Now you may be aware that this year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest movies of all time: The Princess Bride. So what better way to honor this amazing film than doing a throw back to my bridal shower my mom hosted for me that was Princess Bride themed? You can read my shorter excerpt here. Otherwise, if you are ready for the details, continue reading Now first you need to understand, the role that the Princess Bride has played in my husband and my relationship. When we first started dating in college, we always looked for reasons to hang out. Our dorms had a ping pong table downstairs and Eric had challenged me to a game. I was pretty decent in my opinion and could hold my own against the average competitor so it was with confidence I accepted. He and I began our battle, and he was pretty good I thought despite my solid lead. When I had reached about 19 points with him trailing at 12, he looked at me and said, "There is something you should know." I played right into him and asked him, "What?" He smiled and as he picked up his paddle and ball again to serve, he said to me, ![]() I was so appreciative of the well placed movie quote that I didn't even mind that I didn't score another point and have yet to beat him in a game of ping pong. It only made sense that for Halloween we went as Buttercup and Westley (as Dread Pirate Roberts). The ping pong story was well known across friends and family so it was at me request that the theme to my bridal shower became Princess Bride. Anything I learned about throwing parties I learned from my mother, whom I have mentioned and credited before. Here were just some of the key pieces from the shower: Decorations:
Food
Attire/Conclusion
0 Comments
Maybe I'm alone but this week I thought about why I am so tired when I come home. I have heard talk of the "teacher tired" and I put some thought into it and here is what I concluded: Physical: That day at work, I walked 4 miles with my phone in my hand. I don't own a fit bit or a pedometer so I never know for sure how much I walk in total. My phone keeps track of steps but that's only good when I'm holding it. So, over four miles is pretty decent. Plus, this does not account for all the squats I do at each individual desk, or the flights of stairs I climb. Mental: Teachers are estimated to be making 1,500 decisions in a 6 hour work day (But let's be honest, what teacher only puts in a 6 hour day?). This is an average of 4 decisions every minute. These decisions are not just for yourself either. "Can I go to the bathroom?" I am asked this question everyday multiple times. I have to factor in: Who is asking? Is this becoming a pattern? Do I think they really need to or are they skipping class? Is the child needing to go because they aren't feeling well or to meet up with a friend? Do I want them to miss this material we are about to cover? Are the parents supportive enough of my ability to know their child that they would be okay with me saying no? Are we passed the school time cap for bathroom? How long before our next transition? Although these may not all be conscious questions I ask myself, these are certainly all factors that weigh in on one simple question, "Can I go to the bathroom?". This has you leave at the end of the day with a serious dose of decision fatigue. Emotional: I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference in kids lives. Some days, you get to see a glimpse of something, that makes you believe that maybe you are, but most days you don't. You see another email or phone call home, you see the stack of papers to grade when you get home, you see the receipt total at Target from buying supplies for your lesson, you see the after school meeting you need data for, you see the time you need to wake up to get your room set. But despite have a to-do list the length of your arm, you can't stop thinking about the kid that is sitting alone, or how to teach your lesson so that the kid who has been struggling can best understand. You think about how to help Jim remember his locker combination, or if Susie got to enough to eat at dinner. You replay what you said to your class and wonder if it made the impact you were hoping: to teach them your subject and build a relationship. There is no doubt teaching is a hard career. NPR says the number leaving the teacher profession each year is 4% higher than any other career. I hope people understand. I hope people respect that. But even if they don't I will continue to teach. I will continue grading, continue classes to become a better student. But, when Friday comes, I will begin to slow down, and rest through Sabbath. I am a tired teacher, but with a rest, I can keep going.
. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE burgers. Especially ones from a restaurant that are juicy and have some combination of toppings that I never would have tried at home. But after the fourth of July, and August family get togethers, we've had a lot of burgers. And the nice and worst thing about hosting, most of the food gets left at our house. We've had our fill of burgers over the course of summer. Tonight I'm sick of burgers and we need to do something new. This post is if you too are sick of burgers and need to re-purpose your burger leftovers. The answer: Spaghetti. We have not done real grocery shopping in long time since we've been working on these remaining dishes from our last family gathering and the one before that. I knew I had to get creative because one can only eat the same meal so many times...
Then came the easy part. I heated up some of those burgers from the day before, and crumbled them into the sauce. That took care of the burgers, now for the buns. What goes best with pasta? Garlic bread! I laid the buns face up on a baking sheet. I melted half a stick of butter and poured the butter over the buns; not enough for it to make the buns sopping wet, just enough to cover them. Then I added some shredded Monterrey cheese on top and finally, topped it all off with garlic salt. I baked them at 350 F for about 10 minutes. It tasted like the frozen Texas Toast.
I may just have been such a good meal because it was no longer burgers, but as far as recreating a meal, it worked perfect for using up the meat and the buns. I will be doing this again after the next family gathering! |
AuthorI am someone who loves to write. I like to think and be creative. I was encouraged by my husband to write more and so this is me writing. Hope you find something of value in these words. Archives
December 2019
|