Simple

Simple things make my heart go pitter-patter. Naturally, when I found a recipe from Real Simple magazine, I was pumped. 

I needed a quick and yummy appetizer to compliment a spaghetti night. I instantly Pinterested (is that a word yet?) bruschetta. Because, I absolutely adore all things bruschetta! It's absolutely amazing but not absolutely easy to make. Lucky for me, I found the Blue Cheese and Honey Bruschetta. 

Easy-Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Mentally prepare yourself for this super simple recipe. Are you ready? Okay, get set... GO!


Ingredients

• 1/2 baguette
• 3 ounces blue cheese
• 2 tablespoons honey

Directions

1. Thinly slice the baguette. Place the rounds on a baking sheet and broil until golden brown (about 1 1/2 minutes per side).

2. Divide the blue cheese among the toasted bread slices. Drizzle 2 tablespoons honey evenly over them.

The combo of honey and blue cheese is divine. It was delightful and I intend on making this little diddy again. 

Ready to Roll Out

Delicious-ness

Besides my fun appetizer, I'm also equally fascinated with my pedometer. Best $15.00 ever spent! Right now, I'm at 11, 634 steps and I'm headed to my rockstar fitness class! Buy one, I promise you it's bound to entertain you ... for at least one day. 

Curlin' Up

It must be a teacher thing, but I love to read a good book. Honestly, I didn't get hooked on reading until studying abroad. We spent several afternoons lounging in Hyde Park catching up with good reads. Since then, I have become an avid reader. In fact- I'm reading roughly 4 books right now. Goodness!

I'm a band wagon jumper. A friend of mine posted the link to this article last week on Facebook and I was hooked! Then, Miss Klohn posted the article in her recent blog post. I decided to continue the sharing frenzy and post it right here for you fine people. Lucky for you, I've got some other good reads up my sleeve.

First, the CNN article:
What Teachers Really Want to Tell Parents written by Ron Clark. Have you heard of Ron? I bet you have.. he has written several books. One of my favs is "The Essential 55".

Good Reads photo

Whew, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's go back to his CNN article... it's phenomenal. Everyone should read it because it applies to more than just teachers. Here's a sneak peak courtesy of CNN:

So, what can we do to stem the tide? What do teachers really need parents to understand?

For starters, we are educators, not nannies. We are educated professionals who work with kids every day and often see your child in a different light than you do. If we give you advice, don't fight it. Take it, and digest it in the same way you would consider advice from a doctor or lawyer. I have become used to some parents who just don't want to hear anything negative about their child, but sometimes if you're willing to take early warning advice to heart, it can help you head off an issue that could become much greater in the future.

Trust us. At times when I tell parents that their child has been a behavior problem, I can almost see the hairs rise on their backs. They are ready to fight and defend their child, and it is exhausting. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I tell a mom something her son did and she turns, looks at him and asks, "Is that true?" Well, of course it's true. I just told you. And please don't ask whether a classmate can confirm what happened or whether another teacher might have been present. It only demeans teachers and weakens the partnership between teacher and parent.

Click here to finish. 

Are you hooked? Finish it...... I dare you. I triple dog dare you!

I'm also a big sucker for teachery-books. You know what I'm talking about, those heartfelt books you can read when the times get tough. One of the best ones I have read is "32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny". Not only is this book hilarious, but it's practical. Phillip Done clearly describes his trials and quirky moments in third grade. 

Buy it on Amazon here. 

Now, this book is in no way school related but I am also reading "The Hunger Games". WOWIE! 

Suzanne Collins 

Buy it on Amazon here. 

Writing Marathon!

Writing is one of my favorite times during the day! In these first few weeks of school, my students have blown me away with their creativity in their writing. It excites me for what is to come this year!

The best thing about being part of the College of Education was you got to pretend you were a kid again. We participated in several lessons that were applicable to our classrooms. In a writing course, my junior year, my professor led us on a Writing Marathon. Our mission was to roam campus for an hour and find different locations to write. He sent us on our way and told us to return in 60 minutes! In my Writer's Notebook, I wrote down my sights around Brady Commons, the Columns, and the steps of the College of Ed. Thinking back on that day, I remember having a great time with friends and writing ..writing... and more writing.

I decided to test this strategy out with my kiddos this year. My school utilizies the 6+1 Writing Traits program and our first trait is "Ideas". We have been working on gathering ideas and zooooooooming in on one idea. After specials, I told my kids to grab their Writer's Notebooks because we were taking a little marathon.

Their goal: use their 5 senses and observe the area they are in. Minimum of 4 sentences per location!

We hit up the following spots in school:
Classroom
Front lawn
Cafeteria
Library
Playground

I had the best time reading through their entries.  Several cracked jokes and expressed hunger throughout the process! Besides getting to move around the school, my students practiced generating ideas and focusing in on one idea at a time.

I don't know about you but I love anchor charts. It's a great time for the class to get together and collaborate ideas. I believe that charts created together are more powerful than pre-made ones. Yes, I have store bought posters on my wall... but I also have ones we made. It's a nice mixture! You can take the girl out of second grade... but you can't take the anchor chart out of the girl! That's the saying, right?

Anywho, here are a few fun anchor charts from around the web. Click the captain for the source!

The First Grade Parade

First Grade Parade

Mrs. Williams Kinders 

I need to stop this late night blogging. What has gotten into me!? It's bedtime. But first, I'm obsessed with this performance from the VMA's. Enjoy!

2011 VMA - Music - Beyoncé

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby!

Warning: Several cake pops were harmed in the making of this post. Including this poor little guy:

Yes, that is the floor. Carpet to be exact. He didn't make it from the fridge to my chocolate pot. Let's try and move past this...

CAKE POPS! I thought these little gems only existed at Starbucks. Apparently, I was waaay-off. They'e all the rage. If you're not eating or making cake pops.. something is wrong with you! Okay, I'm lying. But, they're cute!

See?

Save the Date For Cupcakes

Veronica's Cornucopia

Skip to My Lou

In honor of a friend's bacherlorette party, I decided to embark on a cake pop journey. It seemed like an easy one. The recipe was simple.

Of course, I ran into a few mishaps.

Ready.. Set.. Go!

Funfetti strikes AGAIN! These little cake pops were my first treat using my brand new KitchenAid that I blogged about earlier. I got so excited using the mixer hands free.. I took a few pictures.

Mix, sweet mixer! MIX!

Then, I dropped my cracked egg inside the mixer. While going for the "off" switch, I turned the mixer to HIGH and had to make a mad dash to remove all egg shell from my poor cake. Lesson learned! Be careful with eggs around the mixer. Or maybe the lesson should be... crack the egg and then drop it inside the mixer? Whatever the lesson was (is) ... my mixer is awesome and I'm in love.

My guidance for this post comes straight from Love From the Oven. She gives a fantastic picture-friendly tutorial for creating this poppers. After the egg incident, it was smooth sailing for a few hours. That's only because I had to let me box cake cool for two of them. Then, I destroyed my cake.

Putting the FUN in Funfetti

Next, I added the icing and starting rolling the cake into little balls. I began melting the almond bark and started dipping. This was complicated. Wait, let me rephrase that.. this was frustrating. I lost several poppers to this almond barking. The poppers would crumble and fall apart inside my sprinkles bowl. Errg!

I found my groove with the cake pops and started crankin' more out. I think I made 9. I started getting sleepy and decided I would finish the rest in the morning. My bed, FRIENDS, and my blog were calling my name.

Don't judge, but these are the ugliest cake pops ever. This isn't me fishing for compliments either! They're actually quite funny to see. This little guy has a little bit of a swagger, don't ya think?

Poppin'

Love From the Oven's pops look like rockstars compared to mine!

Love From the Oven

Cake pops... we will meet again. Next time, I will be victorious. 

Etsy

Ode to MIZZOU!

I'm a proud alumni of the University of Missouri. I liked it so much, I stuck around for 5 years and earned two degrees! Just kidding. (well, not really... but you get it)

I decided to make a fun wreath to show off my school pride. I have been browsing Pinterest lately in search of a wreath to mimic, and I've found several inspirations!

Before I show my wreath creation and inspirations from the web, first I'll share a few of my favorite things about MU.

The Columns:

As freshmen, it's tradition that you meet at the Columns the Sunday before school and run TOWARDS Jesse Hall. This is me and my BFF (who I met in the dorms) our first week of college.

Senior Send Off

As Seniors, you run from Jesse Hall toward the Columns! Ali and I managed to recreate our picture from freshman year.

Dorm Life:
What can I say? We rocked Johnston Hall and dorm 206. 'nuff said.

TAILGATING! Words can't describe how much I love tailgating. I have many fond memories of many fond tailgates.

Which brings me to....
Football season:

MU vs. OU 

Which brings me to another extremely important point:

It's fun (and necessary) to hate kU

Be a good friend. 

Lastly.. Shakespeares Pizza

Can you tell I'm obsessed? Why wouldn't I be!? I have made the best friends and had the best time in college. I think I'm experiencing a "quarter-life crisis".

As a fun little craft, I made myself a sweet little MU wreath. MIZZZOU-RAH!

A splash of school pride 

The supplies I used are:

• foam wreath
• burlap
• black fabric
• black/yellow fabric
• MU print fabric
• hot glue fun
• fingers

My colors don't quite match... but trust me, that doesn't bother me one bit. I'm just excited I finally made a wreath that incorporated bunting! Here are a few of my pinspirations:

Casabella Project 

My Blessed Life

Etsy

Click on the caption of each photo to visit the wreath's source. So, I'm not a professional, but hey! That's a-okay with me.

Stay tuned for a riveting cake pops post in t-minus 10 minutes.

Rise and Shine!

Horror struck again at 8:00 AM when my stomach began rumbling like an angry hippo and I realized that my breakfast was a lousy one. Thankfully, I have plan time at 9:00 and I scarfed down a granola bar. Whew! Close one.

Then, it was as if Kraft was reading my mind and magically decided to send me an email with their latest recipes. Woot woot! While clicking through their website (productivity at its finest), I was intrigued by their "Morning Rise and Dine Cups." When I got home, I rummaged through my supplies and pulled out what ingredients I had in my 'ol fridge.

Rise & Dine! It's muffin time. 

The peppers are in hiding. 

Warning: 409 is not and ingredient. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Interested yet? Feast your eyes on the recipe courtesy of Kraft Foods: 

what you need

1 can (6 oz.) refrigerated biscuits (5 biscuits)

1-1/4 cups  cholesterol-free egg product

1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers

3   green onions, sliced

1/2 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, divided

make it

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

SEPARATE biscuits; cut each crosswise in half. Press each into 4-inch round. Place 1 dough round in each of 10 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.

COMBINE egg product, peppers, onions and 1/4 cup cheese; spoon into cups.

BAKE 15 min. or until centers are set. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted.

I put my muffins in the oven and parked my boo-tay outside to enjoy the weather (and grade papers).  I even downloaded and "EZ Grader" app on my phone to make the process EZ-er. I felt really cool after doing so. 

Treasures, anyone?

But of course, I wanted to experience the best of both worlds so I propped my door open and watched TV simultaneously. Why am I watching TV all night long you ask? One reason:

My favorite 6 friends are now on Nick@Nite! So naturally, I had to watch the BEST of Friends this evening. It's completely irrelevant that I own all 10 seasons and can quote them for memory. Doesn't matter people! A marathon is a marathon!

Brilliant. 

Now, I'm sure you're wondering how those muffins taste....

So am I! Ask me tomorrow because I'll be enjoying one for breakfast. 

Taking a Moment to Remember

Ever make a decision and instantly regret making that decision? I did just that this afternoon. After dropping off my heavy load of junk in my kitchen and relaxing for a minute at home, I realized I had left a few things in my car. I walked outside WITHOUT shoes and into my car.

There is one thing you should know about my driveway, it's not paved.. it's not even gravel.. it's made of rocks. Big 'ol rocks. Rocks that are sharp and hurt on your bare feet. So, you can imagine my feelings when I was walking/hobbling to my car over the rocky path to my car. What would have been a quick 1-minute trip turned into 5 minutes of agony! What was I thinking?

I felt like Dwight when he braved the firey-rocks to prove to Michael Scott he was management material.

Anywho! I felt so slugglish all day long.. now I'm booming with energy. I suppose that I will crash in roughly 10 minutes, so this post is going to be a quicky.

I've been searching high and low for something to "teach" my students about 9/11 this Friday. I strongly believe it's important for students to recognize the significance of that day and the courage and bravery of citizens in our country. I know how busy the day can seem (especially today!) but taking a moment to remember those who lost their lives and the continual fight for freedom is equally important.

Last year, I was introduced to  few books by colleagues to read aloud:

Buy September 12 on Amazon here. 

Buy The Little Chapel That Stood on Amazon here. 

Buy The Man Who Walked Between the Towers here. 

Then! Just when I thought my search had come to a close... I found a beautiful picture on Pinterest.  It comes from jarrodfletcherhayden.blogspot.com, but the link does not work anymore. :(

A little lightbulb went off in my head.

Ding! 

Why not adapt this picture to my classroom? It can represent so many different things. I want to make Friday's lesson a positive one, and I think that by having students collectively create a handprint heart shows our dedication to living peaceful lives. We all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences that make this country so bright and beautiful, just as the heart displays. I think this is a beautiful symbol of a collective commitment to encouraging peace and progress!

What are your plans for September 11 in your classroom? Please share!