Cool Cucumber

I know I’ve been a bad blogger… but I was prompted to write because 1. someone noticed I was missing! and 2. because of something one of my students wrote. 

My class has writing homework each week in which they have to write a paragraph in response to my prompt.  I know, I’m such a meanie.  Last week’s prompt was: If you could offer three suggestions to someone about how to live a happy life, what would you suggest?  I received a lot of really neat pieces that spoke about treating others fairly, not using drugs, following your dreams, etc.  But what made me laugh out loud SEVERAL TIMES was this boy’s paragraph:

In my opinion, the three suggestions on how to live a happy life are the things that involve common sense.  First is not to eat yellow snow.  “Duh!” Everyone knows that!!!  Well you shouldn’t eat yellow snow because you might get sick.  You should also think, “Oh, this is pee snow,” not, “Oh, yay!  It’s lemonade flavored!  Yippee!”  Another suggestion is to not try to impress girls by saying, “Look what I can do” and try and stand on a monkey bar and fall and then- well, you know what I mean.  Don’t do this becasue one you’ll be made fun of and second, you’ll not be liked by a girl and thirdly, you’ll get hurt.  Third is not to pick your nose in public or period.  You shouldn’t do this because it is disgusting and gross.  Also because it gives you nosebleeds that are really bad.  In conclusion, these are three suggestions on how to live a happy life. 

Have a happy Monday!

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Rob and I are sitting here watching Earth: The Power of the Planet, a BBC program that’s relatively new. Ohmygoodness-wow, this is the greatest thing I’ve seen in a long time. Lots of people have gotten excited lately about the Planet Earth series, but personally, I’m way more into this history-of-our-planet series than the animals-on-earth angle.

Here’s a neat clip that totally blew my mind!

Between the computer-generated simulations of the movements inside the earth and the amazing camera-work of spectacular places like under the oceans and the heights of the Himalayan mountains, I am simply amazed by the the quality of this series. Check it out if you can!

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This boy is a student of mine!

(Photo by Bob Breidenbach - The Providence Journal)

Brock was chosen to be a kid’s reporter for Scholastic News at the Superbowl.  There are all sorts of articles on the web about him today.  Here’s a neat story (though I’m not the teacher who wanted the autographs that he mentions).

What a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a great kid!

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Rob and I had never played Scrabble together until January 1st of this year. We had the whole day off and I suggested we play for fun (I had an old version that I’d picked up at a garage sale). That was the day that the addiction began.

Since then, not a day goes by that Rob doesn’t ask me, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”, to which I reply… “Scrabble?”. Recently, we’ve had to set a timer because otherwise we get lost in the game and nothing gets done around the house the day.

We began to realize that the old version was hard to play with because the tiles easily slid off the warped board. We also wanted to be able to set it aside and resume the game later without having to painstakingly remove it from our dining room table, covering it with books so our crazy cat wouldn’t steal the tiles and chew them.

So we found a Scrabble Deluxe set on eBay and ordered it. It came with a beautiful game board with recessed grid spaces for the tiles, a two-minute timer, and a bag to store the tiles. I think it’s so pretty!

We’ve also been very proud to see our skills increase. Here’s the game we played this morning:

And here’s our score sheet- an all-time high score for me! (Sorry, sweetie…)

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I’m someone who’s always been an erratic exerciser. I love running, but can’t sustain an easy pace for long. I’m more of a sprinter (I love field day every year because I get to race my class in all sorts of sprinting competitions!) so I have to work hard to build up to any sort of distance. Lately I’ve been following Cool Running’s legendary Couch to 5K program, a walking-running program that gradually increases the time spent running during a half hour time period. I have to fight the temptation to just jump back into running by going out and trying to run 3 miles without stopping because I inevitably push myself too hard every time and then jump off the wagon.

This program has been perfect for me! I don’t feel worn-down and I know I’ve gotten a good workout every time. I’m currently on week 2 (90 second running intervals with 120 second walking breaks), and I feel like each time I’m a little stronger. I’m even running at a faster pace than before and I don’t feel awful or sore.

Here’s another thing that’s helped me on this endeavor: C25K podcasts. Robert Ullrey created a separate workout track for each stage of the Couch to 5K program, then set it to music, complete with cues for when to run and when to walk. I love not looking at the clock or the elapsed time on the treadmill. Last night after my run, I felt as if I could have kept going for another half hour. I’m so excited about my new strategy!

Here’s my grandiose plan: this August, my mom and brother want to run the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon, and I want to run it with them. I want to complete the C25K plan, then start in on a half marathon program. Big dreams, but I think it’s doable.

I’m off today due to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. I think I’ll go in to school and get some things done that I’ve been putting off. It’s been snowing all day here. Big, fluffy flakes that float to the ground gracefully. I’d rather stay in on a day like today, but I need to go lift weights as well. See you later!

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For Christmas a year ago, I got a coffee-roaster from my dad and stepmom. I LOVE roasting my own coffee and decided it’s high time I shared it with all of my Internet Friends. Here’s the deal: I roast a cup of “green” raw coffee beans and they turn into 1 1/2 cups of sheer bliss… and the beans cost half the price they would at a local coffee shop. I roast twice during the weekend and it’s just enough coffee for Rob and me during the week. Any less, we’d run out of coffee; any more, I’d void the warranty on my iRoast2.

However, this batch of coffee was FREE from my good friend Melissa. She and her husband went to Coasta Rica over the holidays and she tracked down some beans that were unroasted. Apparently they were just roasting the coffee beans on the beach and she went to much trouble to get them green for me! Thank you Melissa! Here’s the label for your viewing enjoyment:

So then I put the green beans in the carafe and select a roasting profile that I set up previously. I’ve played with the settings a lot this past year, even to the point of graphing the temperatures using a thermocouple and Microsoft Excel. But I decided to keep it simple for this batch.

Here’s the coffee about halfway through the roast. You have to sit with it and listen to the cracks while it’s roasting. There’s a first crack segment, a period of rest, and then a second crack, which is harder to hear. I like to roast my coffee about 10-30 seconds past second crack ’cause I like it almost burnt.

I like how you can see the little beans flying into the air in these photos.

This is just before I stopped the roast… when you stop a fluid air roaster, it goes into about a three minute cool-down cycle. Oddly enough, the coffee never smells great while it’s roasting. It’s kind of a musty-burning odor.

I store the beans in an airtight container for at least 12 hours (no sneaking sniffs)… then enjoy!

For more photos of the process, visit my coffee roasting set here.

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It’s okay that some of us need more motivation than others to blog, right?  I mean, it’s hard to come up with something interesting to say.  And when you haven’t posted in months, it’s easier to continue the trend rather than just start blogging again.

That said, I wish to state my intentions right here for all to read.  I will be blogging at least once per week in 2008, just like my talented and strong sister-in-law Melissa.  My blog has sat cold and lonely during the second part of 2007 and I regret it.  I don’t even think anyone’s checking it anymore, so the pressure’s off, even.  The truth is that I love to blog and I don’t know why I stopped.  Oh, unless you count the undertaking of a graduate degree last January.

Today I received an early birthday present that should aid my blogging efforts.  CompUSA was going out of business nearby and I persuaded Rob to just go in and LOOK around because maybe they’d have the camera I wanted.  I present (through a very dirty mirror)- my new Canon Powershot Digital Elph!  I am having so much fun learning how to use it.  My sister-in-law and brother-in-law have this same exact camera, I think, and I was constantly looking for an excuse to play with it while we were with them over Christmas.  I’m so excited to have a better camera!

I’ll see you next week!

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Okay, well, usually my husband is the king of blogging YouTube videos. But today I have to show off the work of our friend John Ferris, who made this video with the assistance of his wife Melissa. John is a graphic designer and this is his first freelance product.

While it is true that I’d never heard of “trux” before, the video was so fun to watch that I find my self actually thinking about trying skateboarding. Watch and see!

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Rob and I just returned from my 10-year high school reunion for Greeley West High School. It was amazing to see all of these people I had grown up with.

My expectations were very low for this event since I hadn’t kept up with anyone other than Cami, my best friend. I was pleased, however, when I really had a great time. It is true to our nature that people generally stuck with the crowd they had hung with 10 years ago. My confidence is not so high that I would have gone and sat with people I never really knew in high school. But on the whole, people were friendly and I was able to get the chance to talk with almost all of them.

I also have to say that seeing all of my band friends was really a neat experience. Wow, we were very close-knit, and I didn’t even realize it until this weekend. I remember eating in the band room every day. I remember having lockers in the hallway just outside the band room so we could be with each other between each and every class. I also remember doing a lot of traveling on buses with the band, so it was natural to become very close. We even took a band photo of all of us who were in marching band in high school. It was very special to remember with these people and to see all of the things we still had in common. Altogether it was a fun weekend, and I’m glad Rob braved the crowd of unfamiliar faces for me!

Check out my GWHS Reunion photo set to see more.

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I’m sick, and I always brag about how I don’t get sick. My head feels like it might burst from the intense pressure behind my eyes. And my nose is running like a leaky faucet. Yup, sick. Just thought I’d share.

P.S. to all my fans– I just discovered the last five comments that you left here.  I said to myself, “Self, this is exciting and all, but you never got an e-mail about these comments!”  That was when I realized this was because I still had e-mail notifications going to my old e-mail address (Baker… hello? SO 2006).  It’s fixed.  Thanks for your comments!

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