Top 5 Friday! On Friday!

I think I like the few days after Christmas as much as I like Christmas itself.  Ok..maybe not as much, but pretty close.  The days are slower pace than the ones that have just passed.  You get to take a closer look at the presents you received and now with Taelin, it means playing with new toys and games.  Today, Taelin and I (mostly me) rearranged the upstairs to accommodate her new desk that Santa brought. This year, in particularly, this month felt rushed because of our trip to Disneyland (no complaining about that...just made the rest of the prep for Christmas crazy!) so this time now until going back to work is especially welcome.  

But before I get to far into the rearranging, purging and organizing that I love to do this time of year, my Top 5 Friday this week for focusing on my Top 5 moments of Christmas this year. (The fact that these all had to to with Taelin will come to a shock to all of you I am sure!)

1.  Taelin's Wish List  Taelin obviously wrote a letter to Santa and Santa fulfilled her two wishes of a desk and a potion kit.  But a few days before Christmas, I asked her if there was anything specific that she might like from Joe or I.  She thought for a moment and then said, "I want one of those picture frames that has a couple of pictures in it."  I asked her which pictures she would want and she told me ones of our family, including the cat and dog. So, of course, I picked up a frame with room for 4 pictures. Such a sweetie.  It was the only thing she said she wanted.  

2.  Christmas Eve Present Joe grew up with the tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve.  The guidelines are that it has to be something that can be used that night and it can't be one of your bigger presents.  Taelin has been wanting Lambie from Doc McStuffins for months.  Lambie is a little stuffed lamb in the show and every time Taelin has seen the plush doll in any store (and they are all over) she begs to have one.  I found one on sale and have been so excited to give it to her.  I settled on it being her Christmas Eve present and she was SO excited when she opened it up.  The two of them have been inseparable since.  

3.  Reading Our Countdown Books I can't remember exactly when it was, but one day after dark Taelin and I sat on the couch next to the lit Christmas tree surrounded in her Christmas Countdown books.  We took turns picking our favorite ones and we sipped hot chocolate as we read.  It was one of those Hallmark moments.  My heart was so full of love and gratitude that I just didn't want it to end. 

4. Cousin Love Taelin is absolutely in love with my cousin Tina's daughter, and I think it is safe to say that the feeling is mutual.  We drove up to Portland for dinner and to exchange presents on Christmas Day.  I think Taelin was off playing before I even set everything down and there were tears when it was time to leave.  They played together all evening, ate as quickly as they could so they could get back to playing.  I never had my extended family around growing up and it is so fun to see them so happy together!

5. Elsa and Anna If you haven't seen the movie Frozen yet (and you like Disney musicals about princesses) then you are missing out!  Taelin is nothing short of obsessed with this movie and would be perfectly happy spending day after day at the movie theater.  The longest line we stood in during our trip to Disneyland earlier this month was the Elsa and Anna Character Meet Up...1 hour and 45 minutes.  Taelin got an Elsa doll from Nana and an Anna doll from Joe and I which led to (and will continue to) random outbursts of songs from the movie and scenes being reenacted from the movie.  At one point in the afternoon, before driving up to Portland, I was folding a load of laundry real quick and Taelin was playing in the room. She was literally singing at the top of lungs and was in her own little world! Such a pure happy heart.

That makes my first Top 5 Friday that is actually getting published on Friday!  Yay me!

Photo A Day Nov 28-30 (before the onslaught of pictures that is the month of December!)

nov 28, 2013
this is the homemade pumpkin pie after Tucker helped himself.
 notice how the crust is untouched.

nov 29, 2013
Thanksgiving Hopscotch!

nov 30, 2013
what a great first line...I so do love a great hook!

Top Five Friday (I am beginning to see a Saturday morning pattern...)

I just realized when I logged on, that a couple of the post that I thought I did on my phone while we were in Disneyland last week didn't post.  We had a great 4 full days and 2 half days in the two different parks and Downtown Disney.  We actually purchased annual passes and are planning a couple more trips this year.  I had a different plan for my Top Five Friday list, but since those other posts seem to have disappeared, I have changed my mind.

Here are my top 5 Disneyland moments from our vacation last week.

1.  Ice Skating in Downtown Disney  To promote the new movie Frozen (which is excellent), they had an ice rink with rentals in Downtown Disney.  Despite prior back problems for Joe and not the best feet for me, we rented skates for all of us and had a great time. They were playing the soundtrack from the movie and it couldn't have been more fun!

2.  Haunted Mansion This ride has been a favorite in the past but it was all decked out with The Nightmare Before Christmas theme and was just amazing.  It was by far the one Taelin wanted to ride again and again...and since we were there for so long, I think we rode it at least 5 times.  Every time there were different things we noticed.  It made me so excited to go with my sister next fall...which is in the plans...since it is one of her favorite movies!

3. Mickey Shaped Beignets One of the things that Taelin wanted to do was get beignets when we were in Disneyland.  She has seen them in The Princess and The Frog and said she wanted to try them. There were a couple of points during the trip that Joe went on some of the rides that Taelin was too short for/I was too scared to ride so the two of us ventured off on our own.  During one of those times was when we got beignets and she was so excited.  It will for sure be a staple on future trips.

4. Rides in Fantasyland the last night with Taelin On the last night, Joe and our friends that live down there and joined us for the day, had fast passes to go on Space Mountain.  Taelin is tall enough to do that ride but it is safe to say that she would not like it between the speed and the darkness.  Anyway, they went to go on that ride and Taelin and I headed to Fantasyland.  The fireworks had been cancelled that night and there were no lines in Fantasyland.  I repeat, no lines.  In the time that they went on their one ride we rode the Tea Cups twice, Dumbo twice and the Carousel.  The Tea Cups at night is truly one of my favorites and after days of waiting in lines and lots of people, it was just a nice change of pace.

5. Christmas Decorations I LOVED all of the Christmas decorations!!!  It was one of the main reasons we picked a trip in December and I was not disappointed.  There were decorated trees everywhere, beautiful lights, Christmas themed parades and even the characters had different outfits.  It was truly, truly magical!


Overall, we couldn't have had a more amazing trip!  Christmas shopping will be easier for each other because that was our gift.  And such a gift it was.  A gift of time together, fun and laughter and new experiences.

Easiest Artichoke Spinach Dip Ever!

Did you know that Christmas is only 4 days away?!?  We have been racing through each day since getting back from Disneyland  and I am feeling a little behind.  The tree is not decorated, not many presents have been purchased, cards haven't been sent....you get the picture.

I have had two small parties this week here at the house.  My teachers came over one night and then some dear friends the next night.  I was looking for something easy to make that could be warm and would be something I could try that I haven't tried before.  (Cause that makes sense when you are feeling super behind...kind of like doing a blog post on a recipe makes sense....)

Anyway, I checked Allrecipes and found a super easy one.  Once the garlic is roasted it is just a matter of mixing everything together and baking.  I thought I might post it just in case someone else out there is feeling really behind but wants to try something new.  There has got to be someone else like that out there...right?

Here is the original recipe from Allrecipes.  I pretty much followed it to a tee except for a few things that I read in the reviews.

Here is what I did...

Ingredients:

4 cloves of garlic
1 package of chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (I used the ones in the water)
1/2 of jar of Alfredo sauce
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cups of grated Parmesan cheese
1 package of softened cream cheese

Directions:

1. Roast garlic cloves in a 350 degree oven until the garlic is soft (I used elephant garlic so it took a little longer.) Mash garlic once it is roasted.
2. Mix the garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo sauce, mozzerella cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese all together.
3. Put mixture in an oven safe baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.  (I separated it into two different dishes for my two parties.)

I don't really like spinach artichoke dip but I know a lot of people do and the people that tried it said they liked it!

Top Five Friday (on Saturday...again)

Taelin's Top 5 Rides at Disneyland (as of right now....)

1. Haunted Mansion

2. Monorail (yeah...really)

3. Pirates of the Caribbean

4. Toy Story Mania

5. Tea Cups 

Top Five Friday! (on Saturday morning)

Again the blog button has eluded me, but I am putting it on the "get it done by the end of 2013" list.  I really wanted one when I debuted my new weekly features but it didn't happen.  It just leaves room for improvement right?

My "Top Five Friday" feature has been inspired by my favorite movie, High Fidelity.  There is a "list your top 5 _____" threme throughout the movie.  It is usually songs, which means the sound track for the movie is amazing, but it goes beyond that too.  Between my love for that movie and my love for lists, "Top Five Friday" has been born.  I am making it very broad on purpose.  One week, it might be my five favorite books to read with Taelin and another week it might be my five favorite cookies with recipe links.  I am just leaving it open so I can share and record whatever I happen to be thinking about.

This week, my "Top Five" are my 5 favorite pictures from our snow day!  We don't often get snow in Salem and when we do it isn't often very much. The forecast said it was going to snow all day and did it ever!  I was so thankful that it landed on a day we were home so we could take full advantage of it!  Taelin and I went out first and played for awhile and then later when Joe got home earlier than usual because of the snow, he got his old sled down from the crawl space and we went out again!

Here are my top 5 photos from our snow day!

Catching snowflakes was first order of business

Snow Angels early on!  We did get more snow as the day went on.

So excited!

Sledding in the cul de sac.  She obviously LOVED it!

Pulling the sled "up the hill'
It isn't that steep but it was enough that she could get going.
You can see Joe at the bottom by the cross street.

Ok....so I couldn't leave this one out.  So it more like top 6 today...but I couldn't help it!  Look at that face!

Gratitude is the music of the heart, when its chords are swept by the breeze of kindness. ~Author Unknown

I have written a lot about gratitude on this blog and am going to continue to do so.  As I was building my new list, I wanted to try and include some weekly features for a couple of reasons.  First of all, it will keep me writing. I can always tell when I have not been writing as much.  I have come to need it and don't feel 'me' unless I have enough time to write.  Second, I thought it would be good for you, my readers, to know that there is at least a few posts coming each week. 

I am planning on getting all fancy with a blog button and everything for my once-a-week gratitude post but my technical support is currently otherwise occupied.  Until then...you will just have to have a regular old post without any fancy buttons.

The last two Christmas seasons, I have gone a little over the top with my planning.  In wanting to be intentional, I overscheduled myself with December Daily items so that we were doing something each day leading up to Christmas.  I made (and cursed most of the way through) a super cute countdown calendar and filled it with activities that were great ideas the end of November but less doable as the crunch time of the holidays took hold. (Let's just say that more than once I took advantage of the fact that Taelin couldn't read.  Like last year when I pulled the day's activity and it said, "Make a snowglobe" and I read to her "Watch The Polar Express".) At the end of December, I print off pictures for the albums, did a bit of journaling and packed them away.

I told myself this year I was going to do it a bit differently.  Taelin and I were going to generate the list together of things we wanted to do.  No dates attached, unless necessary, and no elaborate December Daily album; "I am just going to include it in my Project Daily album," I said to my friend's Peggy and Betty who if reading can already tell where this is going.

This last weekend, we took down all the Christmas decorations and have been slowing unpacking them.  Today, Taelin found the last two years worth of December Daily albums.(Here is my 2011 album!)  She started to look through them and all that time I spent planning, prepping, photographing became all worth it.  She sat and looked at each picture and wanted me to read her the words.  She noticed how much shorter her hair was last year and remembered the trip to the fire station to deliver the toys.  She said, "Can we do that again?" and "We can't forget to do that!"

Melt.  My.  Heart.

So, after looking through the last two years, we generated a list for this year.  I used the printable from this blog post to record our final list.  There are no dates, except for where appropriate, so if we want to do three things in one day we can.  It is so cool that she is getting old enough to be part of these conversations...

I am sure there are things that we will do that aren't on here.  We are volunteering to wrap presents this Friday for a service project my work is doing and she remembered after making the list that last year we bought coats to donate to another organization.

I am so grateful for having the past records of our Decembers. I am so grateful for my amazing little girl; her intelligence, her thoughtfulness, her humor. (And I am grateful I found the Christmas paper that I bought a earlier this year because I am pretty sure I am making another December Daily album this year!)

The List v 2.0...

Today marks the beginning of my new list!  A new 101 things to do (ok...there are two from the 1st list) and another 1001 days to get it done.  With a start date of today my 1001th day will be on August 28th, 2016. 

2016!!!

(If you aren't sure what I am talking about go check out www.dayzeroproject.com.  You might be inspired to start a list of your own!)

Like my last list, I have it listed on the right side of my blog.  I will bold each item as I finish it and if it is one in progress you will see it in italics. 

Wish me luck!

1. Actually do 20 of things that I have pinned on Pinterest

2. Attend a major league baseball game

3. Attend a sand castle building competition

4. Blog a gratitude post once a week

5. Build a snowman

6. Buy someone flowers

7. Collect 1/4 inch of sand from enough beaches to fill a cool bottle

8. Complete 25 writing prompts from www.creativewritingprompts.com

9. Complete a "Wreck This Journal"

10. Complete an online class

11. Complete the state quarter collection with Taelin

12. Cook 20 new vegetarian main dish recipes

13. Do a Lowes or Home Depot Kids Workshop

14. Do a nature scavenger hunt with Taelin

15. Do family board game night once a month

16. Don't eat fast food for one month

17. Donate blood

18. Donate to the food bank every month

19. Find 5 artists/bands and listen to their entire collection in chronological order

20. Fly a kite

21. Get a bike

22. Get to goal weight

23. Go golfing with Joe

24. Go grape stomping

25. Go horseback riding

26. Go on a cruise

27. Go sledding

28. Go through my closet and get rid of old clothes

29. Go to 5 new-to-me state parks

30. Go to a new-to-me musical

31. Go to a new-to-me National Park

32. Go white water rafting

33. Have a water balloon fight

34. Help build a house with Habitat for Humanity

35. Hike around Multnomah Falls

36. Host a cookie exchange

37. Host a Project 52 photo challenge

38. Kayak in 5 new places

39. Learn about investing

40. Learn Spanish

41. Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find

42. Light off fireworks...myself

43. Maintain goal weight

44. Make a dinner entirely from things purchased at a Farmer's Market

45. Make a fall bucket list with Taelin

46. Make a spring bucket list with Taelin

47. Make a summer bucket list with Taelin

48. Make a winter bucket list with Taelin

49. Make artisan bread

50. Make homemade salsa

51. Make homemade vanilla

52. Make krumkake at Christmas

53. Make marshmallows from scratch

54. Make rock candy

55. Meditate every day for 30 days

56. Participate in NaNoWriMo

57. Pay extra to the principal of our mortgage every month

58. Pick a fitness challenge and complete it

59. Plan a family road trip

60. Read 10 new children's books a month

61. Read 2 biographies of the same historical figure

62. Read 5 "classics" that I have never read

63. Read a book of poetry

64. Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to Taelin

65. Refinish my grandparent's swing

66. Renew my CPR certification

67. Ride a ferry to an island

68. Run a 5K

69. Secret goal

70. See a new-t0-me ballet

71. See the lights at Peacock Lane

72. Send a secret to PostSecret

73. Send something to a publisher

74. Spend a spa day with my sister

75. Spend a weekend at Great Wolf Lodge

76. Start a tradition of a once a year sister's weekend

77. Surprise someone with an unexpected gift

78. Surprise Taelin with a day-of Disneyland trip

79. Take a class with Taelin

80. Take a photo of the same place once a month for a year

81. Take a picture for each letter of the alphabet

82. Take a train somewhere

83. Take Taelin ice skating

84. Take Taelin to 5 different museums

85. Take Taelin whale watching

86. Teach Taelin to ride a bike

87. Try 10 new crockpot recipes

88. Try to make deep dish pizza like the kind I had in Chicago

89. Tye dye t-shirts with Taelin

90. Visit 5 different Farmer's Markets

91. Visit Mount St. Helens

92. Visit the Redwoods

93. Visit the Space Needle

94. Volunteer at a beach clean up

95. Volunteer for Earth Day

96. Watch all 10 seasons of Friends

97. Watch Blazing Saddles and eat fried chicken on June 8th

98. Watch Edward Norton's entire filmography

99. Work on a potter's wheel

100.Write a will

101. Write weekly "Top Five Friday" feature for blog

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. Albert Schweitzer

It is no secret to anyone here that I have been having what could be called a crisis of faith in regards to education.  No matter what I do, it never feels enough.  I miss teaching kids but know myself well enough that the feeling of "not enough" would only be compounded if I were to go back into the classroom now.  So, I support my beginning teachers the best I can, wishing I could more, wishing education had less trajectories and data and more connection and common sense.  I leave them with encouraging words until I can see them again.

I knew that I needed to rekindle my love for education some how so last spring I approached my boss about attending the annual convention of National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) this fall. I had attended when the convention was in Nashville and then again in New York but it had been a few years. She supported my attendance and even decided to come along.  I flew off to Boston with a schedule full of sessions I hoped would inspire and renew and maybe even redirect my journey.

I have been home from Boston for a week and have sat down to do a NCTE13 'recap' post many times since I boarded the plane last week. The problem I keep having is trying to put into words the experience I had.  I got to hear some inspiring teacher developers and some of my favorite authors. (Judy Blume was there!  Judy freakin' Blume!)  By the end of the first session on Thursday afternoon, I knew I was in the right place. The sparks from all of the session presenter's and the people I sat with during the sessions reminded why it is I love teaching.  

There was one session, however, that will not be soon forgotten.  The session title was Closer Reading: Close Reading Texts, Close Reading Lives and the presenters were Chris Lehman, Kate Roberts, and Maggie B. Roberts.  I didn't know it when I crammed myself into the corner way in the back of the crowded room but it was exactly what I was looking for.  Exactly what I needed.  At the end of the session, Chris shared a story about his wife and when he was telling it, I saw myself.  After the session, Chris and Kate were doing a book signing and I skipped my next session to get in line to have them sign my book but more importantly to say thank you.  

Before I write anymore, go read Chris' post here. (If you don't click and read the rest of my post isn't going to make any sense.)

I was one of those criers that Chris wrote about.  I don't know where it came from.  It just happened.  I had just gotten Kate's signature and was trying to be as non-creepy fangirl as possible (without much success I would guess) and then stood in line to thank Chris for his words at the end of the session.  And before I even got the phrase "thank you" out, my throat tighten and the tears welled.  Embarrassed, I tried to start over and began blubbering about what I can't remember.  (I am pretty sure that it had something to do with teaching.)  I didn't rally very well and Chris stopped, came around the desk he was sitting behind and gave me a hug.  The kindness he showed me is something I will not forget anytime soon. As I walked away, I felt embarrassed and inspired all at the same time. 

Then I read his blog post and realized that I am not alone.  Not alone by a long shot.  I have been thinking about what my butter knife is since.  I think for me, like Chris, those butter knives are connecting.  I always feel better after reaching out, reading and listening to others.  I feel less isolated.

I was out to lunch with a friend the other day after I got back and ran into a teacher that I mentored for the last three years.  I was sharing the stories of how inspired I was by the words of the presenters at the convention. I was sharing that even though there aren't any less data walls or assessments than when I left two weeks ago, somehow it all feels a little more manageable and how even though it was super creepy, that I wished I could just be friends with all those presenters. My teacher looked at me and smiled a little and said, "That's exactly how I feel when I listened to you when we worked together. I know you just thought you were just leaving us with words, but now you know what words like that can do." Maybe words are a butter knife for me too.

I started a Twitter account last February that I didn't do much with.  I revived it at the convention and followed along those that were tweeting with the hashtag #ncte13.  I even tweeted a couple of times myself.  But it is scary and I am pretty sure I am doing it wrong.  (Is there a wrong way to tweet?) 

I was in session listening to Lester Laminack and he said, "We wallow in what we do well."  This blog isn't an education blog.  It is a little blog about me living life. But, in the spirit of connecting (and not just wallowing), I am going to tweet the link to this post even though it terrifies me. After all, what if a bunch of English teachers read this and see all my grammar mistakes and my sentences that end in prepositions. 

It's ok though...I owe a deep gratitude to those at the convention and luckily red pens don't exist on the internet. I owe a deep gratitude to those that have rekindled the flames within me so I can continue on in my work. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you.