Can you cook?

This was a fun "copy and paste and insert your own answers" thing I saw on Facebook this morning. I thought it might make for a good post to see how many of my blog friends like to cook. Share in the comments which numbers you answer "yes" to! (Obviously some of these questions are geared towards people who live in the Southern US. Sorry about that.)

I don't think people cook as much anymore because everything is boxed/premade and frozen etc. Copy/paste as your status and share if you want to see who can cook!

HAVE YOU EVER?

1. Made biscuits from scratch? Yes (doesn't mean they were good though).

2. Fried fresh okra? Yes

3.Made sourdough bread? No

4. Fried chicken? Yes

5. Made spaghetti sauce from scratch? Yes

6. Made any kind of yeast bread? Does the bread machine count?

7. Baked a cake from scratch? Yes

8. Made icing from scratch? Yes

9. Cooked a pot roast with all the veggies? Yes

10. Made chili from scratch? Yes

11. Made a meatloaf? Yes

12. Made scalloped potatoes? No

13. Made mac/cheese from scratch? Yes

14. Made a jello salad? Yes, and I love Watergate Salad when the holidays roll around!

15. Made peanut brittle? No

16. Made fudge? No

17. Made cookies from scratch? Yes

18. Cooked a pot of beans from dried beans? Yes

19. Cooked a pot of greens? Yes

20. Made cornbread from scratch? Yes

21. Make a pie dough from scratch? No, but plan to try soon.

22. Cooked a whole turkey? Yes

23. Snapped green beans and cooked them? Yes (I thought of Ms. Moon with this one!)

24. Made mashed potatoes from scratch? Yes

25. What’s the most people you have (alone) prepared a whole meal for? ?? Umm...6 maybe?

26. Poached an egg? No

27. Made pancakes from scratch? Yes

28. Roasted vegetables in the oven instead of boiling them? Yes

29. Made fresh pasta? No

30. Made croissants from scratch? No

31. Made tuna salad? Yes

32. Fried fish? No, but only because I don't like it.

33. Made baked beans? No, always open a can. :)

34. Made ice cream from scratch? No

35. Made jam or jelly? Yes

36. Zested an orange or lemon? Yes, regularly.

37. Made grits from scratch? Yes

38. Made an omelet? Yes

39. Lived in a house without a dishwasher? Yes, but not for a long time!

40. Eaten a bowl of cereal for supper? Yes

Beer and Skittles

A little while ago I did a Google search to find out when Chinese New Year falls this year. As of February 5th it will be the Year of the Earth Pig! 

While looking for the date, I ended up on a website with forecasts for every Chinese astrological sign coming up in 2019. Just for fun, I read mine and Gregg's. (I'm a Rabbit, he's a Dog). The horoscopes were awesome. Here's an excerpt from Gregg's:

you people under the Dog sign will be in good spirits, get more chances to beer and skittles and develop more consuming desires

Hey! I want more chances to beer and skittles! Doesn't that sound like a blast? :)

Here's a link to the website so you can look up your own forecast for the year ahead if you're interested. May we all have a year filled with chances to beer and skittles!

https://www.yourchineseastrology.com/chinese-new-year/

Having fun at work

I still absolutely love my job. I'm so glad I continued to apply for positions in the school district even though it took 3 long years to get a foot in the door. I feel certain I'm exactly where I'm meant to be.

I've found (much to my surprise) that I really enjoy middle school age kids. They're an unpredictable lot--sometimes they seem like little children, still, and sometimes they show flashes of maturity beyond their years. I find them incredibly endearing, even when their behavior leaves a lot to be desired. They make me laugh every single day, and when they're hurting my heart aches for them. Twice last week kids were sitting in the office crying, and even though both of them had really misbehaved and were in trouble, I couldn't stand the sight of their tears. I remember how tough those years were. Growing up is hard. I have compassion for them.

Last night we had our annual Halloween Dance and Carnival. I volunteered to do face painting with the help of an older high school girl (the daughter of one of our math teachers). I had so much fun! One of the assistant principals along with the choir/piano teacher set up a sound system in the gym and played lots of current hits as well as old Halloween favorites like "Thriller" and "Monster Mash". (Earlier in the day, during afternoon announcements, Principal Oates had said, "DJ O'Neil and DJ Leroy are going to be spinning tunes for you tonight..." which really cracked me up). There were games to play for prizes, a "Haunted Science Lab" that was a darkened classroom where you put your hand in a series of boxes to "guess the body part" (things like slimy wet noodles and peeled grapes)...a "Creepy Critters" room with snakes and spiders from the school's science labs...and concessions for sale like candy and popcorn and soda. The kids had a blast! Watching them have so much fun, dancing, running through the halls with groups of their friends, laughing and playing games and being silly and carefree and young....was a total joy. Definitely good for the spirits!

I have to share photos of my three favorite costumes of the night. First up, for fans of the US version of The Office, I present to you Prison Mike and Dwight Schrute!

And of course, Bob Ross! This kid hammed it up all night long, running around and pretending to paint on any available surface and posing for the camera.

Wonder Woman was a very popular costume for the girls this year (yeah!!) and I probably saw at least a dozen of them, but this was my favorite--a real little Wonder Woman:

I'm so glad I have a job where I get to have so much fun!

Fun weekend

This morning I woke up to the sound of cicadas humming outside.  It's a sign that summer is in it's late stages when we hear these little creatures in the morning. Early in the season, it seems they mostly sing in the evening. We finally had another week of rainy weather, which broke the incredible heatwave we were experiencing. It's still hot, but a normal level of hot, not 100F+ each day. That gets old quick! Especially when the power bill comes in.  The latest bill is a scorcher, too!

It's been a sociable summer for me. Old friends have been calling and visiting much more frequently (since GB is continuing to recover) and we've been invited out several times now. I have actually made some new friends, too, which is exciting. And last night we went to a dinner party given by my brother-in-law's family.  There was good food, good wine, and good conversation, and we got to catch up with family members and friends we hadn't seen in awhile. A good time was had by all...almost too much of a good time, as I woke up today with a pounding headache from all the wine and champagne! We were celebrating a milestone birthday, and my brother-in-law's wife doesn't believe in a guest seeing the bottom of their glass....but it was totally worth it!

Today an old friend is coming over to have lunch with me. We haven't had a chance to get together for awhile so we will be catching up and possibly knitting, too. (We love to stitch-n-bitch!) I was able to get rid of my headache so hopefully I won't be too hung over to enjoy more company.

It's been a fun weekend. I hope you all are having a good one too!