Anna and the King

My, but it's been a long time since I've written here. The end of the school year rush, summer preparations, and still rounds of interviews, waiting to see where I will be in September.

Tonight, I gave myself the evening off and borrowed the DVD, "Anna and the King." I've wanted to see this since it was originally in theatres, 9 years ago! It was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. Absolutely beautiful, and touching, and thought-provoking on so many levels.

If you haven't seen it in a long time, or never did in the first place, check out "Anna and the King." You'll be glad you did.

Public Service Announcement

We regret that the Gardening and Back-To-Nature moment must be interrupted...
by Nature.

Grrr...

Let me explain.

Little Sir and I have been happily puttering around our little garden, and trying to get the rest of the yard in shape, little by little. I'm always careful to take the necessary precautions, as is DH, to wear long pants, have socks pulled up over the pant legs, and spray us with Deep Woods Off, even all over the shoes. I am not messing around with ticks and all their little friends. (We have found about 10 so far this year, but none actually biting us.)

DH does the mowing and heavy stuff, Little Sir and I are exploring our garden. We've also done a little spring/summer cleaning, bringing out mattresses to be aired out and all that. Cleaning out the shed. Fun stuff, let me tell you. (The garbage men must really love us by now.)

Well, Saturday I found 3 ticks...one on a mattress I was bringing in (...unpleasant thought...), one crawling up the front door, and another on a shirt. One of these was a lone star tick (those are the bearers of Rocky Mt. spotted fever. I thought they didn't come this far north!)

Then, Sunday, Little Sir and I are out erranding and he says, "Ow Ow!"

"What's the matter?"

"Something's biting me!"

"Biting you where?"

"Inside my underwear!"

I quickly pulled over, told him to get out of the carseat, come up front, pulled down his pants. Yup. A deer tick. In a very sensitive area I was not about to attempt tweezers on.

Ok, gingerly pull back up the pants, leave the fly open on the shorts, gently get rebuckled into the carseat, and head for the emergency room..
That adventure went better than most of its kind, and we were on our way, with pages of instructions on follow-up.

I noticed today my left elbow has soreness I've never experienced before..for about 3 days, now. Might as well get a Lymes test for me too. Tried to do that today, got a nurse on the phone who argued with me, trying to tell me I just have a virus that's going around,blah blah blah. (Why do they have these posters up in the doctor's office about the symptoms of Lymes, etc., and to contact your dr. right away, if they're just gonna pooh-pooh you when you call?)

Anyway, today it was too beastly hot for DH to mow before his evening shift at work, so I decided to tackle it when I got home around 7:30 pm. Did the regular tick preventative measures, just like always. I took the recyclables to the street first, pulled some more stuff out of the shed to go out, and noticed a wasp buzzing around my head. Further investigation found a new nest just above the shed door. Very nice. Carefully inspected all around the perimeter of the house, and found a few more. Lovely. Made a mental note to deal with that tomorrow...suypposed to get thunderstorms again tonight. Don't want all that lovely poison to wash away.

Got the mower going (we have a new-to-us antique mower which needs a little coaxing), and busily roared along, semi-uneventfully...

And then I noticed it.

Creeping along the borders of the property where it wasn't before...and in a few places I did spot it last year and tried to hard to get rid of it...


poison ivy.


sigh.


Will we ever have a yard that's safe to play in?

p.s.
Oh, and, the house is over-run with ants, of various sizes, inside and out. Bought some special traps today, set them up tonight after everything else was done for the day. Then I noticed in fine print, "not effective against...carpenter ants..." Great. So I'm only killing 2 of the 3 kinds. How do I kill carpenters, short of an exterminator, which I can't afford right now, what with tick spraying and all.

Gardening

I keep promising myself that I will successfully have a little garden this year...haven't had a decent one in a few years...lots of obstacles, including t-i-m-e. But I hate weeds and areas of no flowers or anything. So, today, after previous prep work, Little Sir and I got the patio tomatoes in the ground, and some bright yellow marigolds, which, I hear, keep the rabbits from eating your veggies. Hope that's true.

The hanging strawberry plants I bought at a fundraiser haven't shown signs of life yet. It sounded like a good idea, but what arrived was a bag of dead-looking plants and this tablet of instant peat-moss or something, that, with a period of watering, grows up to fill the basket with potting soil of a type...including some stuff that looks like what's inside disposable diapers...those silicone-looking beads that absorb the liquid. Hmmm. We'll see.


We have a groundhog, or whatever you call those beaver-otter-ish looking rodents that pop up on the side of the road, eating grass and stuff, that hibernated the winter under our front porch. I only discovered it in early spring, when at dawn, he was out scrounging around for something green to eat in the lawn. Periodically he can be seen at dawn or dusk, but quickly scuffles away back under there whenever something startles him. Anyway, I hope he doesn't like my garden, either.

Concerts In June

I just read the upcoming events at Stony Brook for the beginning of the summer season. The Emerson String Quartet is sponsoring an intensive week-long program for 3 winning string quartets, which includes full tuition, room and board, travel expenses. The intensive study includes some events open to the public, and "culminates in a pair of free public concerts in which the young performers will have a chance to show what they've learned." (according to the SBU blurb.)

This is a great opportunity to bring the kids (or just go alone!) to see and hear some amazing music, and perhaps broaden their horizons a bit. Some of my students have been so inspired after these performances, to take up a new instrument (particularly cello, for some reason.)

Friday, June 6, Stony Brook

8:00 pm	PUBLIC CONCERT, Staller Center Recital Hall

Saturday, June 7, Southampton

4:00 pm	PUBLIC CONCERT Duke Lecture Hall Southampton

I'm planning on taking Little Sir on Saturday, perhaps after a picnic lunch at Agawam Park. You should come! (It's free!)

No Assembly Required

Ok, so, I just spent about an hour and forty-five minutes helping Little Sir put together some of the many little pieces that came with the accessories to his new castle. (The castle itself is mostly assembled, with the exception of the drawbridge, flaming torches, flags, and a few other sundries.) Normally, this would be fun. Except that some of these little pieces don't exactly fit where they're supposed to, and some things just don't go the way they look in the pictures. (The brackets for the flaming torches keep popping off the wall, the armor rack doesn't hold the armor the way it's supposed to, etc.) The visors were pretty easy to snap onto the helmets, and the horse's gear went together fairly easily.

I haven't even attempted the catapult yet. I need a break. Mostly because, I have learned, that these new "green" lightbulbs don't give off enough light to work by. I haven't had to do any real close-up work since we've started using them, so I've put up with the annoyance of never feeling like I have enough light (except for in the kitchen, where it drives me crazy. I want to SEE what I'm chopping!) But now it's really starting to bother me. I even checked the closet to see if we might have any of the old lightbulbs left.

Of course not.

Ok. Enough venting. Back to the world of knights.

Happy Birthday, Little Sir!

Well, it's official. Little Sir's name must change again. He is no longer Little-Sir-4-Year-Old. He is now Little-Sir-5-Year-Old. Somehow, it just doesn't sound as cute as "3" and "4" did.

I loved him being 4. It was perfect. Potty trained, semi-independent, yet still snuggly and I-love-you-y. 5 seems so old. sigh.

So far, the birthday week has been a success. (Yes, "birthday week." We are rarely all together at the same time, so events seem to come in increments.)

Monday was the parent-gift, a day at the Bronx Zoo with the two of us, complete with camel rides and everything.

Tuesday and Wednesday, mostly uneventful.

Today, he had a little time with DD before work, and spent half the day with his big brother, getting spoiled, getting to choose their activities...he chose:

1) a few rounds of Rock Band (he likes to play guitar AND sing at the mic)

2) breakfast at the bagel shop

3) then, Number-One-Son took over the choosing and surprised him with
a trip to Toys-R-Us where he was allowed to pick his own gift. (He picked the first thing he saw, a Spiderman swim set: goggles, fins, and gloves that shoot water instead of webs.) Number One encouraged him to tour the entire store carefully before making his actual selection. He ended up with a Playmobil castle...and the Spiderman set. (I guess
that's what big brothers are for.)

4) then, I picked him up after work and we had play time before picking up a pizza and meeting DH at the park for dinner al fresco.

5) now, he's in the tub with the Spiderman gear.

What a day!


I kinda wish I could be 5 again. Just for a little while.

Quote of the Day

Just read Msn's "75 Skills Every Man Should Master." (I know, I know...I am not a man...but I had a tiny bit of downtime at work, and it was on the cover page , and I was a little bored, and curious, sooo...) Mostly, I agreed with things on the list...and many things woman should master as well. I just happened to like this, so here's the quote:


Describe a glass of wine in one sentence without using the terms nutty, fruity, oaky, finish, or kick. I once stood in a wine store in West Hollywood where the owner described a pinot noir he favored as "a night walk through a wet garden." I bought it. I went to my hotel and drank it by myself, looking at the flickering city with my feet on the windowsill. I don't know which was more right, the wine or the vision that he placed in my head. Point is, it was right.

Memorial Day

I realize the solemnity of Memorial Day, and I do honor those to whom honor is due.

But, this year, contrary to my normal practice, I think I will actually take some time off. Not the whole 3 days, but at least one. I'm cooking up a plan...
I'll keep ya posted.

What are you doing this weekend? (And please, don't everybody say "working"!)

Characters and All That

We had an interesting experience yesterday, that gave me one of those deja vu-ish moments. Chase bank on Rt. 58 (Best Buy shopping center) was having their grand opening, and I had one of those coupons that came in the mail, offering a nice bonus for opening a new account. So, Little Sir and I traipsed off, coupon in hand, to do our banking business, and see what the "grand" opening had to offer.

The young "personal banker" I was directed to, Heather, was very sweet and intelligent and managed my various money issues efficiently. Meanwhile, several layers of "manager" came over into the little booth where her desk was to introduce themselves and shake hands. Little Sir was inundated with balloons (both the regular helium kind and those made into little animal and toy shapes by a clown lady, with minimal make-up and normal hair,) pretzels, hotdogs, juice boxes, cookies, you name it. There was a bouncy house, which was quite a hit. Great free fun.

Everything was fine...until...

enter "Chase", a 6' 5"-ish adult in a blue dog costume, the kind of costume one sees worn by someone standing on the side of the road in front of some business, waving as the cars drive by. Seemingly innocent, non-verbal, waving in a friendly manner, when "Chase the Dog" was brought over to my son, fear instantly registered on his little face. He tried to be brave, and when the lady who was doing the introductions asked if he'd like to shake "Chase's" paw, he very politely, with quivering lip, said, "No, thank you," turned to me and said, "Can we go home, now?"
I picked him up and he was shaking from head to toe.

And I remembered. DD had similar reactions to clowns when she was little. (Still doesn't like them, actually.) I was instantly transported back to Disney World where I witnessed a surprising melt-down in my normally courageous little girl.

Shortly thereafter, I saw another child freak out when approached by Mickey Mouse.

So, what is it about people in costumes? I explained to Little Sir that it was really just a person in a costume, just like when he puts on his Spiderman costume, or his Eeyore. Do these costumes instantly give him the ability to swing from skyscraper to skyscraper by webs, or make him a literal donkey? No. Logically, he understood, and even asked to be taken back again a little later, to try to approach "Chase" again. We tried again. He still shook. Couldn't do it.

Why do costumes thrill and excite some, and terrify others? I just don't know. What do you think?

Leave Replacement

Under the category of "Be Careful What You Wish For," I'll now enter, "wanting a FT job in my new certification."

I haven't been blogging, or doing much of anything else, since I started my new job, sort of suddenly.

I should back up. After "Enough is Enough!" and my speaking blessings and positive things, we had a wonderful trip to sunny Florida to go to DD's college graduation. Everything I'd been dreading, fearing, things that potentially could go horribly wrong, did not happen. We, and our luggage, all arrived at the right places, at the right times, together! Amazing. Never had THAT happen before. Our ride was there to pick us up, after a minimal baggage-claim wait. Weather was perfect. We had some R and R time and good visiting time with family and friends. I got some excellent one on one time with DD, and got to see some of her special places (and, we being the crazy ones we are, decided to alter her graduation dress the night before!!! Shoulda taken pictures of that!) I didn't get lost on the long drive from our friends' house to her school and back again, and Little Sir was a real trouper (even when he got sick. Apparently, croup likes to travel, as well.) Thank You, God, for a reprieve from horribleness and giving me some blessing time to bask in.

As soon as we got back, I signed a contract, and Boom! Life as I knew it changed dramatically. I am now a FT ESL teacher. No more subbing. (Yay!) I am in the same school every day, teaching my own students, making my own schedules, learning the ropes of this particular place. But it was definitely diving into the deep end of the pool. I was handed quite a mess, with multiple problems of all different kinds, seemingly right from the beginning of the school year. I am attempting to salvage what is left of the school year, straighten out the mess, assess all those in my care, get them services they've been lacking, target what skills each individual student needs to focus on to be academically successful, and give meaningful instruction. It ain't easy. (Plus, I seem to have picked up a bug early last week, which is hanging on, leaving me drained and with little energy left for the rest of my life, after school.)

Still teaching my private music students, most of whom are headed to NYSSMA. Some are doing excellently, sure to score well, others haven't put in the time they should've and scores will probably reflect that, too. After a frustrating day at Job #1, it is often pleasurably relaxing to sit beside a music student and help them tweak their pieces. There are many times where I think, "I get paid to do this???" Which is good, because it balances out the other, which makes me think "I am not getting paid enough to do this!"

And so goes this next little phase of my life.

How's yours?

Enough is Enough

Right after my last blog post, a series of really crappy incidents occurred...a sort of ratwheel of unpleasant events that just keeps spinning and spinning. I've thought about different ways to blog about it, and have come up dry. So, I'll just gripe a little.

It all started when my dear friend/surrogate mom, Carole Rucci, finally lost the ultimate fight with cancer. I will write another whole entry devoted to her, as befits the absolutely incredible woman she was. But for now, suffice it to say, the night I got the call that she was really at the end this time, was the beginning of the dominoes going down.

One thing after the other, until tonight, when the carwash guy drove my car off the carwash machine-rollers and slammed it into a 5-day-old Prius. Yeah. Insurances companies are gonna have a field day with this one. (And, it was only a few weeks ago, I had to call mine to tell them I'd been smashed by a hit-and-run while in the pediatrician's office.)

So, I am now officially saying, Enough Is Enough! I am ready for the next phase to begin, the one that brings positive events, thoughts, feelings, blessings, you name it. It's time, already.

My To-Do List

I suddenly feel the urge to make a to-do list. Not the kind of errand-ing to-do list...you know, "pick up the dry cleaning, get milk, go to the post office, clean the oven, fix the screen door..." kind of list. I mean, an Eventually To-Do List. Things I've always wanted to do but either couldn't afford, or didn't have time for yet, or needed the right person to do it with, or some other qualification. So, I'm gonna start one right here. It may be updated periodically. Feel free to start your own here, or add suggestions to mine. It's so much fun to share.

1. Go cross-country skiing (Always wanted to do this...actually, when I was younger I wanted to do downhill, but after back injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome, I figure cross country is safer, and better exercise...and easier to share with.)

2. Scuba dive in Hawaii

3. Really learn Turkish well (have made so many half-hearted attempts...)

4. Get back the French and Italian I've lost, then increase fluency

5. Get published in a scholarly journal (maybe TESOL???)

6. Learn how to reallly play "Blackbird" (Paul McCartney)

7. See the Swiss Alps

8. Finally reach my ideal weight/fitness level




ok. your turn.

Taxes

Taxes.

This one single word is an instant stress-bringer.

Every office job I had, working on the taxes, whether gathering the information to be used in the preparation, or actually filling out forms, was always a little bit scary. Maybe it's because there's so much on the line. If you make a mistake, it could be very problematic later on. I did have two stints working at H & R Block, and that helped me see it all in black and white, understanding how the whole system works. But still, when it's MY taxes, it's personal.

So. We're done. For one more year, I can breathe until it's time to do it again. Did I remember all the things to claim? Do I have this receipt, that bill, that form? Can I claim this thing this year? Ugh.

Not one of my favorite activities. Not at all.

Spring is Here!

It seems, Spring has come early this year. Partly, because "they", the decision-making powers that be, moved Daylight Savings Time up so that it's earlier than ever, and partly because Easter was the earliest in something-like 93 years (or so I've been told.) So, we had D.S.T. , quickly followed by Easter, with St. Patty's Day sandwiched in between. And, now, we're off and runnin'...

Little Sir and I were treated to a visit to the Aquarium in Riverhead on Saturday. It was totally unexpected, and totally delightful. Got a text with the invitation, and who could pass that up? (Thank you, thank you, again, "B"!) So, right after my morning lessons, I picked him up and met our friend there. They were having a "penguin egg" hunt, and there were lots of little kids there with their families. The lovely weather made seeing the outside exhibits, penguins, sea lions and seals, all the more pleasurable. It was Little Sir's second visit there (it is pricey), and last time he was petrified of the sharks. This time, that exhibit was the first one he wanted to see! There is a big maturity-level difference between 3 and 4-years-old, I guess, in the fear-factor area. It was almost exactly a year ago that we went for the first time, with my dad.

Being at the Aquarium brought back all those old feelings from childhood and adolescence. I had so wanted to be a marine biologist and work with someone like Jacques Cousteau, diving in all those wonderful places, like the Great Barrier Reef. Ah yes. But the Federal funding had been cut, and the programs were gone by the time I got to college-choice time...and so...on to other options...and life changes, taking different paths. One always wonders what life would be like if one had taken an alternate path. Would I be a marine biologist, having dived all over the world (without a weight problem!), or would I have been unemployed within my field eternally after graduation with a useless degree and lots of loans? So, instead, I started out a writing major, taking a scholarship, music minor. Later flip-flopped that. On to other degrees in other disciplines.

All of these experiences shape our lives, making a many-faceted stone. Who knew, all those years ago, when all I wanted to do was swim with dolphins, and explore the depths of various seas, and learn and learn and learn about different species of animal and plant life, that I would one day end up a music teacher with TESOL certification, headed to speak at the international TESOL convention in 2 weeks? Life's crazy sometimes, huh?

March 17th

March 17th is very special to me. Yes, it is St. Patty's Day, and yes, I have an Irish heritage (1/4 Irish,) and yes, I am partial to green, and Celtic music makes my blood tingle...
but the best part about March 17th is that that's the day my Dahlink Dawtah was born. My little girl. Not so little any more...she's taller than me! She takes after my two grandmothers, who were both taller than their husbands. She is beautiful, both inside and out, and smart and talented and sweet and generous and has a heart of gold, truer than any at the end of the rainbow.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart...I love you!

Ooouuuch...

After being politely pestered and nagged by my son's karate teacher, who loves to enlist positive peer pressure, to try out their adult kick boxing class, I finally gave in and went, on my only real night off in ages. I was a little nervous about going. I know a lot of the other parents go, and they look pretty in-shape to me. I have not been particularly successful in getting back to my pre-baby body, and Little Sir's 4 now! But, after staring critically at myself in the mirror in my exercise pants and t-shirt ("You look beeeyoooteeful," said Little Sir sweetly,) off I went.

It really was a great work-out, although not quite what I was expecting, and the instructor was very careful to repeatedly tell me not too push too hard my first night. I surprised myself by aggressively punching and kicking my imaginary attacker (the bag) in choreographed moves. It was fun! I can definitely see how this is a stress-buster, in more ways than one! The self-defense is a good skill to have, just in case...

Even tho' I didn't push too hard, and didn't try to do exactly what the class models did, I am sore today, in places I didn't think I would be. But I am proud of myself, and I think I just may stick with this, if I can just just figure out how to reasonably schedule it. It's important. I have to do this for myself (4 years of trying it my way, always putting my body last, has not worked.)

But...Oooouuuch....

A Very Pleasant Surprise

I am not someone who wins things often. As a matter of fact, the last thing I remember winning was a giant pumpkin, 'way back in 1978, I think. I was with my mom in one of the past-glory-days big box stores, that's long gone now, and she'd bumped into an old friend there. As I was standing there, bored out of my mind while they yack-yack-yacked about things of no relevance to adolescent me, I spotted this sign nearby about winning awesome prizes. Intrigued, I checked it out. All you had to do was guess the weight of this enormous pumpkin. Ok. It was something to do while I waited impatiently.

Not being a mathmatical genius by any stretch of the imagination, I took one uneducated guess, judging by the sheer girth of the thing, and wrote it down on the slip, with all my info (name, address, telephone.) The ladies were still at it, so I continued to fill out slips. I just threw a set of random numbers down, with a decimal point somewhere in the midst, slip after slip, until I got writers' cramp. Finally, Mom was done and we left the store, with the pumpkin promptly forgotten.

About a week or so later, I got this call from the store, asking for me. Confused at first, I couldn't imagine why they'd call me. I hadn't shoplifted or anything, and certainly hadn't applied for a job. You guessed it...I won! I was all excited, hardly believing my ears.

"Which number won?" I asked.
"Excuse me???" came the reply.
"Well, I made more than one guess, so which one was right?"
Turns out it was one of those random numbers, about twenty digits long.
Huh. Go figure.
Probably made me look exceptionally brilliant.

"So, what did I win?" I asked.

I won a "fabulous turkey dinner for two, including 2 complimentary glasses of wine" at the store's attached restaurant (whoo hoo!) and...
the pumpkin.

Ok. So I dragged someone with me to redeem the prize, ate the semi-edible turkey dinner in the ambiance-free setting, too young to drink the wine (even tho' the drinking age was 18 back then!), and loaded that pumpkin into the back seat of the car (no small feat!) Triumphantly, I brought the pumpkin into the house, where it sat in all its orange glory on a table in the living room for quite some time, the conversation-starter of the decade, until it was time to butcher it and turn it into many, many dinner-time experiments (and a freezer-full to last a very, very long time.)

Ok. Fast forward to yesterday, 29 1/2 years later.

One of my music students gave me a beautiful big coffee mug for Christmas, with this really pretty wintery scene etched on its clear glass, the envy of the household. Everybody wants to drink out of it. It was filled with Lindt truffles (mmmm) and a Starbucks gift certificate. Very nice. Very thoughtful gift to a music teacher who's on the road a LOT, and who's always pinching pennies, so I don't treat myself to this sort of thing very often. I have been doling out the precious cups, trying to make it last as long as possible, seeing how many beverages I could get with it.

Last week, I used my last of the gift certificate, a bit sadly. It was a bittersweet moment, when I surrendered the card, remembering fondly the cute little boy and his sweet mom who had bestowed it lovingly upon me. As I stood on line, I noticed a chalk board with the trivia question of the week. Apparently, you could guess at the answer, put it on your receipt with your name and telephone number, and you'd win free coffee or something. Ok. I had noticed this board before, but the questions were always something I didn't know...based on nuclear physics, or some rock idol, or which celebrity shared a birthday with Lewis Carroll or some such. But this day, I happened to know the answer! Yippee. So, after placing my order, I asked how to supply my try at the prize, filled out the slip, and was on my merry way, the question now forgotten.

Yesterday, I had a very long day of teaching ahead of me, so I stopped mid-way through to purchase a cup of the brew that I've begun to enjoy (especially now that I have finally learned HOW to order there...sooo complicated!) When it was my turn, I looked up to see the flavors of the day, and saw my name in big bold print on the chalkboard.
"Hey, that's me!" I said.
"What?"
"Up there...that's my name!"
"Can you prove it?"
"What???"
"Can you prove it?"
"You mean like with i.d. or something?"
"Yeah...I gave a prize to someone once who said it was them, and then the real person came in to claim the prize and I'd given it to the wrong person."
"Oh. Well, my pocketbook is in the car (dumb move, I know), but I can go get it."
"Is that your mail you're holding?"
"Yes."
"That'll do"
So, I handed over a piece of mail with my name on it, and was given a card that said "Customer of the Week" with stamps for 7 complimentary beverages...any type, any size, anything I wanted. Wow!

So, now, I will slowly savor this card, allowing myself hot, comforting, caffeine-laced beverages to get me through long teaching days that stretch into evenings, without pinching pennies, for a little while longer.

Ahhhhh.

A Perfect Meal

Every so often I happen upon a wonderful, memorable meal, and I just want to savor the moment. Yesterday, sick to death of the same old, same old round of meals (no more chicken, please! tired of spinach, green beans, blah blah blah) I went to the fish market looking for inspiration. They had scallops (ocean scallops and bay scallops) that looked pretty good, so I bought some, thinking they cook up pretty quickly, and I could throw something together after Little Sir's karate class.

The result was mmmmmmmmm...

Here's what I did:

Mediterranean Scallops
serves 4

Ingredients:
2 TBL butter
1 1/2 lbs bay scallops (could use sea scallops)
3 medium-sized tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 lemon
1 package pilaf
(flavor or your choice)
1 large loaf Italian bread


Prepare rice (plain or pilaf, your choice. As it's cooking, based on how much time it will take, start the following.)

Put about 2 TBL butter in a large shallow (fry) pan, on low heat to melt.
Cut up 3 medium-small sized tomatoes into about 3/4" chunks, add to melted butter.
As the tomatoes are sauteeing, slice 2 sections of garlic and set aside (for maximum potency or flavor and nutrient-absorption, they're supposed to "rest" for at least 10 minutes after slicing/chopping, before cooking.)
Rinse a big bunch of parsley (we like Italian parsley) and pull off the leaves...about enough to fill a dinner plate 1/2 - 3/4" high. Discard the stems. Set aside.
Rinse the scallops and set aside to drain.
Squeeze the juice from 1 lemon, set aside.

Once 10 minutes has passed since slicing the garlic, add garlic and parsley to tomatoes. Once garlic is soft, add lemon juice, and a minute later add the scallops.

Once the scallops are fully cooked, white all the way through, it's ready to serve!

Serve the scallops and mixture over the pilaf with some warm Italian bread. Bon appetit!



**you could substitute olive oil for the butter. I usually do use it instead, but sometimes the garlic burns too quickly, and the temperature needed for the rest is too high. Butter works better for me with this recipe.

Help Me Make A List

I have decided to compile a list for myself and other teacher-friends of important things to do (and NOT to do) to inspire creativity, true learning, even greatness in our students. I am looking for good ideas. What did your favorite teacher(s) do? What did the worst teacher (s) do? What do you wish a teacher had done?

This may be something updated, revised, and revisited here on the blog. So...let me hear your ideas!

It's The Little Things

Saturday afternoon was cold, but sunny and not windy, so Little Sir and I took advantage of the mildness. After playing whiffleball for awhile, we took his bike (me walking, him pedaling) down the road to visit the neighbor's horses. We brought a bag of windfall apples from a tree at DH's job...not particularly edible for people, unless you bake them to death in something, but a nice equine treat.

On the way home we had a nice chat. Little Sir decided he really wants a horse. I explained that horse ownership requires a lot of money. "So, can you give me lots of monies?" he asked sweetly.

"Well, I don't have lots of money, Love."

"Pleeease..."

"It's not a matter of 'please'...I just don't have it."

"So...how do you get lots of monies?"

"Ah. Everybody wants to know the answer to that question."

"So...what's the answer?"

"Well, first you have to get a job."

"Why do I have to get a job?"

"You work for someone, and they pay you for what you do."

"Oh." "What can I do?"

"Well, you need a job that pays very well. Maybe you could plan to be a doctor."

"Or a soccer player?"

"Yes, that would pay you a lot of money."

"Ok."

"Ok."

Problem solved.