project 365 vol. 1

Project 365 is something that I've always thought would be cool to do.  Basically, you take a picture every day for a year.  Some people do 365 self portraits, but I figured there's only so many ways I could capture my ugly mug until people got tired of seeing it.  So, I decided to take pictures of anything that can describe my entire day, a moment from that day, or just something random.  Here are my shots from week one:

January 1, 2012

Happy new year!  I rang in 2012 with Austin, Austin's best friend, Blake, and his fiance, Terra Laine, at our apartment.  Cheers to 2012!

January 2, 2012

Monday night football with the bf.  I made him a deal: I would watch football if he let me take this cheesy picture of us for my blog.  Cool socks, huh?

January 3, 2012

This was the day that I started working out again!  I worked out a lot this past summer, but I had to take a break during my "working three jobs" period because I was short on that whole time thing.  Now that I'm down to two paychecks every two weeks, I have more time to work it out.

January 4, 2012

My first day as a substitute! Also known as the first time I actually got paid to teach!  I started my professional sub career teaching high school horticulture, aka floral design. High school students are funny.  Some of them were the nicest, coolest kids, and some were just punks.  Teaching these seniors made me miss my sweet little 7th graders :(

January 5, 2012

New year, new license plate!  I guess I'll have to come up with a new nickname for my car... 

(My old license plate was 680 BVY, so I called my car Bevy.  I haven't thought of anything for this newbie plate yet.)

January 6, 2012

My second sub job: Pre-AP Biology.  DNA, RNA, mRNA, tRNA...I think I'll stick to English.

January 7, 2012

Feeding the deer at our friend's lake house.  This was SO cool!

christmas

Well, Christmas is over, and we're back in big D, but I had a wonderful time in Houston for the holidays.  I got to see almost all of my relatives, opened too many presents to count, and ate my weight in pecan pie.  It was a wonderful holiday :)

On the Friday before Christmas, Austin and I made the trek down to Houston.  He went on to his mom's house for Christmas eve, and I hung out with my dad's side of the family.  We had a Mexican feast with fajitas, enchiladas, rice, beans, fried plantains, queso, guacamole, and enough desserts to keep even the half ton man happy.  Here's my plate:

And here's my contribution to the feast:

7 Layer Dip

Oreo Balls and Homemade Peppermint Bark

After dinner we opened presents, played games, and ate more desserts.  On Christmas morning, we had one of my favorite things in the world...cinnamon roll pancakes!!

My sou chef, Jimbo Spice, was a big help...

This was the perfect Christmas breakfast.  The only thing I would've wanted more would probably be pecan pie, but I'd already eaten about half a pie the night before, so I thought I'd lighten it up a bit and just have these pancakes with a big side of bacon...

The holidays are all about moderation, folks.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes even make Justin smile for the camera! :)

Ok enough about the pancakes.  After breakfast, Riley helped us open presents:

Then it was off to Trinity, TX to see my Nanaw and Peepaw at the lake!

As soon as we arrived, there was a Christmas lunch waiting on the stove, in the oven, on the table, in the fridge...there was food everywhere.  And I'm a Christmas piggy and ate everything up before I could snap any pictures...oops.  I DID get pictures of the unwrapping of presents though!

I love presents.  I love food.  I love family.  I love Christmas.  

painting with a twist

Yesterday was Austin's company Christmas retreat, and I got to go!  First, we went to lunch at this delicious seafood restaurant in Dallas, and then we went to a place called "painting with a twist".  At "painting with a twist" we all got to paint a picture...here's what went down:

We walked into our private party room...

And saw all of our blank canvases just waiting for some color!

And then I got distracted by these adorable mini paintings:

Then, I collected myself, we tied on our aprons, and got down to business...

Our painting instructor, Victoria, was a hoot.  She is from Sweden, and her accent wasn't the only crazy thing about her.  She had a little bell that she would ring whenever we were "too quiet".  Every time she rang the bell we had to take a drink of our wine.  She told us that our paintings were like the opposite sex..."the more we drink the better they look!" Oh boy...

Here's my painting in three stages:

blank

halfway there

complete!

Austin...

and I...

had a wonderful time with the Ward Group!

7 layers of yum

Today, I would like to tell you guys about the dish I made for Thanksgiving.  It’s simple.  It’s healthy (kind of).  It’s delicious.  It’s 7 layer salad!  My grandma taught me how to make this a couple of years ago on Thanksgiving, and since then I've made it every year...

Here’s what you’ll need for success:

-roughly chopped lettuce

-roughly chopped spinach (uncooked)

-frozen peas

-5-6 hard boiled eggs

-12-14 pieces of bacon

-mayonnaise

-mozzarella cheese 

-salt & pepper

Step 1: boil your eggies and cook your bacon.

I’ve started cooking my bacon in the oven.  It comes out all crispy and delicious, and I don’t have to worry about hot grease flying out of the pan doesn’t pop me anymore.  I did this for about 12 minutes at 400 degrees, and it came out great!  For the eggs, place them in boiling water for 13 minutes, and then cool them down by running them under some cold water.

Step 2: chop up the eggs and crumble the bacon.

Step 3: line the bottom of a 9X13 pyrex dish with your lettuce.

 Step 4: add on the spinach.

Step 5: pour in some peas.

Step 6: sprinkle on the eggs.

Step 7: add the crumbled bacon.

Step 8: spread a thin layer of mayonnaise over the top.

**This step is the hardest part of the whole recipe.  It’s easiest to just make tiny mayonnaise mountains all over the salad, and then spread it out.  If there’s any excess mayo I always just scrape it off and stick it back in the jar.

Step 9: sprinkle the entire bag of cheese over the mayo.

Step 10: finish with a little bit of salt and pepper, and you’re ready to go!

This salad is best served cold, so allow it to refrigerate for a few hours before serving.   

joy.

It's December! It's Christmas time! Things are joyful!

Because it's the season to be jolly, here are some things that are making me happy at the moment:

1) My "Tis the Season" board on Pinterest
I've mentioned Pinterest on here before, but I've recently created a Christmas board, and I love it!  Here are some of my favorite things that I've pinned:

My mom needed one of these while my sister and I were growing up haha

Cute!

Martha Stewart's Candy Cane Cocktail

2) This video
When I started watching this, I thought it was going to be dumb, but then something magical happened, and I couldn't help but crack a smile and watch until the end.

3) A few things that my students have said lately...
-A couple of weeks ago I wore a bow in my hair to school.  I received several compliments on it throughout the day, but something a student said during 5th period took the cake:
Student: Ms. Chandler, I love your bow...where did you get it?!
Me: Oh, thank you! It's from a store called "Fairy Godmother" in College Station.
Student: Ohh ok.
...about 5 minutes later...
Student: Wait.  Ms. Chandler, do you HAVE to go to A&M to visit or live in College Station?
Me: Haha, um no.  College Station is a city...it's like how SMU is in Dallas.  Other people are allowed to live in Dallas that don't go to SMU, right?
Student: Ohhhhh, yeah.  Right.

-Recently, the hall/our classroom has started to take on quite the odor.  This is a result of a couple of things.  First, we are right across the hall from the science classrooms.  Lab equiptment + chicken leg dissection labs + 7th graders does not bode well for our noses.  Also, our room is across the way from the bathrooms, and apparently the drains are not on top of their game as of late, and there is some kind of "sewer gas" that's circulating through the air.  Delightful.  Finally, 7th graders are coming and going from sweaty PE activities all day long, and that's pretty self-explanatory.  None of these things are making me joyful...quite the opposite actually.  However, something that one of my kids said today eased my pain:
Student A(walking into the classroom before the bell rang): Ahhh gross it smells like butt hole in here!
Student B: How do you know what butt hole smells like you sick freak?!
Rest of the class: Oooohhhhhhh!!!!!

4) December is not only the month of Christmas, but also the month of bird days!  My Aunt Lala's birthday was the 1st, Austin turned the big 2-3 on the 5th, my mom's birthday is the 18th, and one of my best friend's, Katie, is on the 21st!

Here's Austin and me on his birthday at Benihana...yum!

Oh, and don't forget Jesus and one of my besties, Rebeccca, on the 25th!  Hooray for getting old!

5) The last thing that's making me joyful this December is something that makes me happy year round...cooking!  Here are some of the recipes that I've tried this week:

Chicken and Dumplings from the Tasty Kitchen Blog

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake from the Tasty Kitchen Blog

Way to go Tasty Kitchen Blog...they have some awesome stuff on there!

Next Thursday is my last day of student teaching.  Yesterday I put in my two weeks notice at Carrabba's.  I'll have my teacher certification by the end of the month.  I get to see my family on the 23rd.  I will start subbing/actually getting PAID to teach at the beginning of January.  I have a cute boy to kiss on new year's eve.  There are tons of things to be joyful about right now, and this time of year I am counting my blessings, not my troubles :)