to blog about it.

Please return tomorrow…. I have 5 wonderful things to share!

I’ll catch up on all of that tomorrow.

For now, accept this picture of my cat.

Peaceful and loving. Total admiration.

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Food and Funnies

It’s a bit late and I have a little project I’d like to work on before the day is through, so I’m going to whiz you through today via the food I ate. I hope you will return again!

Breakfast

Overnight oats and fruit parfait.

Overnight Oat and Fruit Parfait

Ingredients

Overnight Oats

• 1/3 cup oats
• 2/3 cup strawberry yogurt
• 1/2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground flax
• dash of salt

Fruit Salad (use the amounts you see fit or change completely if you wish!)

• watermelon
• strawberries
• apricots
• blue berries

Method

1. Mix the overnight oats ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate… overnight
2. In the morning, slice up the fruit into tiny bites and toss together.
3. Layer the oat and fruit then enjoy!

What a great, cheery way to start the day!

Lunch

Smoked salmon veggie loaded sandwich, cucumbers with yogurt dill dip, apricots, and lentil salad.

The Sandwich

• Whole grain pumpkin seed bread
• spinach from my balcony garden
• shredded carrot
• cucumber
• smoked salmon
• tomato

I’d like to interrupt this feast for the eyes with an announcement:

I love teaching kids about digital photography. They are just too darn cute with their little cameras.

That’s all.

Thank you.

I ate a ton of fresh strawberries with my class during fruit snack, but none were photographed. You all know what strawberries look like.

After school, I hit up the gym! I’ve been a bit lazy lately so kicked myself back into gear today. Wowza, I’ll probably be feeling sore tomorrow.

Dinner

Grilled cheese and green beans

Grilled Cheese

• cheddar cheese
• fresh tomato
• fresh basil
• Italian seasoning
• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• olive oil spread

It’s been a good day.

Now, I need your help.

I’ve volunteered to make treats for my colleagues baby shower on Wednesday. We’re having a small staff party during lunch. I had planned to make strawberry shortcake but now she has been diagnosed with prenatal diabetes and needs to lay off the sugar and is forbidden from eating anything made with white flour.

I love a good challenge!

Thanks to Happy Herbivore, I found several healthy recipes that fit the restrictive bill. I just need your help in choosing which is best for a pregnant lady and 30+ colleagues. I think I’ll bring a fruit salad but also want to do a baked treat.

Butter Bean Cookies (a practice batch of these are in the oven right now)

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins or

Black Bean Brownies

Thanks for your help!

Now, to send you off in high spirits, I’d like to share a funny photo from the public park by my school. For some reason, I have a strange passion for no dog-poop signs. It seems that I’ve been able to collect a few from every country I visit. Funny. Gross. But true.

It wasn’t until I saw this sign that I even realized we had a domesticated-fox-pooing problem.

Have a wonderful week!

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Sunny Saturday

I hope your Saturday weather is as beautiful as mine.

I started the day fairly early for a weekend.

Ate breakfast, visited the fruit and vegetable lady, did some housework then hit up the gym.

Body Balance, how I love thee.

My post-workout snack included 1 apple and 2 apricots.

Saturday shopping continued at the Asian grocery store and the supermarket to buy more avocados- gotta love the sale!

I came home, dropped off my gym bag and shopping, then left for an impromptu date on the Rhine.

Today was the perfect day to sit river side in a beer garden.

The Rhine was busy! Boats were out for work and play. People were walking, riding bikes, running, and skating. I love people watching.

My food and drink consumptions included a beer and baguette with tomato, mozzarella and basil.

Kölsch is the regional beer of the Rheinland.

After relaxing as spectators, Sebastian and I became the spectacle as we walked along the Rhine, laughing and having a good ol’ time.

I dropped Sebastian off at work then continued to walk around town, taking photos of some of the beautiful sights.

Can you imagine this being your home?

A tradition from this region is the giving of a May tree. On May 1st, love-struck lads cut down birch trees, decorate them with streamers and hearts with the  names of their loves, and place the tree by the bedroom window of their sweethearts. Some trees still remain into June.

A lovely and peaceful street.

With the World Cup kicking off this week, South Africa, football, and German flags are everywhere! This advert caught my eye today! I’ll have to give the drink a try!

Back at home, I whipped up some coconut butter in the food processor. If you want to try this but don’t want to spend a fortune of coconut flakes, look in your Asian food store. I bought two big bags for €5.

Then continued into my evening meal. Dinner consisted of left-overs from my staff lunch yesterday. The food was catered by the husband of the other Year 4 assistant. This is the second time we’ve been so lucky to eat his specialties.

My dinner went from this…

How much can I stuff into a teany-tiny container?

to this!

Tabbouleh, zucchini stuffed with goat’s cheese, lentil salad, and roasted potato topped with tzaziki and baba ganoush.

Later followed by a simple dessert of kefir, strawberries, blueberries and granola.

Night all, it’s movie time!

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Sushi Supper

Happy Friday!!

What are you doing to kick off your weekend?

I stayed in tonight to finish off the final reports. They are now ready to hand in first thing Monday morning. What a great feeling to be DONE!!

Although it has been a stressful week, it’s been an easy one teaching-wise. Tuesday we had a class trip, Thursday there was no school, and today was a work day only for the teachers. That means I was paid to work a full week but only did my regular teaching job two days. I guess I can’t complain about the extra time spent doing reports this week after all.

My morning started with an up-and-ready breakfast.

Overnight oats in a jar.

If we’ve ever met, you know I adore peanut butter. Always have and always will. I’ve just got to get each and every bit of the good stuff before throwing the jar into the recycling can.

My jar included:

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground flax

All mixed up and left in the fridge overnight.

This morning I added:

• fresh strawberries
• fresh raspberries
• pumpkin seeds

All mixed up and yummy!

We had to be at work like normal today. Our sessions were run by the EAL teacher. At break time, I had a handful of fresh strawberries, a snack-sized kit-kat bar, and the last of my raspberries.

After the second session, we were allowed to work on our own doing whatever we needed to do. I was so into my work that I didn’t notice that lunch was served. In my rush to collect each and every delicious middle eastern dip and salad which was provided, I didn’t take a photo. Don’t worry, I took home left-overs so they will probably appear tomorrow. The lunch was GOOD!

I spent the rest of the work day working on writing the reports for my art students and collecting summer themed stories, jokes, and songs for our final assembly.

My after-school snack was a Coconut Kefir Smoothie

Smoothie Stuff

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 cup kefir
• 1/8 cup orange juice
• 1.5 Tbsp. chocolate protein powder
• 1 Tbsp. coconut powder

All blended up until creamy.

After drinking that beauty, I buckled down to finish my final reports. After a few hours, I needed a break and a meal.

A sushi supper it was!

Now I’m no sushi pro, but I’m happy to share my way of rollin’.

Step-by-Step Sushi

1. Prepare your sushi rice according to package instructions.

For 2 rolls, I used the proportion of 1/2 cup sushi rice to 3/4 cup water. Once the rice was cooked, I added a sprinkle of salt and sugar. Allow the rice to completely cool.

2. Prepare your nori, veggies and protein

Lay your nori shiny-side-down on the rolling mat. Thinly slice your chosen veggies such as carrot, cucumber, avocado, and leftover grilled asparagus. Smoked salmon was my protein of choice.

3. Spread the rice

Evenly spread the cooled rice over the nori. Beneath my rice today is a thin layer of cream cheese. You can take it or leave it when making your own.

4. Lay out the goodies.

About 1/2-1 inch from the bottom of the nori, layer your protein and veggies. Try to keep it fairly compact- this will help in the next step.

5. Press, push, pull and roll

No action shots (my hands were busy) but after carefully folding the edge over your line of goodies, carefully push the ingredients together and you roll the ingredients tightly together.

6. Slice and plate

Use a very sharp wet knife to slice the rolls. You should get between 8-10 bites per roll.

After struggling to get a decent photo of the sushi in chop sticks (Hurry up and take the photo before it ‘SPLASH’ falls into the soy sauce), we settled on a finger food photo.

Isn’t it pretty?

Sushi is quite simple to make at home. I encourage you to give it a try this weekend!

Dessert was a nibble of dark chocolate and a huge wedge of watermelon.

I didn’t realize how much fruit I ate today! Yikes! Between the fruit and the chocolate, my body must be pulsing with sugar, talk about a high glycemic diet!

Questions

1. What is your favorite type of sushi?

2. Do you have a favorite summer-themed song, poem, story, or joke? Your suggestions might just appear in my class’s summer assembly!

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Food for Thought

It’s that time of year that all teachers dread.

The time of year where my words can either make it or break it for the kids I teach.

It’s the time of year where I have to think about my colleagues who will teach my students next.

I have to think about the schools these kids will attend.

I must think about the futures, both right around the corner and down the road.

It’s the awful time of year where only one thing is on my mind-

reports

I was trying to explain to Sebastian the pressure behind writing reports but he got it before I even finished and said,

“You have to write each report like it’s the first and the last.”

Perfectly said. Yes, even though I’m writing 13 reports, they will each be read independently by one family effecting the future of one child.

Serious business needs serious food.

Let’s hope I had the right food for thought today!

Afternoon Breakfast

When I went to bed last night, my head hurt so bad that I knew I’d still be in pain the next morning. It’s a good thing we had today off otherwise I would have had to call in sick. I woke up at 9 with a terrible migraine. My teeth and eyes even hurt. I took two Excedrin Migraine pills and went back to sleep until 1 pm. When I woke up, the pain had reduced to a slight headache, thank God. Needless to say, breakfast was had around 2pm.

3 mini rolls with smoked cheese, peanut butter and blueberry jam, and nutella and cottage cheese.

Break time Snack

I took a little break after about 2 hours and made some fresh juice. One of the best combinations to date.

2 oranges, 2 carrots, 1 apple, 1 beat, 1 inch nub of ginger

I worked for a few more hours then took another break.

Sugar and Protein Fix

One of my mother’s best treats- peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Trust me, my students will benefit from this unhealthy mess.

I then extended my break by forcing encouraging Sebastian to go on a walk with me.

While walking, we organized a bet. Whoever lost was responsible for organizing a date night next week. It must be something new, interesting and exciting for both parties involved. Sebastian bet I wouldn’t be able to meet my goal of completing 8 reports before midnight.

Once back, I continued to work until 9 then took another break for dinner.

Dinner time

Brown rice, grilled asparagus and Asian marinated grilled salmon

I was hungry for rice-a-roni so improvised and added some vegetable bouillon soup mix to the rice. Although it wasn’t the San Francisco treat, it beat plain brown rice.

Asian Seafood Marinade

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 3 thin slices of ginger, 1/2 inch diameter
• juice and zest of one lime
• 1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 salmon fillet

Method

1. Combine garlic, ginger, lime and soy sauce. Pour over salmon in a tight-fitting container.
2. Marinate for a minimum of half an hour.
3. Grill fish as desired.

It’s now 11:47 and I’m ready to call it a night.

Remember that bet I mentioned earlier? Well drum roll, please!

I’ve completed 9 reports! I can’t wait to find out what Sebastian has planned! I love surprises!

Tomorrow I have a staff in-service. We’re discussing EAL (English as an additional language.) The kids won’t be at school but the teachers will be. Hopefully I’ll finish the remaining reports tomorrow afternoon.

Have a nice night, all!

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100th Post and Movie Review

Ok, so this is actually the 101st post… I didn’t notice until today that I’d passed the monumental post.

100 posts ago, I started this little blog. Today, I will continue it.

First I’d like to review a movie.

I almost called this post Sex and the Sucky but my better judgement came a knockin’ and I quickly realized that such a title could be taken the wrong way.

Sex and the City 2 sucked. That’s how Sex and the Sucky should be taken.

I was really excited to see this movie. Although I’ve never been into the series, I did like the last movie.

I found round 2 to be offensive, culturally insensitive, and corny to the point that I was forced to cringe. If you must see this awful movie, please do not waste your money to see it in the theater. Wait for it to come out on DVD and rent it for $1.

Enough said.

On to the beginning of my day!

Breakfast today was half a cantaloupe filled with overnight oats and topped with strawberries and raspberries. This was inspired by my favorite Iowan.

Cantaloupe Overnight Oats

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 heaping tsp. vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 ripe banana, mashed
• 1/2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cantaloupe
• fruit to top

Method

1. Mix the oats, yogurt, protein powder, banana, chia seeds and salt in a bowl.
2. Scoop out the seeds of the cantaloupe and fill the oat mixture into the hollow of the melon.
3. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Top with fruit and enjoy in the morning!

I had the same thing yesterday but with raspberries as well.

This morning I sang at assembly with the school teachers’ band. The music teacher is retiring this year after 25 years. He has always dreamed of having a teachers’ band but this is the first group that’s come together. It was a lot of fun singing for the whole school. All day I felt like a rock star as children came up to touch my hand and tell me “Ms. I saw you singing today. You have a pretty voice.” Kids were walking past and smiling like crazy all day. I’m glad they enjoyed it so much.

The band consists of 1 flute, 2 clarinets, 1 guitar, 1 piano, 1 drum set, and 2 voices.

Before long, it was lunch time.

Lunch was a veggie-loaded layered sandwich, garden-fresh radishes, and a kiwi

• pumpkin seed whole grain bread
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 small carrot, shredded
• lettuce
• tomato
• slice of goat cheese

Yesterday I plucked up the first harvest from the balcony garden- radishes! Here are a few photos.

Yum! I love spicy radishes! They always remind me of eating at Grandma’s.

Dinner today was an unphotographed baked potato with a side salad and a glass of wine, eaten out with the girls before the movie.

Now that we’ve come back to the movie, let me tell you a funny story.

The guy who plays Steve is from my University town. When the first movie came out, his mom rented the city trolley, decorated it with Sex and the City stuff, hired a bartender to make cosmopolitans, then drove her friends around town drinking and eating before going to the movie. When I saw the movie, I realized that he had some sex scenes. I just imagined his mom and her friends in the audience watching that. Ok, not really a funny story, but funny to imagine that moment for those intoxicated women.

Tomorrow I have the day off… but will spend it writing school reports all day. Wish me luck and lots of concentration.

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