Technology Schmology

I'm teaching my mom to use Facebook right now.

"This is ridiculous! I can't tell what that letter is. Is that an h or a b?" - a livid response to the security type box.

Makes me wonder if Facebook is really worth it. :) Love you, Mom.

Twilight Hike.

I went for a hike right after school, and I was just finishing up around dark when I ran into a deer family of five grazing. It was very peaceful, so I stood with them for awhile. They weren't fazed in the slightest and continued chomping on their dinner. One of the reasons I call nature my special place. (Sorry about the blurry pic. My phone sucks.)

Hope Mama doesn't mind...

but I'm sharing her recipe for an amazing Thanksgiving side dish: Sweet Potato Souffle. On Sunday, I hosted my very first Thanksgiving dinner and cooked for ten people with the help of Angus and Danny. It was quite a success, and it sort of made me excited to cook for Thanksgiving in the years to come. Anyway, I have to thank my mom for providing me with the best recipes in the world! (Thanks, Mom!)

Sweet Potato Souffle

-2 cups of sweet potatoes; peeled and boiled until soft (can use a bit more if desired)
-1/2 cup of butter
-1/2 cup of sugar
-2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg
-1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
-1/4 tsp. of cloves
-1 cup of evaporated milk

Directions: Blend cooled sweet potatoes, butter, and sugar. Add eggs and blend again. Add seasoning and milk. Blend until smooth or slightly lumpy. Bake in a greased pan for 35 minutes at 375 degrees. The middle should look/feel like pumpkin pie when finished.

Breck.

This weekend we went to Breckenridge for the first time, and we had an absolutely awesome time. We went snowshoeing twice, and made it to 11,300 feet - probably the highest we've ever trekked. It was gorgeous with a fresh layer of snow coating the ground and trees. We also got to see the town, attend a Merlot, Music, and Massage night at a quaint wine shop, eat a great dinner at a local restaurant, and have the best breakfast sandwich ever created at a French bakery. The only downside was that it took us four hours versus two to get home due to a snowstorm that decided to hit right as we began our drive. But all in all, it was a ton of fun, and I'm glad we ventured out of our safe little hole to try something new.

Child's Play.

Sara and Phil are here visiting this weekend, and Angus's best friend from home, Dan, is also staying with us. So last night, we proceeded to revert back to being 13-year-olds and took part in a variety of eating contests and an eventful game of Sardines in the dark. It all began with a pair scissors spinning on the island...if the scissors landed with the point towards you, you were in for an eating experience like never before. A recap of the main events: Dan won the cracker contest and the frozen raspberry contest. Phil ate a raw potato and a pear with his hands tied behind his back; this was followed by a shot of Old Grand-dad with his hands still behind his back. Angus ate a spoonful of Crunch Time organic peanut butter with a shot of Sherry vinegar...and Old Grand-dad, I believe. Sara and I pretended to partake in the contests, but we weren't as motivated as the guys. Then, it was on to a game of Sardines in the dark. One person hid somewhere in the house and the others went to find him/her. If you found the hidden person, you hid with them until the last person found the group. I chose to hide in a very creepy and dark corner of the basement, and Angus hid in one of the cabinets. Don't ask me how. I'm still mulling that one over. Anyway, point being...sometimes you just need to let go, laugh, and return to your inner child.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread Recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

They continue to stress me out and make me smile.

My students are doing text reformulation right now...a fancy term for summarizing a text in a new way. They're making picture books for the novel Freak the Mighty. Spoiler alert! The last scene of the book, Freak, one of the main characters goes to the hospital after having a seizure. He eventually ends up dying in the hospital because "his heart got too big for his body." Anyway, two of my students, let's call them Luke and Tucker, are sitting side by side working on the pictures.

Luke looks over at Tucker's drawing.

Luke states, "It looks like Freak is on a sled."

Tucker responds, "Dude, it's a deathbed."

The next ten minutes are spent discussing what a deathbed should look like. Ahhh, 12-year-olds.