Friday, December 16, 2011

Tis the Season

December has brought so many wonderful things already, and I can't wait to see what else is in store the rest of the month! Here is a brief re-cap of this eventful and happy month thus far:

1) 2 of my dear friends have gotten engaged! Whitney and Kristen are two of my Phi Mu sisters and I absolutely could not be happier for them. I am so excited to celebrate their engagements and marriage in the coming year, 2012 is already shaping up to be a great one!

2) I had my last evaluation of the semester and got ALL 4s and 5s (even got a couple more 5s :) ) I cannot express how great of a feeling that was. My evaluator had nothing but great things to say and it really made me feel good and more confident in the job I am doing. It was definitely a good way to end my first semester as a teacher.

3) I SURVIVED MY FIRST SEMESTER AS A TEACHER! While there have been good days and bad days, I made it. I am really starting to get in a routine and establish my own foundation for my classes. I know it takes a solid 3 years if not more to truly build up the right teaching program for you, but I feel I am making good progress toward that. I survived scheduling mayhem, 13 IEP meetings, 3 evaluations, and everything else that comes with teaching. It was a lot of work, but now I have a nice 2 weeks of nothing to look forward to. Come January 2, I will be ready to finish up my year just as strong as I began it.

Here's to December and the Holiday season. I hope everyone is feeling as blessed and joyful as I am and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

10 Day Challenge : 5 Foods

As I am sure most of my followers know.. I love food. I love cooking it and I love eating it. Here are 5 of my either go-to foods, or foods that I am always having a taste for.

5. Sushi: Now, when I say I love sushi, I don't mean the legit stuff. You know, the raw fish and all that jazz. I love COOKED sushi. Anything with crab, shrimp, lobster, salmon, avocado, cucumber, and so on is absolutely delicious, so long as the meat is cooked (or smoked). I can pretty much guarantee that I am always up for going to get some sushi, no matter how much I have had it that week. (not such a good thing for my bank account)
 
4. Pasta: Any pasta dish is fine with me. I cook a lot of them because they are just simple and fairly inexpensive. I have also found that most recipes I come across to try, all seem to be pasta related! When in doubt, I have 2-3 pasta dishes I can eat pretty much any time.
3. Steak: I really like  LOVE, OBSESS OVER, MAY HAVE A SLIGHT ADDICTION TO... steak. It is just so wonderful. For those who know me well, you know how much of a carnivore I am. If there is red meat, I am a happy girl; but steak.. steak is the way to my heart. I don't have it often, but when I do, I can assure you, I am the happiest girl alive. (sorry my love may be a little out of hand)
2. Hamburger: Hamburger- it's red meat, of course I love it. Hamburgers are just one of those things that are always good and always seem to hit the spot. Especially when you get a good one! One of my favorite burgers is the Belmont Burger at Belmont Grill. I used to be a loyal Huey's burger girl, but they haven't impressed me as much the last couple of years, but Belmont's are thick, juicy little pieces of heaven.
1.Grilled Cheese/ Deli Sandwiches: My #1 go to food is a grilled cheese sandwich or a grilled turkey/cheese etc. They are quick, easy, and inexpensive. Cheese (if you can even consider it a food) is probably my second favorite food next to steak. So anything with cheese is great. Add some bread, butter, and melt them all together and I am good to go. 


Those are some of my favorite dishes, and after writing this post, I think I may just need to consume one of the aforementioned foods this evening!

Happy Friday Eve, everyone!