haphazard musings

techless tuesday!

i assigned my first paper of the year this year to my freshmen.  and i am shocked.  i read some of them today.  several of them, i don't think you can acutally call an essay.

the instructions: imagine the world with one of today's modern conveniences (ie. phone, computer, cars, etc).  write a five paragraph essay describing what and how the world would be different.  this should include an introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

while the papers were pretty rough overall (expected), some of them were decent format and writing wise.  but what truly surprised me was the lack of imagination and the lack of awareness of what goes on around them. 

nearly all the students chose to write about a world with no phones.  they all wrote about how boring life would be without a phone and that they wouldn't be able to have friends, take pictures, listen to music, or even get directions without a cell phone. 

i reminded them that music can be played on the radio and that we have cameras and about maps. 

and thus a new revelation for me.  how much do i depend on my cell phone for entertainment?  it's a bit ridiculous.  i check my phone while i'm eating dinner, while maelle takes a bath, while watching tv, etc. 

i think it might be time to implement a little electronic limit in the Frasier household.  we started doing techless tuesdays over the summer, but  in the last couple weeks have begun ignoring the techless rule. 

but i think it's time to re-instate it!

join me for techless tuesday!  link up with me and let me know what you did on your techless tuesday.

back to school, back to school

a little reference to billy madison, with adam sandler, not my proudest movie reference, but one that reaches way back into my high school days. :)

i have now been back to school for going on my 3rd week.  and it has been good.  so good.

i do love teaching.  my students have reminded me each day how much i am exactly where i should be.  another reminder comes each time one of them inquisitively asks about my little fish tattoo. and each time i visit with another teacher who reminds me about the the reason that they teach, and that it is the same reason as mine.  

i LOVE that each day i get to INVEST in kinds that NEED investing.  if there was any doubt that i am reaching students, that doubt was asuaged when i received a note from one of last year's students who reminded me that while my school is a tough place to teach, it is a great place to be.  she also mentioned that she not only learned about english, she learned about life and about how to let Christ's light shine even when we are NOT talking about it.  that note really made my first day back a confirmation of God's calling for my life.

so far my second first week has been about 300 times better than my first, first week.  honestly, i like teaching so much more than i did last year.  and since i have a nearly grown-up babe, i might as well be ready for my empty nest and keep on teaching - she is driving after all.

in preparation for teaching this year i decided i needed to do some things to make life a little less insane.  this includes freezer meals, bulk food preparation, a little cleaning help, a husband who has pretty much taken on the laundry task completely (he rocks), and a little less wasted time watching tv.

i spent a friday morning over the summer with one of my good pals, Megan, who has negotiaged to have fridays off from her job (yay, megan!) making freezer meals.  we each made two double recipes and swapped.  it was a fun time to be together chatting while our babes played and took naps.  her little man is about 8 weeks older than maelle.  she made spinach lasagna roll ups and broccoli, chicken and rice casserole.  i made pizza casserole and pioneer woman's chicken spaghetti (i blogged about it once before).  the roll-ups and pizza casserole we put in throw away aluminum pans, but the rest we stored flat in gallon size freezer bags.  i prefer the freezer bag method.  they stack so nicely.

these were just my meals...

I also have made a couple other meals along the way.  certain recipes i try to double when i make them, it's really just as easy to make two as to make one.  so i made some meals as a house warming gift for my bro, who just recently bought a house and doubled them all and just tossed 'em in the fridge.  those meals were a little more basic, but still pretty yummy (he's picky!).  i made tater tot casserole and ham and potato casserole.  another classic freezer meal in the frasier household is called chalupa. 

i think i am up to about 10 meals in my freezer, i figure i can pull out one a week (they will all have leftovers) and make it through october!

over the next few weeks i will share the recipes with you.  i am excited for a reason to get back to blogging.  i have missed my theraputic writing.

i have also been trying hard to prep a week or so of food at a time in order to make my weeks a little easier.  last week looked like this.

i ended up with 10 shredded beef (roast in the crockpot) and black bean burritos (rolled with some spinach and cheese) for lunch and 5 individually packed smoothies (just add 1/2 cup yogurt in the morning). as well as around 2.5 cups more of adobo beef in the freezer just ready for tacos or something later on.

this week looks like this.

that is 5 jars of shredded chicken (crockpot again) mixed with leftover pasta salad full of veggies 5 jars of granola (ready for a 1/2 cup of yogurt and a handfull of blueberries in the morning) and 6 full pounds of shredded generic chicken ready to be tossed into enchilads, chicken salad, soup, bbq sandwiches, etc.

so now i am ready for another week of school with easy, healthy meals for breakfast and lunch and a freezer full of quick and ready made meals.

this process on sunday during nap time leads to evenings full of family time and relaxation!  yay!!!  that means lots of happy snuggles with our little gal who is always ready for a par-tay.