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!

Then today, for a late Valentine’s treat, I made my first apple pie ever for my sweetie! I think I made a pumpkin pie once last year, but it was from a store-bought crust and pumpkin from a can. I made the entire pie today from scratch, including the crust, which was very scary when it started to tear as I put on the top crust. In fact, I had never done a top crust before and had to look up what “vent slits” looked like in my Joy of Cooking.

Here’s the pie just before I put slits in it:

(I just noticed that this photo includes the box of “Live Crickets!” for our class toads at school… and no, that wasn’t what I filled the pie with!)

Here’s the pie just out of the oven (the house smelled heavenly by this point and the apple juices were bubbling out of the vent slits):

It’s pretty on the inside too! This photo was taken to showcase the pie plate that it was baked in. My mom bought this for me as a gift for Christmas, knowing that I loved some of the Polish pottery she has. She has an identical pie plate, making me even more proud to make a pie in this one!

I had a lot of fun making my first pie from scratch and I would recommend it to anyone who has President’s Day off.

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!

(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!

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…)

Tonight, as a treat (since I can’t attend choir this week), I drove downtown to get burritos for when Rob got home. I was shocked and alarmed to see the lights out and all of the refrigerated cases cleaned out. Oh no! And not even a sign on the door explaining the situation. Just last Thursday, I was telling Rob as we ate our potato burritos, “I hope their business isn’t in trouble… they’re never busy.”

One thing that gives me hope is that I found a web site listing the business for sale. Maybe they sold the business and someone else is renovating it. But would they really not put up a sign or note in the window? I am very upset about this, in case you can’t tell. I can’t even imagine going to choir next week without a Big City burrito. At least we recently used up our Free Burrito punch card…

• I had my first class of the semester called “The Principalship” Saturday morning (I have lots of friends in this class, so it will be fun, especially since the class is very discussion- & group project-oriented.)
• Roasted 2 cups of coffee beans for the upcoming week
• Made a half-gallon of yogurt
• Saturday night, went and saw There Will Be Blood with Rob, Melissa and John (Some of my favorite people!), then ate Vietnamese food afterward
• Made Potato Leek Soup with Arugula for lunch Sunday
• Did lots of laundry (4 loads- yep, it’s been a while)
• Made beet salad- SCRUMPTIOUS, but now my hands are pink
• Worked on grading math tests and writing homework
• Ran with Royal outside- 50 degrees and shorts-weather (although there was still snow on the ground)
• Played Scrabble with Rob- we are so addicted

I’m trying very hard to be deliberate about work and play in my life. I can easily be drawn into things that I enjoy doing (even things for work or school), and let the time slip away without noticing. Weekends are sometimes stressful if I try to work the whole time, making lists to check off every item that needs to be done. On the other hand, sometimes Mondays can feel awful when I haven’t done anything to prepare for them, and then my whole week stinks as a result.

I’d like to think that I’m doing a better job than I used to, where I’d go in to school and work all day Sunday. How do you balance these opposing forces in your life?

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!

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.

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!