Final Push

Ok, we had a snow day Friday, which is going to make the end of winter/beginning of Spring very long with the make-up days, but what can you do. More difficult will be this week. The powers that be thought we could get in two good instructional days on Monday and Tuesday, with Wednesday (the 24th) our first day off. Right.

I finally got the lights up outside (only broke one), now I have to finish making the tortellini. I've filled one half-sheet pan with the little guys, and still have about 80% of the dough to fill. I hope they taste half as good as my grandma's.

Things I Miss

I miss buying beer by the six pack. People in this state (beer distributors in particular) think that allowing people to buy buy the six pack (rather than the case you have to buy now) would lead to more people drinking to excess. Go figure.

I miss good, cheap cheese.

I miss Woodmans (see cheese).

I miss actual cold weather (not the same when someone declares that it's freezing out and the temp is still double digits).

I miss my mom.

Food Prep

Ok, this is my first Christmas at home since I got married (over six years ago). My daughter is 3 and actually knows what's going on. This is going to be fun. As the last cooking scion from my grandparent's line, I have decided to take up the mantle of the tortellini. I've made plenty of pasta, even some filled, from scratch before, but never have I attempted the delicate ambrosia that is the tortellino. I have all of my grandma's notes and my mom's as well. I hope it will be enough. No meal has ever equaled the tortellini and I only hope that I can do it justice. I am also continuing, for the first time, the various cookies that were made. I'm making the orange cookies (that originally called for sour milk - was that actually an ingredient?) and russian teacakes (my daughter calls them snowballs). I'm not sure when all of this is happening, but it better start happening soon.

Quote of the day

Ok, it's actually the quote of yesterday, but my daughter has some profound words for all of you.

"Two color poop came out of my butt. Is that magic or what?"

Yes it is magic, a holiday miracle.

I'm sitting here dreading a snow day tomorrow. We had a two hour delay today, which I like, but the snow days are no good. We have a stretch from February 6 until April 9 with two days in between that are scheduled off. They are the 1st two snow make-up days. I hope they are not needed, but that is a long stretch (which includes PSSA reading and math - possibly state writing- tests as well). We may need to sacrifice one of them to keep us sane during that stretch. Here's to another 2 hour delay tomorrow!

Sins against humanity

We are getting a fake tree. I still can't believe it. We are getting a fake tree. It makes me sad, like a little part of me has died. We are getting a fake tree.

Honestly, though, it makes sense. The needles killed our vacuum last year. Our cat who gets blocked (apparently male cats have extremely narrow urethra), needing hundreds of dollars in surgery to get unblocked, eats the needles. The cats enjoy climbing the tree. The dog and cats drink the water. We have an 8 month old who will try to do all three as well.

This year seems more fun than the last though. Our 3-year-old is really into it this year and we are going to be home on Christmas morning for the first time since we got married over six years ago. I am attempting my grandma's tortellini (recipe handed down from Bologna), which my I think my mom only attempted once or twice. Hopefully the weather is decent this weekend so I can hang some lights outside.

Vikings actually have a one game lead in the division race and it looks like one more win may be enough to wrap things up. Didn't see this coming after the first couple games.

T minus 3 days

Ok, the turkey is thawing, my brine is planned and tomorrow is the last day of school until the following Tuesday. I can't remember a break I've been looking forward to more than this one. I am going to relish not having to do any work for school unless I choose to do so. I even get a couple of days where the kids are in daycare. I love my kids - a lot. But it is going to be nice to get a little down time, even if it means house cleaning.

I saw 24: Redemption last night, and it was pretty good. It got me psyched for the new season in January. I just wish it didn't run at the same time as Heroes. I don't have a functioning VCR or any other system for recording TV. I think that I can watch Heroes on NBC's website, but that entails the hassle of hooking my wife's laptop up to the TV and stereo (as close readers will recall, my machine still runs Windows 98 and it doesn't have a functioning sound card). But, if I can watch both, then it will be worth it.

Finally another team let the Vikings win the way that the Vikings had been beating themselves. The 30-12 win over Jacksonville was a surprise for me. I like Jacksonville's coaching staff: Jack del Rio was one of my favorite players and I liked Mike Tice.

The weather calls for icky conditions tomorrow (I can't remember if the technical term is "icky" or "yucky.") Some people are even banking on a two-hour delay. Just as long as it's not a snow day. I don't want to burn through those and then lose our Spring Break.

Turkey day's coming and I get to wear jeans tomorrow. I really am easily pleased.

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

You know that it's time for a break when you see a kid climbing the locker wall and decide not to send him to the office because what he did really didn't seem that bad. I kid you not; some of the things I have seen this year rank in my top ten of odd observed behaviors from my entire teaching career. I have seen students eat erasers ("I was bored"), hide under desks (completely open with no sight barriers), try to rip the tops of desks off (lack of medication), and now climb a locker wall. The worst part is, this all came from one student and we're only a few weeks into the second marking period. Odder still, regardless of how crazy this student behaves, I like him.

Thanksgiving break is now two weeks away and I don't think it can come soon enough.

Other random bits. Go Obama! Vikings are tied for the division lead. I think I like tea. Battlestar Galactica rocks! I want more cheese. My computer still runs Windows 98.