What to do...

There's so much to do everywhere I go. Currently I'm sitting in my classroom (a.k.a. Land of the Never-Ending To-Do Lists) looking around thinking of all I could do. All I should do. But, I'm listening to music, reading my friends' blogs and writing my own. When I go home, I will be shamefully reminded of how I need to de-clutter (thanks Allison) especially if we are perhaps putting our house on the market in the Spring (yay!) and I will be disgusted again at how much dog hair can accumulate in a mere 3 days. Gross I know. Or "grody"... what ever happened to that word?? Other places I could go: grocery store... no money, no thanks. Gym: large thighs in small pants... no thanks. Park: currently it looks about 15 degrees outside, so no. Library: reminded of how many books I want to read but don't have time to, NO! So, I will sit here and try to ignore the stack of ungraded papers and the endless random stacks that should and need to be organized. I'll go home soon, because it's just going to get colder! On the bright side, I made soup for the first time last night. Here's the recipe (Becky, aren't you proud!?) from MarthaStewart.com. Props to Martha.

Curried Carrot Soup.

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon curry powder
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth (about 3 1/2 cups)
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)


1. Heat butter in a Dutch oven or large (4- to 5-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, curry powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add broth, carrots, and 3 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover, and simmer until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.
3. In a blender, puree soup in batches until smooth; transfer to a clean saucepan. Add more water to thin to desired consistency. Reheat, if necessary. Stir in lemon juice. Serve garnished with cilantro, if desired.

Note: Hot liquids will expand when blended, so be careful not to fill the jar of the blender more than halfway. To prevent the liquid from spattering, allow the heat to escape: Remove the cap from hole in lid, and cover lid with a dish towel when blending. (this was helpful, I'm sure I would have had an orange kitchen!)

It was so easy and delicious. I felt so healthy I ate a spoonful of frosting when I was done. haha! Have a great one!

Conversations.

All day I converse with 7 year olds. They're great... Here's a few quotes I heard just today:

* "Did you know google is a number. My dad told me. It's even bigger than a million quadrillion, it's like a thousand."

*Me: What did you have for breakfast?
Kid: Broccoli.
Me: Broccoli!?
Kid: Yeah, we eat it all the time at my house, especially for breakfast.
Me: Really? I'll have to call your mom and tell her what a great idea that is!
Kid: Did you say breakfast? Oh, I had eggs.

*"Did you know that when you finish with yoga (we did it for P.E.) that you say "nasty"?" [namaste]

*"I found out we're moving. To D.C. Next year. It's where all the presidents live."

*"Kindergarten was so easy. My brother doesn't even know. All he has to do is write his name. Really, that's it. I'd kill for that."

Colored Dots

Last week I was SICK. I stayed home from work for 2 days, it was wonderful/horrible all at the same time. Schedule of sick days with 2-4-5-7-9-11-13-14 follows:

1. wake up
2. Regis and Kelly
3. Good Morning, Utah! (not recommended)
4. The View
5. All My Children
6. Court TV
7. Court TV
8. Court TV
9. Court TV
10. Court TV
11. Court TV
12. Dr. Phil
13. Oprah
14. News
15. Friends
16. Feel like a loser because when Matt gets home, the only thing I have to talk to him about is what I watched today.
17. Sleep

There is a point to this. During my disappointing TV escapades, I saw a commercial for Qwest, I think, with a dark blue background and pastel dots, JUST LIKE MY BLOG! I seriously had the thought, "hey! That commercial reminds me of my blog..." which only made me feel worse than I already felt while watching The View. That's all.

Blogging...

So. Allison and Becky told me how "cool" blogging was. All I want is to be cool, so I signed up. haha. Actually, Becky doesn't allow anonymous comments, so I had to sign up in order to even communicate with her! Nobody will ever read this, and I'm okay with that! :)