YUM!

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tblsp. + 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tblsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, stir together flour and 2 tblsp. brown sugar. With pastry blender, cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs (be patient). Press mixture into ungreased 9 x 9 baking pan. With back of spoon, lightly press crust into corners and against pan sides. Press about 1 inch up sides. Bake base 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove from oven.

In small bowl, lightly beat eggs, corn syrup, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, cocoa, butter, vanilla and salt until well blended. Stir in pecans. Pour batter over warm crust.

Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes or until pecan filling is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. Yield: 16 bars.

Source: Hershey Foods Corp. Favorite Brand Name Recipes. Hershey's 100th Anniversary. Vol 5.74. November 22, 1994.

A Coach Steps Up

Way to go Coach Dad. It's nice to see the sports world taking the higher road.

Ferentz suspends son over drinking charge

DES MOINES, IOWA (TICKER) —Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz suspended his son from the team after James Ferentz’s arrest for possession of alcohol under the legal age on Friday, according to The Gazette newspaper.

James Ferentz, 19, was a passenger in a car that was stopped around 1:30 a.m local time. He is a freshman center for the Hawkeyes.

“I was extremely disappointed to learn of James’ very poor decision making on several levels,” Kirk Ferentz said in a statement released by the sports department. “This offense will be treated seriously, and his punishment will include immediate and total suspension from all team activities.”

James Ferentz is the 20th different Iowa player cited for various offenses since April 2007.

Source: rivals.com

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=txferentzsuspendson&prov=st&type=lgns

Get out and Vote!!

VOTE!

A Great New Recipe

I tried this recipe this morning. Very yummy.

Fiesta Corn, Pepper, And Black Bean Salad

1 sweet red pepper, diced
1 sweet green pepper, diced
1 sweet yellow pepper, diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 15oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tblsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. lime juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 15oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

Mix and toss well. Yield: 6-8 servings

Source: Taste of Home Brand Name Cookbook, Fall 2005

Duh!

DUDE, GET THE JOB DONE FIRST!!!!

An Eagles rookie celebrates his touchdown a little too early.....

10 Iggles Not Smart @ Yahoo! Video

You Have to Love SNL -- Direct to Video

Well, NBC failed to acknowledge my email inquiry about posting this video. I tried in good faith. Here's the direct video. Enjoy.

A Fabulous Stir Fry Recipe

I just tried this recipe today to add a twist to my stir frying of chicken. It is very yummy and easily adaptable. The key may be to use good butchershop chicken (if you have access).

>Spicy Stir-Fried Garlic Pepper Chicken

This deliciously sauted chicken is easy to prepare and will make an excellent snack or may be used as a filling for Tacos, Burritos, or Sandwiches.

Ingredients: (makes 6 - 8 servings)

2 pounds (900 gms) Chicken (boneless cubes)

2 tablespoons Oil (veg., olive or corn)

2 teaspoons Garlic chopped/paste

1 cup Onions Diced

3 peppers (red, yellow, green, and/or orange)

2 teaspoons Lemon/Lime juice

2 teaspoons Spice 'N Flavor Garam Masala

1 Tbsp. Coriander (cilantro) leaves chopped, Salt to taste

Method:

1.Marinate the chicken with lemon juice,

salt and SPICE 'N FLAVOR Garam Masala and set aside for 30 mins.

2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan,

add the chicken, garlic and stir-fry on medium fire for 10 mins.

3. Add the onions, bell pepper, 3 tablespoons of water and stir-fry for 5 mins.

or until the chicken become brownish and dry.

4. Turn off the heat and garnish with the coriander (cilantro) leaves.

Chef's Tip s:

* Add a variety of bell peppers (green, yellow and red) for a colorful dish.

* Add chopped spring onions and celery in step 3 for added flavor.

* You may use the above recipe for stir-frying Chicken Liver, Turkey, Veal, or vegetables

(Potatoes, Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower or Tofu).

* To use as a spice rub mix 1 teaspoon of Spice 'N Flavor Garam Masala with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Serve hot as an appetizer or with rice (boiled or pilaf), Indian breads, pita bread, Tacos, Burritos or any other bread.

The Library Kicks Butt !

I love reading articles about stupid library users. When you check out books from the library (school, public, academic, etc.), the agreement is that you will return them in a timely manner. If you don't there are consequences for your lack of responsibility. I find it interesting that some individuals think a public library serves as their own personal Amazon.com account. Where does that mentality come from? Just take the damn books back and pay the meagre fine!

The End of Summer

Finally, the summer draws to a close. I am back on the school clock as of this Thursday and back in the classroom the following week. It has been a seemingly-endless year filled with anxiety, positive and negative occupational experiences, personal growth, and deep reflection. What words best describe my mindset? Excited, slightly apprehensive, relieved, curious, . . . happy.

Vampire Reading

I just finished the fourth book in the Stephenie Meyer vampire series. The first book (Twilight) had me intrigued by all the hype. The second (New Moon) had me hooked. The third (Eclipse) made me angry because two of the male characters were rather abusive in my eyes. The fourth has me hungry for more. The problems I had with the third book were resolved in the fourth by character development (maturation). Plus, Meyer shifted her narrative voice in the fourth which allowed more of a sympathetic attachment to one of the players. I just couldn't put it down and fought with the urge to read the last chapter right away to know the resolution. In the wee hours of the morning, I was not disappointed by the closure. There's plenty of room for more. The book also presented interesting twists on vampire mythology, genetics, power structures, and conflict resolution. I hope Meyer is sitting at her computer 24/7.

Vacation Time

Finally....three weeks off until school begins. My book pile awaits. The girls are hoping the blue-green algae alert at the dog park is gone. We'll all be spending much of our time like the little guy in this picture.

Speechless

I don't even know fully what to say about this news report on a teacher suspended for using the book The Freedom Writers Diary in her English classes. I've used this book. I've used the film in class. The film is the first realistic representation I've seen of teaching and the screwed up public education system without an over-glorified, all-sacrificing teacher who makes it look easy. The book presents authentic voices and situations. Perhaps this school board in Indiana is afraid of truth and afraid of their children's reality. With that they do their children a huge disservice. They are failing to keep their children at the heart of their decision-making. Remember, we teach the children we have, not always the children we want. If I were this teacher in Indiana, I would actively look for another job in another district.

A Reading List Meme

I haven't been spending much time blogging lately. All my waking hours have been devoted to reading and writing curriculum, gardening, and walking the girls. Summer school begins soon, and then it will be a frantic push toward final prep for my next year of teaching. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that my classroom awaits my return. I just know that any pleasure reading and house repair tasks need to get done now. So I've been away from my blog.

I have been reading quite a bit online and looking for interesting ways to share my students' work and ideas with the world. Through that review process,K8 called my attention to this Reading meme…...

The top 100 or so books most often marked as “unread” by LibraryThing’s users. Want to surprise yourself?

Bold the books you have read, underline the ones you were assigned in school, italicize the ones you started but didn’t finish.

Since I can’t remember which were read first for school and which for the joy of reading literature, I didn’t underline at all. However, many are on a comp. list from my English graduate program. What surprised me even more were the number of titles I read in high school 25 years ago. Thank you Jeff Shannon (my college-prep English teacher). It makes me question how much we are currently challenging our young students to read excellent literature. Hmmmmm……

Also thinking back to strategies used in high school, perhaps we need to add formatting of titles for which we read the Cliffs / Sparks Notes…..

The List
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi : a novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian : a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible
1984
Angels & Demons
Inferno
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion is this
There is Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield

Memoir Meme

I was tagged by K8 to play along with this viral activity / meme . I'm not sure what I think about the concept, but this one looked pretty harmless. It also allows for a bit of creativity exploration for the participants.

Here are the rules (cut from the original post):

1.. Write your own six word memoir.

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like (mine is at the end of this post).

3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.

4 .Tag five more blogs with links.

5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Keep in mind a memoir doesn't have to encompass one's entire life story. It can be a slice of one's life. Here's my current slice:

Displaced
teacher
anxiously
awaits
August's
arrival.

The Project -- Part II

The wall project is complete. Part III -- The next step...that insipid border around the rest of the dining room needs removal. It's going to be a longer project because I have to move furniture. I'll do one piece at a time. Part IV -- Painting the rest of the dining room (an Ivory shade) and then the same for the living room. The ceiling patch will be last. I have to figure out how to do that effectively without tearing down all the plaster. I have until the end of June to get it all finished.


The girls, of course, would rather I focused my attention on them. Sigh.

Great Book

I stayed up late last night to finish Alan Lawrence Sitomer's Hip-Hop High School. It's an awesome young adult read. Compelling narrative, strong female voice, authentic glimpse into urban high school life. The main character,Tee-Ay (Theresa), struggles with a changing neighborhood, cultural conflicts, romantic roadblocks, violence, sibling competition, tough teachers, college entrance requirements, and her own ideology/life purpose development. Sitomer presents a wonderfully resilient voice couched in a plotline that will make you laugh and cry simultaneously in the end.

Check it out!

*

The Project

Since it is Spring Break, and I have been cursing the wallpaper in my dining room for almost 7 full years, I decided to finally rid my world of the ugly stuff. It has always been my belief that individuals should not be allowed to install wallpaper (ANYWHERE!) until they have gone through the agony of tearing it down. All three of the bedrooms and the dining room had wallpaper when I bought my house. Uggghhhh. In the first two years of home ownership, my spring break/summer projects involved the wallpaper teardowns and repaints. And let me tell you, those vacation time periods were consumed by the projects. Then I took a year off from the removal agenda and came back to it with the third bedroom. Well, then work and graduate school took priority. Now that I've got a little bit of time on my hands this spring, I'm back at it. After this project is done, it will be on to painting over the insipid stenciled heart border in my kitchen. Why, I ask you! Why?

Here are a few photos from the project . . . if you are interested.

At the start of the project. Note the stupid border:



Part of a wall done:


Oh, No! Look at those cracks!

I had to get rather generous with the spackle.



Wow, even the tinted primer looks nice!



The first coat of primer is complete.



Oh, Charlotte. Now I truly understand. It wasn't the culture's Victorian mindset. It wasn't post-partum depression. It wasn't even the Mitchell rest cure. IT WAS JUST THE DAMN WALLPAPER!!!



Stay tuned. . . the final paint color is "Chianti." I think I'll have a glass to match when this project is all said and done.

Tillie's Interpretation of the Dog Dance

Check out this hilarious dog "dance" video.

. . . Tillie provides her own interpretive moment to an appreciative audience.

It is Spring Break, don't you know!!

I'm Back

Wow,
I can't believe I haven't written since October. Since that time, I have switched jobs, redirected a lot of anger at those who have control over my path, struggled with some personal demons, battled institutional bureaucracies (several of them!!!), and solidified what I want to do when I grow up. It's been a challenge. I have found that I am more resilient than I ever thought I could be. While in this time of transition, I have been reading more than I have been able to in many many years. Some of it has been great (The Arrival, The Wall, Seems Like a Funny Story, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, ....). Some of it crap (Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You). And, much of it highly useful to the new class I will be offering this coming fall.

The title I just finished last night was Brent Runyon's The Burn Journals. It's a rather graphic and disturbing account of the author's adolescent depression, his survival and recovery after setting himself on fire in a failed suicide attempt, and some of the normal growing up process and anxieties of a fourteen-year-old boy. Powerful, frustrating, riveting, eye-opening -- all describe the narrative for me. There aren't that many books out there that help to explore the depth of adolescent depression. Though not without a few significant flaws, this text is useful in helping readers to understand the darkness through which some teens struggle.

To balance out the darkness of that text, I'm reading Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles: The Nixie's Song this evening. I think Harlem Summer by Myers will be next for tomorrow.

Well, back to reading. I hope to write more and post more often now that my mind is back on track with life and my career goals.