Honoring Our Veterans Today!

November 10 on 10

I'm combining November 10th with November 11th. I'll have pictures up soon!

Gratitude Friday

1. Five and six year olds! Great morning of teaching with them.

2. Hawaiian pizza! That's what's for dinner after a stressful afternoon (I taught a different grade level in the afternoon.)

3. Four days of work. With David being unemployed, every penny earned counts.

4. Leftover Halloween candy. I've been enjoying the samplers of Butterfingers and Snickers; items I can't take to school to share because of the peanuts.

5. An inexpensive brake repair job on David's car. What might have cost $500 was only $200. It was a faulty valve, not the actual brakes.

Ok, grab a cup of coffee and some pumpkin chocolate muffins. Take a minute to sit down and visit with me. I've missed you! What have you been up to these days?

Living Happily Ever After....

Brad Bellamy proposed to Jennifer this week so we're adding a wonderful son-in-law to our family! We are SO excited!!!! No specifics on the wedding date but I'm guessing within the year.

Brad's from Goldendale where Jen teaches high school Spanish. He loves sports and she doesn't. Opposites do attract! But being in a small town means that sports are a big thing at the high school and she goes to all of the games. Of course, she's probably cheering for the assistant coach a lot! :)

They'll be joining us for Thanksgiving dinner so I'll be sure to get some great pictures.

Any advise for the mother of the bride?

Warning: Slow Moving Porcupines May End Up In Your Tires

Last Tuesday night I was driving to Jen's house in Goldendale and came across a slow moving porcupine in the middle of the road. I saw it at the last minute and, of course, ran over it! The big guy might have already been dead or just trying to make it to the other side of the road & I interrupted his travels.

I screamed, not only because of the loud noise and thumps the collision caused, but I am one of those people who will stop for a chipmunk while they decide which way they'd like to go on the street and which tree is the best. Seeing flat animals makes me sad for the animal's family that's left behind at home. So, hitting a porcupine was one of those sad moments for me.

It was dark when I arrived at Jen's and no way to really check the car out to see if there was any damage. The next morning, Jen and I looked out and there were all these quills sticking out of my two right tires! Of course, we're both wondering if the quills will make the tires go flat. Pulling a few of them out I found out how sharp they are. The quills have barbs on them and were quite stuck into the rubber! I ended up pulling most of them out, but left a few of the "evidence" in place to show David when I got home.

On leaving Goldendale, I looked for signs of the porcupine and there was nothing on the road where the incident had occured. I wonder if the big guy walked off, saying "ha, can't hurt me...take that!" or if another animal had come along and scooped him off the road as a late evening snack.

I have the pulled out quills in a safe place (a baby food jar) to share with kids. I wish I had the full quills so I could use it when I read the book "Prickles"....a sweet book about a porcupine that doesn't have any friends because he's grumpy! But I wasn't about to stop and ask the prickly guy if I could have some of his quills for a teaching project. Life in the fast lane....not so fast when you're a porcupine!

Gratitude Friday

Good morning! Coffee is on....grab a cup and join me in Gratitude Friday! What are you thankful for this week?

1. coffee! David roasted coffee beans last night and the coffee smells A-M-A-Z-I-N-G this morning.

2. kindergarten hugs! I taught Kindergarten yesterday and the kids swarmed all over me to give hugs when they arrived. Cherished moments. Talk about feeling loved!

3. the ability to still learn! I took a big midterm last night and even though I stressed over it (and don't think I did well!), imagine what would happen if I no longer could be a life time learner?

4. travel time! I spent the last week with my mom in Hansville, I served Lutefisk in Poulsbo, a quick overnight with my aunt & uncle in Auburn, a few nights in San Francisco with Ian and another quick overnight with Jen in Goldendale. That's a lot of miles. I LOVE traveling, though!!! (and all of the Starbucks that are waiting for me to visit!)

5. friends that continue to give me encouragement. Life hasn't been very fun lately. I can't explain everything that's going on, but it's been a sad journey since camp got over.

Thinking on Psalm 61 this morning: "O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings." (vs 1-4)

Hope you have a wonderful Friday. I'm off to teach those sweet kindergartners again!!

Recipe of the week: Oven-Baked Pineapple Pork Chops - Gooseberry Patch

From Gooseberry Patch, I'm making this recipe tonight for dinner!

Oven-Baked Pineapple Pork Chops


8-oz. can pineapple slices, drained and 4 T. juice reserved
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. garlic powder
4 pork loin chops
1/3 c. Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1 t. paprika

Combine reserved pineapple juice, soy sauce, ginger and garlic powder in a shallow bowl; add pork chops, turning once to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Gently toss bread crumbs and paprika in a pie plate; add pork chops, coating both sides. Arrange pork chops in an ungreased shallow 13"x9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Turn pork chops; place one pineapple slice on each pork chop. Bake 25 additional minutes. Makes 4 servings.