rocktober

Happy October!!  It’s starting to get colder up here in Dally bar, and things are definitely getting spooky.  Last night around 8:23 the power went out at Carrabba’s.  At first I was annoyed because I wasn’t going to get in my full shift, but then the cooks called all of the staff over to the kitchen to make sure the food didn’t “go bad”.  JACKPOT!  You better believe I loaded up, baby!  Our refrigerator is currently packed to the gills with lasagna, garlic mashed potatoes, and soup galore.  Plus, I got to go home an hour early…just in time to catch the Dr. Drew Checkup edition of Teen Mom.  So, I would like to give a shout-out to whatever power company dropped the ball, leading to the great Carrabba’s power outage of ’11.

October is a fun month.  It’s cool, but not too cold.  Austin and I carve pumpkins and give them human names.  

Benjamin the Monster

Sally the Spider

I get to start wearing boots and scarves and all kinds of fun, wintery things.  It’s anniversary month!! (Two years of dating my main squeeze on the 14^th)  And, of course, HALLOWEEN!  Costumes, candy, tricks, treats.  I love it.  2009 was Austin and my first Halloween together.  However, we had only been dating about 2 weeks when the big holiday hit, so we figured a couple’s costume might be a little much.  This was the year of the picnic and the dinosaur.  I donned a plastic tablecloth with fake food hot glued to me, and Austin teamed up with his pal, Zac, and went as double dinosaurs.  It was a sight. 

Last year, Austin and I dressed up as Mario and Princess Peach.  Our friends joined in on the fun and suited up as the rest of the SuperMario World cast.  We braved the bars in College Station, which have a reputation of being ridiculously crowed on Allhallows Eve, and everyone loved our group dress-up idea.

This year Austin and I are trying to think up a couple’s costume that isn’t too cheesy, too expensive to create, or too ridiculous.  Here are some of our ideas so far:

-Boy scout and Girl scout (Austin told me he wasn’t interested in this one, but I think it’s cute)

-Bumblebees (Austin informed me that we are not four)

-Doug Funny and Patty Mayonnaise (I think we’re leaning toward this one, but I am having doubts about how I’ll look in a blonde wig)  

-Dinosaurs (I’m worried that Zac might get his feelings hurt if I take over his role as “girl dinosaur” though, and Austin says he would be embarrassed to have a repeat costume)

-Ring leader and lion (I would be the ring leader, and Austin would work the mane)

-Fireman and Dalmatian (Austin’s the puppy, I would be fighting fires)

That’s just a start.  We are open to ideas and suggestions!  I hope everyone is having a great beginning of Rocktoberrrr J    

busy bee

M.I.A.  Missing. In. Action.

That's my middle name lately because I am always gone! That's why I haven't posted in awhile, but I promise I'm still alive!  I thought you guys might want to know what a week in the life of Jamie Lynn Chan Chan has been these days, so here's goes...

Monday: I pop open my sleepy little eyeballs around 6:11 and proceed to get ready for my week of teaching the 7th graders.  Once I look a little more like a teacher and not so much like a student I hop into BEVY (the xterra) and drive my booty to Allen, TX, home of the most wonderful outlet mall in the world.  After I get to school, I watch my cooperating teacher give the lesson to first period, and then I take over for 2nd through 7th period.  During 4th period we get to go to cheerleading where my blood pressure skyrockets every time the girls go into their stunts, and during 6th period we get a break from the kiddies!  After school I head on over to the dance studio and teach precious 5-6 year olds how to do ballet, tap, jazz, and tumble.  After dance, I truck it to Stan's...

(the bar that sponsors Austin's softball team), and then go play "team mom" as I sit in the stands while the big league chewbaccas do their thang.  After the game, the team eats their snacks, and then I go home to go to sleep!  The past few weeks I have made things like snickerdoodles and mini-hamburger cookies.  Yum!

How cute are these?! (they're made using vanilla wafers, thin mints, and icing)

Tuesday: The morning routine/school thing is the same as Monday.  When school is over, I come home and get started on dinner.  Austin finishes and/or heats up dinner when he gets home because from 6-10 I can be found holding down the hostess fort at Carrabba's.  

Wednesday: Just a repeat of Tuesday.  It's all very glamorous and exciting.  Wednesdays are great because the best show on TV comes on--DANCE MOMS!  I cannot get enough.  I like tag teaming dinner with Austin.  Lately we've been having things like:

Lettuce Wraps with Fruit Salad (these seriously tasted like Pei Wei's)

Linguine with shrimpes and veggies and garlic bread

Mexican Lasagna (layers of chips, beans, cheese, taco meat, green onions, tomatoes, and olives...yes please!

Thursday: Schoolio in the morning, and then from 4:30-5:30 I go to the dance studio to teach a 9 year old cheer class.  The girls in this class are nutzo...they crack me up!  But, I have the same blood pressure issue that occurs during school cheerleading every day.  Why can't cheerleaders just stay on the ground?!

Friday: Yay for the weekend!  School in the AM, and then Carrabba's plus whatever shenanigans Austin and I get into come the noche.

Saturday: I teach precious dancers in the morning, have a fun-filled afternoon doing goofy things with Austin, and then cap my night off with my buddies at Carrabba's.  Here's an example of one precious little ballerina that I get to see every Saturday morning:

Last weekend Austin and I headed to Houston for a wedding.  On Friday night we had the rehearsal dinner.  We ate fajitas, people sang karaoke, and Austin joined a mariachi band.  

Oh, and there was also free ice cream.

Hehe prankster on the loose

The wedding was the next day, and it was so pretty!  Here's me with my date, the groomsman:

Sunday: Church.  Carrabba's.  Grocery shopping and preparations for the upcoming week.  Oh, and football.  Lots and lots of football...

What the heck is wrong with the Aggies?  This weekend they played in Dallas, and I'm so glad I didn't waste my monies on a ticket.  We went to midnight yell to show our support, but obviously that didn't really help :(

Midnight Yell at the Ft. Work Stockyards

And painting the town red afterwards!

Whew!  It's a crazy life, but you know I wouldn't have it any other way!  Staying so busy keeps me out of trouble, ya know? :)

I'm gearing up for another one at the moment, so I gots to go...hope everyone has a wonderful week!

a week of eats

I thought you guys might be interested to see what we ate for din din all week, so here it is!

On Monday night I roasted a chicken, and then served it on top of some homemade rolls with corn on the side:

Recipe for the chicken can be found here

Recipe for the rolls is here

The chicken was so yummy!  I used the leftovers to make chicken salad for Austin and I to eat for lunches.  

On Tuesday we had leftovers from Monday.

On Wednesday I made crunchy garlic chicken with a greek salad:

Recipe for the chicken is from this

For the greek salad I just chop up about 1/2 of a head of lettuce, toss it with some bagged romaine, and then add some roma tomatoes, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.  Then, I just drizzle on some greek dressing.

On Thursday we had chicken/salad leftovers, and then on Friday I made this:

Taco soup!  Yummy yummy.  Basically, if you have a can opener you can make this soup.  All you do is brown a pound of ground beef, drain, and start dumping cans into your pot.  To the beef add: 2 cans of stewed tomatoes, 1 can of corn, 1 can of pinto beans, 1 can of black beans, 1 can of green chiles, 1 package of taco seasoning, 1 package of ranch dressing mix, and 1 can of water or chicken broth.  Sprinkle in about 3 tablespoons of chili powder, and bring it up to a simmer.  As soon as it's simmering it's ready!  Just top each bowl with some mexican blend cheese, a few avocado slices, and serve with tortilla chips.

For dessert this week I made some oreo balls, and we also snacked on some popsicles.  It was a tasty week!

my first day of 7th grade (round 2)

YESTERDAY WAS THE DAY!!!!

I started my first day of middle school...for the second time.  It was awkward, it was exciting, I was kind of sleepy, people thought I was in high school.

So, basically it felt the same as the first time I went to 7th grade.  Well, minus the braces and awful highlights.  

I began my day with a hearty breakfast:

The return of the cinnamon roll pancake!  It was the perfect way to start my day.  And, yes that is the extra icing drizzled on top of my raspberries...because why wouldn't you drizzle your extra icing on top of your raspberries?  

Anyways, after my breakfast of CRPs, raspberries, an eggy, and some peppermint tea (YUM) I got all pretty and was off!  Here's the boyfriend approved first day outfit:

Do I look like a teacher yet?

For the first two weeks of school my instructions are to "observe" my cooperating teacher, and that is exactly what I did for the first four class periods.  Then, during her third period class my teacher walked up to me and asked, "do you want to try teaching my last two classes of the day?"

GEW!!  

I quickly responded, "umm, sure!" (because I'm an eager student teacher who can't wait to get up in front of these 7th graders and teach them about how to choose a fabulous topic for their personal narratives, right?!)

RIGHT!

So for 5th and 7th period I taught a total of almost 45 pre-teens how to choose their topics and how to start planning an essay.  It was a little scary, but my teacher told me that I did a great job!  The only thing she recommended I work on was to be more stern and get onto them for talking.  Oops...guess I'm kind of a softie :/

All in all it was a really great first day, and all of the kids seem so sweet!  I really like my cooperating teacher, and I feel so lucky to have been placed in a school/district that has a good reputation and isn't full of hoodrats.

Are teachers allowed to say "hoodrats"?  I'll have to figure that out I guess...

Labor Pains

Yesterday I worked at Carrabba's from 10:30 in the morning until 8:45 in the noche while pretty much everyone else I know went to College Station to celebrate the beginning of Aggie football season.  It was not fun.  But I don't want to talk about that.  I want to talk about what I had for breakfast today.  The day of no working!

A couple of things: 

1) Yes, that is chocolate milk 

2) Yeah, I'm 22, why do you ask?

3) Yep, that is a giraffe-shaped coffee mug...Pier 1 baby

4) Those pancakes are probably one of the best things I've ever eaten for breakfast

LOOK AT THESE BABIES:

CINNAMON ROLL PANCAKES.  I can't even talk about it.

Ok, yes I can.  I was looking around at food bloggies last night, and I came across this little gem.  The best part?  These are made up of ingredients that you probably have sitting in your kitchen right this minute.  Flour, milk, eggs, salt, baking powder, vegetable oil, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon.  That's it people...so simple, so quick, so delicious!  Make them right now!  The original recipe says to top these guys with this fancy cream cheese icing, but I just did it the old fashioned way and put about a tablespoon of water in a big pile of powdered sugar.  Tastes good to me!

I would also like to talk about my snuggle buddy for Saturday night...

Riley Westbrook!! (my sister's puppy dog)

She is seriously the cutest little puppy!

We hung out on Saturday while her parents had a little Dallas vacation.  I can't wait for me and Austin to get a little snoop doggy dog.

Tomorrow I am working all day...again, and then Wednesday I go to school!  I cannot wait!!  Tomorrow night Austin and I are having a fashion show to decide what I should wear.  I'll let you guys know the verdict.

Have a wonderful week!  

eats and activities

Howdy howdy!

This week has not been very exciting...just hanging around the house/doing errands during the day and then tearing it up at Carrabba's come nighttime.  I can't wait for my student teaching to start on the 7th so I can have something exciting to do during the day!!

Anyways, the week started off with a little bit of softball.

Every week before the game we all meet up at Stan's Bluenote--a bar downtown that sponsors the team. Me and Austin decided to eat dinner there this week since he came straight from work and I came straight from the dance studio.  Oh yeahhhh I have to tell y'all about my new job!!

I love it!!!  I wish I could teach there every night, but since I have school until 4:00 I can't.  Oh well twice a week is enough to get my dancin' fix :)  On Mondays I assist a 5-6 year old ballet/tap/jazz/acro class.  It is pretty much exactly how you would imagine a room full of 5-6 year old girls in leotards and tap shoes.  When I walked in the room all of the girls were buzzing around, and I was immediately asked to remove one of them from the ballet bar that she was currently dangling from.  The class was a zoo, and I couldn't get enough of it.  I think the highlight was watching them all dance freestyle to Michael Jackson's "Bad" while they waited to go across the floor during the acro part of the class.  I was cracking up...I can't believe I actually get paid to do this! 

Ok back to the softball!  The Chewies were on their A-game on Monday for sure:

Austin got to bat twice, and both times he got a double!!  He also made a couple of really great catches in the outfield.  They ended up losing, but the team they were playing had three players that used to be on college baseball teams--I'd say that's a little bit of an unfair advantage haha.  The Chewies definitely held their own though, and after the game everyone was excited about how well they played!

I made these for treats after the game:

I got the recipe here

Another fun part about softball games are all the cute little puppies roaming around.  I like petting them!

After Monday night the rest of our week wasn't that eventful.  On Tuesday I made pizza:

Recipe for the dough from my favorite blog

Then yesterday I made these (with a little grilling help from Austin):

Recipe can be found here

These were really good, but what made them awesomeee was this pico:

I kind of made up this recipe as I went along, but basically I just threw these ingredients into a bowl and stirred 'em up:

-1 avocado, cubed

-1 tomato, diced

-1/3 of a bunch of cilantro (about a handful)

-About 2 slices of red onion, diced (I don't like red onion very much, so I don't use a lot--you could certainly use more if you want!)

-Juice of 1/2 of a lime

-Salt and pepper to taste

**You could also add a jalapeno if you want, but I am not a fan so I leave those suckers out!  

Tonight we're having the leftover tacos for din din and then tomorrow I have to work all night so Austin is on his own, and I'll probably just have Carrabba's bread to hold me over until I come home and raid whatever's left in our fridgey.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

back to school

Ok life update:

1) I start student teaching 7th grade ELA on September 7th!!!

2) I met my "cooperating teacher" yesterday, and she is really great!  Plus, she is the cheerleading coach, so I get to help do cheer stuff too :)

3) I got a job as a teaching assistant at a dance studio here in Dallas!  I start teaching on Monday!

4) Austin got a new job with the old company (The Ward Group) that he used to work for!!  I'm so glad that he has a job that he loves again!

Lots of exclamation points up in hurr--things are getting exciting around these parts fo sho.  Especially since Aggie football is about to start!

An update that is not so fun: Austin is out of town this weekend.  Boo...I don't like it when he's gone.  He's currently somewhere by a lake at a bachelor party where there is allegedly zero cell phone reception (how convenient).  Oh well, it's just an excuse for me to watch chick flicks galore, scrapbook, dance around the apartment in my tap shoesies that my mom sent me this week, and go shopping! 

Speaking of shopping, somehow my Carrabba's paycheck was about twice as much as it normally is this week.  I don't know how that happened...I guess I worked more than I thought or more people are starting to crave Italian food now that it's been over 100 degrees for the past few weeks, so my tip-share is more.  Who knows?  Either way, the big checkeroo coupled with the fact that it's tax free weekend meant one thing: it was time for me to hit up the Allen outlets.  I haven't gone shopping in a looong time, and figured I needed some "back to school" clothes.  Seriously.  I have almost nothing in my closet that even remotely resembles "teacher clothes", so off to the outlets I went.  I'd say it was a success:

I get a little excited when I go to outlet malls.  I think I'm set for big girl clothes for a little while though!

In terms of our eats for the rest of the week...on Thursday I made this:

From this:

Love me some Ina

And then for dessert I made these:

From THIS!

I'm excited to tell y'all about my tales from the dance studio this week and show you guys what we're munching on.  Until then it's back to Love Actually...