For B.
The leaves are starting to change here though it's not peak yet. Per Bad Z's request, here is a tree near our place that is all decked out for autumn. If I end up at my parents' this weekend, I'll take more pics because they're a little ahead of us on colors.
Sunday Night
It's Sunday night and I'm all tucked in with a cup of honey vanilla chamomile tea, mmm... Just relaxing and getting ready for another week. I'm proud of myself for avoiding the last minute scrambling that I am normally doing at this time on Sundays. Weekends at home = productivity. Here are the joint accomplishments of the LundeRoy household:
-washed dishes
-rearranged kitchen cupboards
-5 loads of laundry
-cleaned office (thanks, MH, for hauling the dead 'puter bits away!)
-vacuumed (by hand upstairs, roomba in basement)
-cleaned bathroom
-got groceries
Individual accomplishments:
-washed and waxed WRX
-finished some grading
-finished SLA homework in the afternoon
Not a bad weekend, lots accomplished but there was still time for relaxing.
The Office
Yay! The new episode is on tonight. Jim and Pam, awwww... Anyone else watching?
Le week-end
The week is already off and running but we had a nice weekend. We visited friends, met an outgoing undertaker at a successful surprise party, and made a run to Ikea. No furniture was purchased but we investigated the shelving we would need for the living room, storage rooms, and garage so the next time we can beg, borrow, or steal a bigger vehicle, we're going shelf crazy. We did purchase dishes, however. We got a nice set of white dishes, something we failed to find at department stores for our wedding registry. I liked our other dishes, bright colored pottery-ish pieces, but it really is true that food looks prettier on white.
Yesterday was my long day, especially now that I've taken on teaching a brief Spanish lesson to four year olds. Yes, for those who know me, it's true that I'm intentionally setting foot in a pre-school room. It's mostly for selfish motives-- trying to get a broader range of experience working with different age groups-- but I am genuinely interested to see how well they absorb the sounds and pronounciation since they lack the self-consciousness of older students. We'll see how it works out, right now I'm just trying to figure out what they can and can't do so I can make up my lessons.
I also had my Second Languge Acquisition class last night which seems interesting so far. The reason I'm a teacher is because I like school so much and getting to be a student again is a special treat. (Note to self: re-read this post in December when it's crazy-busy time again.) Anyway, this class will be extremely helpful as applied to how I teach and is also useful to me as I consider refining the direction of my career path.
One thing that helps make the Long Mondays bearable is that Tuesdays are my prep day meaning no classes. Meetings, appointments, etc, are still present but it's a much less structured day so I can catch up on lesson plans, grading, do classwork, etc. Today I have a couple of meetings with colleagues and students but will spend most of my time doing my own thing.
And finally, what's pleasant about today in particular is that it's cool out and feels like fall. I'm wearing my favorite black cardigan and I made some awesome garbanzo bean soup for lunch. Bad Z's husband once called it "hot hummus soup" because the ingredients are nearly identical. You sautee some garlic in olive oil, add a can of garbanzos and the liquid, simmer while stirring in salt, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and anything else you want (last night I ended up throwing in some cumin and cilantro). Simmer it all up, carefully blend it, add a little water until the consistency is to your liking, and that's that. It almost never goes wrong and you just throw all the ingredients in to taste.
I could go on about this soup because it reminds me of living on my own for the first time out of college, my first job, etc (I love how food evokes such memories) but I need to sign off and actually make my prep day productive. The one drawback to unstructured time is that the Internet Machine sometimes sucks me in and sucks away my getting-things-done energy...
Recap
We had the Mexican party, ate some form of taco for days after, and I went back to work. Everytime I'm off for awhile between semesters or in the summer, I miss my work but enjoy the vacation. Then when I go back to teaching, with a new batch of students, I remember just how much I love my job. It's always a realization and it's always striking; I
know I like what I do but there's something about being back to it and actually running around the classroom that
feels like a revelation. Trying to draw a shrimp on the board, acting out falling asleep, and giving empassioned explanations of accentuation that actually make students laugh is the best feeling.
Having desperate students try to get into my class with outlandishly dramatic stories is not so great but after next week, that part will be over and the molding and shaping and acquiring of language will really take off.
So, I started work and have been back to the teaching stuff. Last night we attended a department dinner with the theme of "Little Bites" so we brought mini lime tartlets topped with fresh-picked raspberries from the Farmers Market.
The recipe was incredibly easy since we cheated and use pre-made phyllo cups. We just mixed together cream cheese, fresh-squeezed lime juice, some lime zest, and some sweetened condensed milk. We chilled it, piped it into the shells, and topped with the berries. The tartlets weren't as elaborate or labor-intensive as some of the little bites provided by other department gourmands but they turned out well and had a lovely mini-cheesecake taste to them.
After the department fête, we moved on and met up with another couple at a coffee shop to hear a band. The opening "free jazz" as they called it was not so good but when the real thing showed up, they were pretty good. Since it was a coffee shop, it was full of high school kids and/or underclassman from the university. I felt kind of old, especially since I appeared to be the only one there who knew all the words to and fully recognized their cover of the Violent Femme's "Blister in the Sun." Hmph. Also, when the guitarist got all crazy with his little peddle thing, I shouted out "You're the new Edge!" And he was all, "Who? I'm only 20 years old, ma'am!" j/k about part of that response.
It was a good night and we love doing our social events on Friday because now it feels like we have a vast expanse of weekend at our disposal. It's going to be in the 60's today, feeling like fall, so I lit my spiced pumpkin candles and got some flowers from the Farmers Market too. It's a good weekend.
Labor Day Fiesta
Nothing says Labor Day Weekend, the traditional end to summer, like a Mexican Fiesta. Austin and I figured we'd give it a shot, see which of our friends were around, and end our summer with tacos and margaritas.
We had an interesting mix of people show up and few were from the same circle. I wish Austin and I could have mingled more but there was lots going on with the food and margaritas. Fortunately, a mojito expert came in and shouldered that responsiblity. Thanks,
CorgiMom!
Oh, and we have to thank the CorgiParents for also bringing us one of the coolest wedding gifts we got. Not only was it completely our style, but it also fit in with the general colorful theme of the evening.
This beautiful ceramic tray was purchased for us in France at
Maisons du Monde. I wish I had known of this store before our last trip but I guess it means we just have to go back again soon.
Now we are just enjoying the day, hanging out at home and getting organized for the week. I'm looking forward to being back on the teaching schedule again. That and there are some other special projects that I am working on so it will be a busy but interesting semester. We'll see how long this productive attitude will last :-)
