I Got Tagged...

The rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, and 3 facts about yourself. Tag 3 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

3 Joys

1. Working with kids. They are crazy, but I love them!
2. Being married to a man who loves and serves the Lord...that one should probably be number 1.
3. Hanging out on the couch watching TV...it's the simple things!

3 fears

1. Waking up one day and realizing that I was really supposed to be going to class this whole time, and I am behind and failing. I am serious! I have this dream at least once a month.
2. Someone thinking I didn't do a good job at something.
3. Being locked out. Here's to you mom...you scarred me for life.

3 goals

1. To learn how to bake...and bake well.
2. To organize my holiday decorations into color-coded bins.
3. To grow in my relationship with God constantly.

3 obsessions

1. Blogging and reading blogs...I have to go with Jessica on this one. I am so addicted! I am pretty sure that I could have written the Great American Novel in the time I have spent blogging and reading blogs.
2. Sonic Cokes...Need I say more?
3. Decorating for various seasons. Seriously...I may seek help for my addiction.

3 facts

1. I can curl my tongue three times...and couldn't even curl it once until I was 22.
2. I am quite obsessive.
3. I LOVE Disney World.

People who have to do this now
1. Hailey Goffinet
2. Leah Williams
3. Kristy Joyce

Just Another Manic Monday

What a fun week it has already been! I just filled out my calendar for October, and it is going to be insane! I can't wait. I love fall and all of the fun stuff there is to do. Next up on the agenda: The State Fair of Texas. The only place where people will actually congratulate me for eating my weight in food. Love it!

Here are a few pics from the past couple of days...more fall decorations coming soon!





I just finished my "outside fall decor." I love the huge pumpkin! It's called a fairytale pumpkin, and I definitely had to get someone help me get it in the car. That thing is HEAVY!


Grace Lin and Me!



The sign I just got to go above Bertha. For those of you who don't know, Bertha is our very large and in charge entertainment center. I figured she needed a little prettying-up.

Venetian Veal Pie

Here you go people...I promise you won't be disappointed! This is the best I could figure out the recipe. Of course my grandma has been making it forever, so she has made a few changes. I tried to figure most of them out. Sorry if this is confusing!

Ingredients (For pie innards...just because I like that word)

1 lb round or sirloin steak
1/2 C flour (for coating meat)
1/4 C butter (for cooking meat)

2 C tomatoes (1 tall can)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/4 C chopped onion
3 Tbs grated Parmesan
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp sweet basil, 1/2 tsp each of salt, garlic salt, and oregano.

1/4 lb of sliced cheddar

Crust Ingredients

1 1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 C grated Parmesan
1/2 C oleo
4 or 5 Tbs water

For Crust

Combine crust ingredients and mix as for any crust. Roll out about 2/3 of dough and line pie pan. Make circles of remaining dough for top.

Innards Instructions

Cut meat into 1 inch pieces. Flour and brown in butter. Add remaining ingredients (tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, Parmesan, sugar, and spices). Cook slowly until meat is tender stirring frequently and adding a little water as it cooks down. Pour into unbaked crust, top with 1/4 lb of sliced cheddar and then circles of dough (see crust directions!) Bake at 350 degrees until crust is brown.

*Note: My grandmother says she skips the flouring and cooking the meat in butter. She just throws all of the ingredients (but not the flour!) into the electric skillet and cooks until the meat is done.

The Golden E

I won the Golden E! What is the Golden E you ask? Well, sit right back and I will tell you. Each week one teacher chooses another to get the Golden E at the school-wide assembly. This week, I got picked! It was so fun! It's really funny, because it gets announced in front of all the kids and they think it is a huge deal. All day long, kids came in the library to congratulate me and see the E!

Last week, there was some E controversy and even an E-napping. It was crazy business. I was quick to remind everyone that the library is under video surveillance, so they'd better leave the E alone! That means you, too! I only get it for a week, but I'm guarding that E with my life!

My Life in Pictures

Here are a few pictures from my life the past month or so. I finally got around to unloading the camera! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, you know, so I'll let these speak for themselves...or not. You know I do like to talk!


Do these plates look familiar? If not, maybe you need to go back and re-read my very exciting post about plates and punch cups. It turns out that Mike's mom had a set of these, so when Bill (Mike's dad of course) saw my post he brought them to me...whoo hoo! This is my favorite pattern so far, so I was super excited!


I know there is probably a Don't Take Pictures and Drive law out there, but this was great. Look closely...does that motorcycle have training wheels? That's the way it looks to me, but I could be wrong.


I got my new lunch box in the mail today! Giraffe print is all I needed to motivate me to get up and make my lunch in the mornings...ha!


Caleb (Jessica and Seth's son) stealing my chapstick. He can be quite sneaky! Okay...maybe I let him take it. He's just so cute!


This isn't the best picture in the world, but these are two of the best foods in the world: Venetian Veal Pie and Chocolate Pie. But only when made by the right person: My Nana!

More Random Thoughts

1. At school I am now known as the "book lady." I have decided this is much better than being known as the bag lady.

2. Tomorrow, I am going wogging with some people from my school. What is wogging? Walking/Jogging of course! Do you wog?

3. I am contemplating writing a letter to all of the major networks about their plot to ruin my life. They put all of my shows on Monday...I mean, a DVR can only record so much. I know...my life is hard.

4. I have become obsessed with fall decorations. All I can think about right now is how I really need a wheat stalk in the kitchen. That's a serious problem.

5. I went to the Plano Garden Ridge today, and it was one of the eeriest experiences of my life. It's in an old run down mall, barely anyone was there, and weird music was playing over the old radio speakers. I was pretty sure I had dissappeareed into an alternate universe and nobody was ever going to find me.

Plates and Cups...Exciting I Know

This is not a very exciting post, but I wanted to see what ya'll think. I think I would really like to start collecting these. They are snack plates/punch cups, and I think they are so fun. This is a set I just saw on ebay. What do you think?

Random Thoughts

So, my mom always tells me about when they came out with New Coke. People HATED it! My mom, ever the planner, had stocked up on the old stuff, and people would come to her house begging for some. She was like their dealer. That's my mom...the coke dealer...ha! We all know how this story ended: New Coke out, Coca-Cola Classic in.

I thought about this tonight as I was looking at my Facebook account. I HATE the new Facebook. I think the Facebook people thought they were being all cool and proactive, but I think it's ridiculous. I want old Facebook back. I am going to start a petition to bring in Facebook Classic...join me won't you?

Dear Goodness

I am ridiculous. In every situation, it seems that I make it as difficult as possible. Nothing is ever simple. Tonight, I was supposed to take food to the Sherman's, who just had a beautiful little girl. I had planned a yummy meal, but then I realized that if I actually made said meal I would be delivering it around 8:00 at night. So, after school I jumped in the car and headed to Market Street. I picked up new potatoes, salad, salmon, and headed out. When I got to the Sherman's house, I assumed that my job was over. All I had to do was get out of the car and deliver the food. Oh, but wait. I'm ridiculous. I almost forgot. Yes, I DROPPED the salmon in the middle of their street. It fell, and there it was staring up off the pavement at me. The Sherman's dinner. I'm not going to lie. For a split second, I panicked and actually considered picking it up. I did pick it up, but quickly came to my senses. A good meal deliverer does not drop your food in the middle of the street and then bring it to you. So...I jumped in the car, started driving around the block, panicking because I have no idea what I am going to do. My mom got a very frantic phone call and talked some sense into me. Luckily, I had bought a rack of pork ribs for Mike and I for dinner, so I shamefully pulled back up in front of the house, took the pork ribs to the door, and explained the situation. Of course, Sarah is a very nice person, so even if she thought I was crazy she didn't show it. The moral of this story: buy gift cards for people...when they fall on the ground they don't get ruined.

Hummus

I'm going to be honest. When I worked at my old school, I pretty much ate whatever I wanted. Everyone else did, and I followed the crowd. I don't know if you have heard about elementary schools, but they are like a food vortex. Basically, all sorts of food is constantly coming in to the school for various events, and none of it ever comes out.

My new school is a little different. I am surrounded by people who eat carrot sticks and snow peas for lunch. Sheesh! I will admit that it is intimidating. In the past I would have carried my Sonic breakfast into school loud and proud as if to say, "Don't you wish you were me...Ha!" Now, the few times I have stopped by to pick up breakfast this year, I have buried it in the bottom of my bag and pulled it out in the privacy of my office.

This is probably not the best solution, though. The best solution is probably to actually eat healthier. So...I am making an effort. This is my 4th day without any tea or soda. That's a big deal for me. I have also been trying to cook more at home, and I have been trying to find healthier snack foods.

Now, before I came to Frisco, I thought hummus sounded like a disease you don't tell people you have. But...a couple of the girls at school let me try some, and it's actually pretty good! I bought some at the store (Sprouts) yesterday, and it's my favorite yet. Basically, hummus is steamed and pureed chickpeas, but I like the ones that have stuff mixed in. The Artichoke Spinach Hommus (everyone spells it different) is great. Try some for yourself...it's better than hiding fast food in your purse.

Foodie Weekend

What a weekend! We went to the Ranger game on Friday night (see post below), which is always a good time. On Saturday I got the cooking itch. I had told Mike that once September rolled around I would start cooking more. So, Saturday morning I busted out the recipes and got to work on a grocery list. Be impressed please. I usually shop at Target, but Market Street just opened in Frisco and I had to check it out. I took Mike along for the ride, and it was SO amazing! It's like a grocery store on steroids. It's like Disney World for foodies. It was SOOOOO crowded, but we managed. Here are a few pictures.





When we got home, I had more food in my fridge than ever before. And when I say ever before, you could probably take all of the food I have ever had in my fridge and it wouldn't equal what is in there now. That afternoon, I decided that I just had to make these cupcakes. Cupcakes with cookie dough inside...nothing but yummy. For the recipe go here.



The fun didn't stop there! This Wednesday is Mike's birthday, so we met my family for a celebration lunch on Sunday. It was Kristy's birthday, too, so it was a family event.







Finally, I cooked dinner on Sunday night (another Kelly's recipes creation), and invited some friends over for dinner. Yes, I am basically Martha Stewart now. Let's just see if I can keep it up!

Go Rangers

For those of you who don't know, we go to a lot of Ranger games. Our family has season tickets, and as you know, baseball has a very long season! Over the past few years, I have learned a lot more about the game of baseball, and I truly enjoy going to the games. While I watch the game most (ok, some) of the time, I also really enjoy watching the people in the stands. Last night, we saw some great stuff, so I just had to bust out the camera.



Mark Teixeira is no longer a Ranger player, and I think that a lot of fans were sad when they couldn't wear his jersey anymore. I know I was. This guy obviously took matters into his own hands. Why pay money for a new shirt when you have a perfectly good roll of masking tape?? This next guy decided it was not necessary to even buy a t-shirt. He just painted his on. This is something you see a lot at basketball and football games, but you don't usually see too many superfans at baseball games.



Always a fun time at the ballpark.

Image Chef

I have a new website to share with you. Image Chef is a fun photo generator site where you can personalize pictures like this. It's really fun to play with (or I'm just a nerd). Go play!

Happy Thursday!

Sorry I haven't been around much...I'll be back in action soon!