His Weekend Shenanigans

Most of our weekend was pretty boring so this Weekend Shenanigans will be about the big event -- my first disc golf tournament in Virginia Beach.

Playing in the Cottonmouth Classic

     I have been playing disc golf for about 18 months and I play whenever I get a chance. Its very similar to regular golf except you play with a frisbee style disc and you aim for baskets like the one pictured to the left. Most courses are free to play and are in city parks. You only need one disc to start so it's a pretty cheap hobby.

    Normally I play with my friends or relatives at a course nearby for fun. I felt that it was time to participate in a real competition and see how I would fare. I knew most people would be much better than I am but I thought I might learn a few new techniques or tips to play better and that I would have a good time even if I finished last. I found a tournament that was about an hour from the house and I talked my father in law into playing with me.

My bag with several discs and water bottles

      We got to the park, signed in and practiced for a while before the tournament started. We also watched some of the other people practicing and saw that many of them were really really good. There were about 100 people playing so it was a pretty popular competition. We were split up into 4 person groups and headed out to our first tee.

      I was hopeful that since I had registered us in the "non serious" division that we would play from the shorter distance tees. However this was not the case as we had to play from the long tees for the first round. I knew this would be a disadvantage as I cannot throw the distance that some of the others in my division can, but I hoped that accuracy would make up for the shorter distances I would throw. I did ok in the first round and although I had a high score I didn't go out of bounds or get any of my discs wet. My father in law was not so lucky and got the same disc wet twice. Once I was able to fish it out as it was right next to the shore line but the second time it went into the middle of the inlet and it will now be a new toy for the fishes. Maybe they can practice putting with it.

Some of the prizes for the winners of each division.

     As expected our scores were near the bottom of the standings. We had lunch and then headed out for the second round. I was excited for this round as the distances were much shorter and I was more familiar with the course. I played pretty well and even though I had a few less than perfect throws, I managed to beat my previous round scores by 15 throws which I was very happy with.

     We ended up finished near the bottom of the standings but we both had a great time and I was a lot closer to the people above me then I had expected. I am sure that with some more practice I can get better results in future tournaments. I have a few more tournaments lined up that I would like to play in so I will keep playing and hopefully be a little further up in the standings next time. No matter where I place I plan to have a good time and enjoy every tournament I enter. Who knows maybe one day I will be near the top of the leaderboard!

Her Baking Saturday

Today is a "chill" day for me. Sean is out playing in a disc golf tournament so I have the house to myself. Yay! After a long first week of school I was looking forward to sleeping in, watching some shows on my DVR, and relaxing. My hope is that this head cold I can feel coming on will go away after a day of R&R. 

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All day yesterday, I had a feeling that I wanted to bake. I have not baked in a while - since before Australia. After going back and forth between cookies and brownies, I decided I wanted brownies. 

I am a brownie-a-holic. It is my go-to, favorite dessert. I love a good brownie! It doesn't matter whether they are plain, with chocolate chips, with nuts, with caramel topping ...brownies are amazing! I have quite a few brownie recipes already that I like but I have yet to find a homemade brownie that I love! I checked Pioneer Woman and a few other sites before heading over to Brown Eyed Baker's blog. I have made many of her items and they are always great.

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She posted about a Baked Brownie back in 2010 and within the first few sentences I knew I had found the recipe I wanted to try. This is what she said, 

 The famed Baked brownie. Oprah says it’s one of her favorite things. America’s Test Kitchens says its their favorite brownie. I don’t put much stock in Oprah, but America’s Test Kitchens are pretty much like the bible when it comes to all things kitchen. I check their reviews before any other recipes, and before I buy any kitchen equipment or new ingredients. So, if it’s their favorite brownie, I need to take a serious look.

She also claims that the brownies are rich, dense, and fudge-y. She is speaking my language with those words.

I gathered up the ingredients this morning and set about making the brownies. They are not super simple - meaning it is not a dump everything in, stir, and go. BUT...they are not difficult either. I like the baking process so something with a few extra steps does not bother me at all. My only problem with the recipe was the baking time. The recipe calls for a 30 minute bake and mine took almost 60. I read through the comments on the blog and found others who had similar problems. I was worried about the brownies tasting burnt or overcooked but I couldn't pull them out of the oven when they were raw in the middle. I posted a comment asking Brown Eyed Baker what her thoughts were so I am hoping she can shed some light on the problem. 

My brownies weren't nearly as pretty as Brown Eyed Baker's, but taste is way more important anyway! :)

My overall impression of the brownies: HOLY COW!! Amazing!!! Terrific!!! Delicious!!! Insanely good!! Basically - I have found the brownie recipe I have been looking for. I found the brownie recipe I love! I am already planning the next time I will make them. I'm thinking a school potluck or a community group meeting at church would be perfect.
 Actually, I think I will take a brownie or two to my Principal on Monday. After all, she did pull the first fire drill of the year during the time I was on planning and the 8th graders were in their elective classes. No kids during the first, and most crazy, fire drill?? I think that deserves a brownie. :) :)

Now I am off to enjoy some more chill time, maybe a small amount of laundry, my Project Runway and Top Chef: Masters episodes from this week, and at least one (or three) more brownies. 

Enjoy your Saturday,

His and Her Happies and Crappies (Week 34)

TGIF!!! This has been a loooooooooong week! Exhausting for sure. So grateful for the weekend. Before we can celebrate though, we need to link up and look back on our week...

Happies:
My school year is up and running. Things are going good - the kids and I are hitting a rhythm. They are working hard and really trying. 

Things are settling down at work. The chaos of the first few days has subsided and things are a little more calm.

The first day of school was hectic but thanks to my mom and dad and a coworker, I had two great reasons to smile.

 

I taught myself something new with my disc golf this week. I am very excited to test it out during the tournament this weekend.

The dog had been trying to chew all of the fur off of his paws and tail but thanks to a bath and some Benadryl, he seems to have stopped. 

Work was fairly calm and not stressful which is always good.


Crappies:
Tired - tired - tired - tired! *phew* I am so tired!!

I set a goal to leave school by 4:00 each day and I have not met my goal on any day. I hope next week I can get done what needs to be done so I can go home.

A crazy dispatcher lied to me the other day, telling me a driver would be there at 3. He showed at 5.

The last few days I have been very tired but there will be no sleeping in this weekend. I will have to go to sleep early next week to try to catch up.

What would make your happies and crappies list for this week?

Happy Weekend,

Her August SLANT Box Reveal

I love getting mail. Who doesn't right? And when the mail takes the form of a package full of hand picked just for me items then that is even better! Enter SLANT Boxes!

Thanks to Jameson at Lessons with Coffee and all her hard work, I received an amazing and wonderful back to school gift from Natalie at Teachery Tidbits. Here's how the SLANT box works...
    Participants head over to Jameson's blog and fill out a simple entry form.
    She organizes all of the entries and matches everyone up with one person to send a box to and a different person who will send you a box.
    The participants talk about their lives and classrooms, likes and dislikes, learning as much as they can about one another. They also talk about the month's theme so they can tailor the box.
    Participants then shop and design a box with their partner in mind.
    When the box is ready, you ship it to your partner and wait anxiously for yours to come in the mail.
    When it arrives, you open it gleefully and smile at the gifts chosen by your partner. 

This month's theme was "A Few of My Favorite Things".  Natalie, the lovely lady sending me a box, asked a few questions and hit the nail on the head with everything she sent. The box was perfect and I have already started using several of these items in my classroom. I love everything!!!! 

She included:

Some Green Mountain Breakfast Blend K-Cups - my absolute fave!!

Some colorful Expo markers and new pens!!

An adorable, handmade (a requirement of Jameson's -- one item must be handmade) plaque with a purple (my fave!!) background and a dog bone for Alex (awwww!!)!

Natalie - I love, love, love everything in the box. Thank you for participating in the SLANT Box exchange, for being so super sweet, and for choosing these items for me. It really means a lot to me!! :)

I have already signed up for September's swap and cannot wait to find out who I am sending a box to and from whom I will be receiving a box. This is really fun and I definitely think that any teachers out there who are interested should head over to Jameson's blog and check it out. Maybe we could be matched up in the future?!?!

Happy Mailing,

His: Living in America (Sep 4th, 2013)

Amanda and I recently returned from a month long vacation to Australia to attend my sister's wedding and visit family and friends. Since returning to America I have been asked several times what had changed the most in Australia since my last visit. It had been a little over 6 years since our last visit so there were quite a few changes. The one that immediately came to mind was...

7-Eleven's, Subways and Krispy Kremes
     7-Eleven, one of America's most popular convenience stores and have stores just about everywhere in America, only had a dozen or so stores in Australia when we were there last. Now there there is a 7-Eleven on just about every other street corner.

     Subway has had stores in Australia for around 20 years but there were few and far between on our last visit. Since then the expansion of the franchise has been phenomenal to say the least. Every mall and shopping centre seemed to have one these days. I read an article recently that said Subway had more stores than McDonalds worldwide and after seeing the expansion in Australia its easy to see why, especially if they have done similar things in other markets like Asia and Europe.

        Krispy Kreme is one of my sister's favourite treats. On our last visit they only had a few stores in Sydney so Amanda and I made a point to pick up a dozen donuts at the airport for her. These days she can run to any 7-Eleven (which is on every other street corner these days) and pick up her own. They also have their own stores in most airports and major train stations.

     I also noticed how expensive things have become and how many more coal mines there are in and around New South Wales (my home state) -- however, I will save these for another post on another day.

     In some ways it made me feel like I was still in America, but once I heard the Australian accent or see someone drive on the left side of the road I knew I wasn't in Kansas Virginia anymore.

His and Her Never, Ever, Ever

It's time to play ---

**For those who are new to our blog - WELCOME - purple is Amanda, red is Sean, blue is for both of us. We hope it helps make it less confusing for our readers to know who is talking and sharing. :) **

Amanda will never, ever, ever...
-be able to sleep the night before school starts. I thought this year I would break through that curse, but nope. I couldn't fall asleep last night until almost midnight and the alarm went off at 4:45. I see an early night in my future!

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-make it through a day without checking her TeuxDeux.com list. That is my lifeline and the only reason I can remember what needs to be done on a given day.

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-not want puppy cuddles at the end of the day. He is sitting here with me now and I love it!!

Sean will never, ever, ever...
-crave Taco Bell. I would honestly rather starve!

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-enjoy yard work. Mowing, weeding, and edging - oh my!! It is a never ending job and I just don't enjoy it.

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-run a race in the summertime heat. It is too hot and I can't seem to drink enough water to stay hydrated. I don't like the cold but I would rather run in cold than hot temperatures.

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What is something you would never, ever, ever do?

Happy Tuesday,

Her September Currently

Hello! I am sorry for the blogging break we took last week. Being back to work full-time is exhausting...meetings to attend, lesson plans to write, etc. We are going to try to do better this week!

It is the beginning of September so that means it is time to link up with Farley at Oh'  Boy 4th Grade for the monthly Currently.

Listening:  I love the show Castle and I love the fact that TNT shows the older episodes. I started watching in season 4 so I love catching up on the backstory on TNT.

Loving: We have been in a dinner rut lately so while we were at Barnes and Noble this weekend, I suggested we check out the cookbook section. We found a book of easy, healthy, $5 dinners. We made one recipe tonight and it was delicious. I am hoping the others we try out this week will be just as good. Here is a link in case you are interested in checking it out.

 

 The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook: 200 Recipes for Quick, Delicious, and Nourishing Meals That Are Easy on the Budget and a Snap to Prepare

Thinking: I have gone over my lesson plans and double checked everything. I know I am ready, but I wish I could feel more ready.

Wanting: More time to get my room ready and get everything perfect would be great. However, knowing perfection is impossible means I need to be OK with the fact that tomorrow is the day!

Needing: I have never been able to sleep the night before school starts. I am hoping that waking up early this morning means that I will be sleepy. Here's hoping that year 13 will be the first year I can get some sleep!

Me Time: I love that Farley changes up the final box each month. This month is all about moving yourself up to the top of your list.
   1. go to the gym - I am trying to recommit to the weight loss that I had success with two years ago. I want to continue what I started and I know that means I need to get to the gym.
   2. leave school at 4:00 - If I can focus and get my work done at work, then I am hoping that I can get out of school by 4:00 which will allow me time to go to the gym.
   3. go to church - Sean and I went to church sporadically this summer because of all of our traveling. Our church is amazing and I always leave with something to think about that will make me a better person. I want to get back to that!

That is what I am doing Currently. Head over to Farley's blog to join in the fun!

Happy September,