Writing My Name in the Dust

Remember this summer when I posted every day?

Remember when I did the weekly re-caps of my fave reality shows?

Remember when I pledged to still post at least one craft tutorial and one new recipe each week, a goal to encourage me to still be crafting and cooking during the school year?

Pardon me a few moments, my tear-filled eruptions of boisterous laughter over that last one is make it a bit difficult to type.

The school year has started.
Key Club is in full swing.
Relay season has begun.
Needless to say, life is busy. BUSY.

I am too busy at the end of the night to even expend the mental energy on trying to find "balance"- that elusive goal of working moms that want to cling on to some sense of self beyond all the roles and titles thrust onto them by society.

I have not had time to read blogs, let less write one lately.
In the car is my school bag, with a set of essays I am half through grading, and three sets of quizzes that I haven't yet started to grade... and if I think about it a moment longer, I am going to get too distracted to peice together my thoughts here.

Saturday was the first day of Autumn. But the weather certanly didn't wait for the red X's on the calendar to reach the 22nd. The weather turned crisp overnight and the likelihood on fitting in one more trip to the water park or the beach is a fleeting thought.

Friday night I came home and watched the shows that I had stored up on the DVD from last week. Not only have I not had the luxury time to write about television, I haven't even had the time to watch it most nights. Saturday I had Event Chair training in Virginia Beach for Relay. Some good tidbits of information came from the morning spent with staff and other local Event Chairs. Then, I ran a bunch of errands while I was on that side of civilization.

Sunday was Jason's birthday, the time of year that comes when I'm no longer shacking up with a younger man ;) because we become the same age for the next 7 1/2 months. Sunday morning was also the first big Key Club fundraiser, a breakfast at Fred's for which we invited the families of all the newly inducted members and the club officers waited tables for tips.

 

The kiddos took on their waiting duties well, even delivering Jason a birthday cake with a humbly mumbled rendition of "Happy Birthday." Then, Jason hibernated into the upstairs cave to wrestle with a pile of school work while I took Justin the Chesapeake to celebrate his belated birthday. We had lunch at Red Robin and went to see some sadly predicatble horror movie (aren't they all, anymore?)

 

Then Monday comes... and we do it all over again. Such is life in this crazy world.



Dreaded Back to School Task

I was so, so... SO... foolish to think I could continue to tick "To Do's" off my Summer Bucket List after the Teacher Work Days had started for this upcoming school year. Well, the kids don't report for another 2 weeks I kidded myself. Well, summer isn't officially over until September 22nd I bargained with myself.

The last two weeks, the last week specifically, has been busy-  very busy. The work days have been long and the nights spent working on school stuff have been late- very late. I am ready though! At some point along the way, maybe this year, maybe even starting in years past, I have accepted the calm resolve that the First Day will not come to a crashing halt if every poster in my room is not hung, or if every worksheet is not typed and copied.

As serene as that knowledge may be... every poster is hung, and every worksheet is typed and copied (for the first day at least). And, let's called them "scaffolded activity forms" and not worksheets ;)

So, with the classroom all ready for the first day- cosmetically and instructionally- I had run out of reasons not to turn to... The Dreaded Task.

The Dreaded Task was not lesson plans for me... because they were already turned in... early!

The Dreaded Task was not even the Introduction Essay the kids will have to write in their classes come Tuesday (not my class)... For the record, I don't know any teacher that assigns a "What I did this Summer" essay as Hollywood stereo-types, but that is probably greatly due to the fact that at the high school, level we realize that we just may not want to know what the kiddos did over the summer.

Anyone that doubts how forthcoming a high schooler will be in their writing, ask a teacher that used to assign Free Writing journals. They will share anything... never again, never again.

No, the Dreaded Task was shopping.

I hate shopping. I hate shopping in all its incarnations- gift-shopping, holiday shopping, clothes shopping, shoe shopping, car shopping, even grocery shopping. Alas the kid needed a backpack and shoes, and Mama needed some new pants, so shopping we must go.

On Friday, Cameron and I dropped Benjamin at Pre-School and headed to Chesapeake for some marathon back-to-schooling. A marathon that had to end by 3:30 to get back to pre-school for pick-up.

The day began with a hair-cut... cutting as much of the self-induced bad summer dye job as we could and maintain some semblance of style. Then we hit the IHOP for an early lunch.

Backpack was a quick grab since he already had a general idea of what he wanted and where he wanted it from. Clothes shopping was easy. We wrapped it up with just one stop at Aeropostale. I was really rejoicing in the benefits of being Mom-of-Boys. We were making good time and this had the promise of not being a stressful shopping trip... until the shoes.

Ohhh, the shoes. Three hours of a five-hour shopping trip spent on The Shoes. Running shoes for cross country? $100 shoes for $30? Yes, Thank you. No problem. Every day school shoes? Three hours...

Neon green and orange are probably not going to be the easiest colors to blend with your wardrobe... When you weight less than 90 pounds, bulky high tops are going to kinda look like construction boots on your skinny calves... Do you have a secret night-life as a street-corner rapper that I don't know about?

I survived. (He survived. The shoes survived.)

But the next day I had to go BACK to shop for myself. Buying clothes for myself = The Most Dreaded of all the Dreaded Tasks. It is possible that I spent three hours in one store. It is possible I tried on 40-60 tops. It is a definite that I bought 2. Of course, I couldn't even accomplish the important task of the day, which was to buy pants. Apparently, at 5'6, I must have the legs of a Munchkin since I need Petite pants.

I was able to order them online in the store and get free shipping to the house though... and I was still able to take advantage of the BOGO store sale, so all was well until I had to explain to the clerk that if your register won't let you mark an item free, and you are going to show a 50% discount instead, then you have to take the discount from BOTH items to get the same deal. Oy! When this English teacher is giving you Math lessons, all is not right in the world.

I did try to hit one more store and look at clothes and shoes, but that experience was even more tragic, so I gave up and drove back home.

I do have to admit, there are two kinds of shopping I like- book shopping and office supply shopping.

I gutted out the school supplies shelves in the closet to inventory before going shopping. This pic really doesn't do it justice. There is more stacked beneath the table and on the chairs around the room. I could easily be addicted to school supplies and I have been very reserved not to to stock up even more with all the crazy-good prices during Back to School season. It also helps living over an hour from office supply stores (and book stores), which is probably a good thing considering my weaknesses. (And the fact there is always a Michael's near them...  and if I were being really honest here, I would have to include craft supply shopping on that list.)

Project Runway 10- Episode 5 (Women at Work Challenge)

Just a quick nod to Episode 5 and the deja-vu of Raul departing before I move on to this week's episode.

Team Challenge. Those dreaded words to a group of designers who think their skill is too superior to descend to the evil of cooperation. Surprisingly, there wasn't much drama involved with the forced companionship this week.

It was quite interesting to watch the very different psychology of the two teams and the results of two very different styles of designing and manufacturing.

"Team 5" consists of Nathan, Vin (who comments "good choice" when picked), Christopher, who then picks Fabio (although it breaks Raul's heart but Christopher doesn't think the source of his budding showmance could work on a team with Christopher), and Gunnar.

"Team 6" then would be Sonjia, Elena (OMG-WHY?), Melissa, Alicia, and this week's fat kid on the gym bleachers- Raul.

The challenge? To create a "Marie Claire at work- fashion capsule collection." The cohesive line must look editorial but also could work in the real world. Each team would also direct their own fashion shoot and the winning shot would appear in the magazine. (I wonder what effect the magazine's involvement with Project Runway has had on their sales.)

Nathan's team declared that they would use a COLOR scheme. With COLOR. As did the other team. Unfortunately, one team chose purple, the other blue (chosen by Sonijia to match her hair?), and not much more than the standards black and white beyond that. But, it's a start!

Sonjia's decision to have each team member complete two of the same pieces and then planning to match them all together on the Runway just seemed wrong to me. There's no ownership of an actual "look" but rather just the production of an item of clothing. I guess it speaks of teamwork, but this logical approach to assembly-line fashion had Smurfette racing all over Mood (forgetting a shopping bag of supplies), and had their team stressed and frantic in the workroom. Of course, the competing team's zen approach to individual workmanship did not create an enlightened product line either.

So, here's my overshadowing question for the week...

You know how the designers will often say "who" they are designing for, or the judges will ask, "Who is this girl?" Well, my question this week is, "Where does she work?" The most stand-out piece of this collection is the off-shoulder top on the second look, but unless you are a travel agent maybe, are you going to wear it to work? Or perhaps you are employed as a medium and will fashion the turban in the 4th look.  Also, that side seem in the second look? It looks like she went to the loo and pulled up her pants sideways.

 

The winning look this week, created by Melissa, was also my favorite piece. Her work overall intrigues me. I love this dramatic neck and was surprised by the zipper detail. I would totally love to have a dress with this neck... but with sleeves... that I would never wear to work.

 

 

 

I also like the small panel openings in the back of Dmitry's dress. Again, I question what the appropriate workplace for this outfit would be. But overall, Dmitry quietly and greacefully creates some well-tailored and reserved, yet creative, pieces.

 

 

Of course, it wouldn't be a Season 10 runway without a pair of "Elena's shoulders." In future seasons, Kors and Heid are going to refer to outfits on the Runway having "Elena shoulders." The gem of Madame Psychotic this season has to be this week when Elena did not like the was a team mate had posed one of their shoots and she screams out, "It looks like the model is taking a.." Well, you get the point. She's not exactly the model of grace and decorum.

Raul deserved to go home. He had in his mind the garment he wanted to make before the challenge was even announced and refused to alter it when his team mates and Tim told him it didn't belong in the workplace. Also glad to see him go home because I just hate it when any reality show brings back an evicted player.
 

Big Brother 14- Eviction #6 (Boogie) (and Ashley)

BEST WEEK of Big Brother this season!

 

Bye Bye Boogie, Bye Bye. I cannot say that it was sad to see you go. One might say that his greed to go for the 10k instead of immunity or HoH in the slip & slide challenge led to his demise. However, he knew the others were game players and he wouldn't have much competition. Not to say he didn't get blindsided by the eviction. Or even more blindsided by Ian's taped admission of orchestrating his departure.

 

 

Welcome to the game Ian! The Quack Pack kept referring to him as their "Mole." He was more like the Godfather of the Big Brother house this past week though- everyone was out to protect him. Dan and Britney refused to reveal his name as their source and Boogie is still trying to give him game advice as he is walking out of the house... until Ian tells his Yoda, Get to Stepping, referring to Boogie's departing words on an earlier season, and Chilltown knows he's been had.

Now, in reality, Ian does not possess much power in this game. His "manipulation" to get Boogie out of the house was simply revealing the details of his private conversation to his alliance. Although it made him look even more like a prepubescent teen, Britney's manscaping of the lovable geek obviously gave a lil' boost to his testosterone. And in true bildungsroman fashion, the young lad comes of age, wins his first competition and HoH (abbeviated though the reign will be).

 

He even brings an end to the fairy tale showmance that was shredded to pieces the week before on the HoH suite couch. Despite his aggressive grooming habits, Ashley said her date with Ian was "bubble gum" while her time with Frank was "risque." Even admitting the influences of CBS producers, I do have to admit their second date was rather lame. So lame, that it smoothed her path out the door... That is after losing the Veto competition when she unknowingly forfeited the competition to Frank. It seems that in a normal competition, Julie Chen would have pointed out that with only two players left, forfeiting your turn would mean you lose. However, I think even the producers at this point were like- Just get her out!

 

 

By the way, Ashley, who has a degree in elementary education,  apparently thought she would sound less dumb to say that she is a Mobile Spray Tanner than an aspiring model. AND, on her audition interview tape, she said that she wanted to start the "Snow White" alliance and the players would follow her around like the seven dwarfs. That didn't work so well, did it, precious?

 

Also precious? Shane. Who misses his doggie that he sleeps with every night. So, when a poochie pic is added to his HoH suite, he promises to sleep with it at his bed side every night. Can we just share a collection "Awww"- GAG.

 

 

Hmmm... what about this picture looks awkward to you? And although Shane was a bad puppet (!) for throwing Britney "under the bus" to Frank and the old man, he did at least protect Ian and credit JOE with telling him that the two were trying to backdoor him last week. You know that's going to earn some brownie points with me. This week's adds to Joe's ever-lengthening list of annoying traits? The "stories" from being the person to name "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" to his family selling the land the White House was built on for a mule and a fifth of whiskey. I missed that lesson in my history book, but perhaps his family could use some lessons on bartering.

 

What else does Shane do? Nominate Rocker Chick!

 

 

When she went to Shane in an effort to keep herself from nominated, I reeaally wish Shane would have said something like, "Who are you again?" She said Dan had to go up if she "had any chance of wining this game." Delusional much? She is WALLPAPER! You can go an entire episode, never see her, and not even realize it. She is being referred to as the "ultimate floater." That is giving her far too much credit. Floating can be a strategy. She is nonessential. She is not even a BLIP in the Big Brother season. It was hard to even find a picture of her to post (although props for the matching leopard ball cap and arm sleeve- ugh.) The only thing better than her trying to be all tough and threatening to Shane, was when she is put on the block and Ian says, "Good Luck Man."

Early Mornings & Late Nights

(Disclaimer: I'm cheating. I am actually writing this blog post on Thursday, but since it starts yesterday and ends today, I'm calling it legit. Also, I want a break between this "Real Life" post and The TeeVee ramblings I'm going to catch up on tonight, and that won't happen with this blog format. So, welcome to my yesterday... and today. Stick around a while, I might confuse you more ;)

I woke up before the alarm this morning. That is I woke up shortly before it was going to blaringly jar me from sleep, not as in the multiple times I wake up through the night ticked off... because I am waking multiple times through the night. (We will also overlook the fact that I had forgot I set the alarm fifteen minutes later the morning before... because that extra five minutes over the frugal ten minutes of the snooze button was so worth the extra effort. That's not even sarcasm.)

So, waking up moments before the alarm sounds is a good way to start the day. (It's also supposed to mean your body is getting the amount of need it naturally needs, but I doubt that is true in my case. More like my bladder has had all the time in bed it can handle.)

Anyway...
My second thought of the day (third if you count the bladder's input) was, "What's on The TeeVee tonight?" This ticked pissed me off for two reasons.

Number One.
I hated that I was letting The TeeVee have such an influence on my life. Seriously? I thought about it before the kids, breakfast, maybe even the bladder. Right now, one season of shows is wrapping up while another season is starting, so my schedule is pretty thick.

It looks something like this...
Sunday- Big Brother, Army Wives
Monday- The Real Housewives of New York City, Gallery Girls
Tuesday- Craft Wars, Dance Moms, The Week the Women Left
Wednesday- Big Brother, Toddlers and Tiaras, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (hanging head in shame)
Thursday- Big Brother, Project Runway

 

Ten Shows- one three times a week. That's pretty bad for me, typically I only tune in to about three shows. Oh well, the school year started is probably going to bring home too much work to keep stuffing myself with so much Brain Candy.

 

The Second Reason this ticks me off...

Is because I am blowing the whole day off. I am disregarding any high points, important decisions, cherished moments, just life in general... by waking up thinking about how I am going to end the day. THAT really ticks me off.

 

 

I saw this posted on someone's FaceBook status the Sunday night before school started. (I promise that although I did it 2 nights in a row, I am not going to make using FaceBook posts a normal standard for blog fodder.)

The person that posted it wasn't a teacher, it wasn't even someone I really "know." However, the sentiment immediately made me reflect on the school year. The entire concept of school is built on a count down. 180 days. With our 2-semester system, it's a countdown of 90 days dangling over the head of each student. Teachers pass me in the hallway asking, "Is it Friday yet?" or  "How long until break?" I myself, although in pure jest, will always end day one beaming, "Only 179 to go!" Well, I don't like looking at my job this way. I don't like living life this way. I'm not going to all YOLO up in here but I want to shift my internal focus from that countdown mentality- till the end of the day, the weekend, the next break- and focus instead of being fully engaged in the life that is happening right then, right there. Intentional living. I know this is a Utopian ideal, but it's a good goal to work towards.

Segueway to tonight... (No boys & girls at home, do not use this as a transition in your writing!)

Tonight was a real stressor- a stressful, stressing, stressor- on the lunacy of our schedule that lies ahead. After the runing around to pick up Benjamin from day care, get Cameron from Cross County practice, take home our car-pooler, get gas, run to grocery store to get corn (and Starbucks), it had me staring dinner at 7:00 p.m.- STARTING dinner. I almost threw the entire plan out the window, but forced myself to de-stress and follow through. I get "Bad Mom" points tonight for feeding the babe cereal and banana for dinner because it was already so late. BUT, I'm giving myslf some "Good Wife" points for serving the hubs a hot, home-cooked meal as he walked through the door at 8:30 p.m. That's one small benefit of our crazy schedules right now- Jason & Justin getting home late enough that I can pull together an otherwise dysfunctional dinner plan.

What was for dinner?
Meatloaf, mashed taters, corn & biscuts

You better redneckonize!

Gotta Go Back, Back, Back to School Again!

Whoooaaa... I gotta go, back to school... AGAIN!

Every school break is the same. Whether it is one week at Spring, two weeks at Christmas, the whole summer, or just a four-day weekend. It begins with plans and goals, to work and to relax. The days drift by... and some things get done. Other things don't get done, but that's okay. Time leisurely passes. Then the final days tumble unto one another and you are left with the mental static of could-haves and should-haves.

Yesterday was the first day of my 9th year of teaching (Does that make me a freshman or a third time repeater of high school?) Yesterday was the "Convocation," a formal and fancy word for all the teachers in the county getting dressed fancy and come together for a formal assembly to kick off the new school year. Except, things weren't so formal this year...

There were... BUBBLES! I am ashamed to admit that I can't remember the metaphor upon which the bubbles were based. I know it had something to do with there being many different kinds of bubbles (soap, beverage, waterfall) but they were all basically pockets of air surrounded by a thin liquid layer. Beyond that I was lost because there were... BUBBLES! Seriously, it was shameful. I was like the fish on Finding Nemo who was always thrown completely off track by the... BUBBLES!

I am a total cheeseball about the beginning of the school year. I absorb the messages on having a positive attitude and making "Magic" happen in the classroom and I get excited about the year ahead.

A friend had the following Words of Wisdom posted on her FaceBook the night before the school year started. Her caption was "Think I might keep this on my desk this year!"

I could really connect with this sentiment. There were times last year when I allowed myself to get too wrapped up in the "drama" of the workplace. They were only moments, but even so, I really want to avoid those moments this year. I want to stay wrapped up instead in what's going on inside my classroom.

There's going to be a lot of attention this year on my classroom... and all the classrooms, from kindergarten through Seniors. The state of Virginia has mandated a new Teacher Evaluation Performance assessment that is really going to shake up the foundations of how things have been done. It's as if the state gurus of education have said, "We have spent years telling you WHAT to teach, now we are telling you HOW to teach."

And... I love it!

It's the kind of teaching and  learning that I love to see in my classroom and this feels like an encouragement to see it MORE. It's cooperative learning- peers sharing- and authentic assessments- projects over old fashion tests. There are comfort zones that need to expand, such as worry about students being off-task when working on groups. There are habits that need to be broken, such as relying on worksheets for grades.

A lot of the anxiety right now centers on the fact that 40% of a teacher's assessment will be based on student performance. But this just seems... right... to me. Everything about this system of teaching and evaluation seems right to me. I know it's ideal. Utopian. It will not be easy. Change rarely is. But I have a really positive feeling about this. I feel like things I have always believed are being validated and brought into practice and encouraged. And that feels magical.

I love this time of the year when the floors are freshly waxed and the halls are uncrowded. It's a time full of promise. Perhaps the only good thing about bus duty is getting too work early when the sun is beaming through the doors at the end of the hall and it looks like this, even far into the school year.

So, yeah...
The school year has started... and that's kind of evident around here. The camera's flash card is filled with pics from the park and beach during the final days of "freedom." The Post-Its on my lap-top are filled with notes from last week's episodes of Big Brother and Project Runway. There hasn't been a whole lot of cooking or crafting either. Hopefully, I will back-post the time-dated things. I will figure it out. Find balance between the need-to's (schoolwork) and the want-to's (blogging and crafting). I don't know which of those two categories cooking falls under, Ha!

Big Brother 14- Eviction #5 (Wil)

I will just touch on my personal highlights during last week's game play, since so much has developed since then to make theorizing worthless, but didn't want to completely skip a posting and move to the next week's ousting.

CBS opened the week referring to The Silent Six as a "Powerhouse Alliance." I must admit that I agreed. I felt pity for my nerdy lil' loner that he didn't realize that his entire alliance had turned their back on him to join the Dark Side with Boogie and Frank. While I though Ian was clueless to what was happening, it appears instead, that I was the clueless one!

The Pack is alive and quacking!

 

 

Britney immediately questions whether voting Janelle, and not Frank, out of the house was a mistake. She says "Frank wears his hair like that in public which means he has no shame and can't be trusted." Dan doesn't feel safe and thinks Frank is going to backdoor him in the Veto. Shane fears this too. Keeping Frank was a dumb move. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. He is a Powerhouse Alliance all within himself. He had to be taken out of the game when the opportunity was presented because there is no way of knowing how long it will be until that opportunity surfaces again, but show history at this point says that might be quite a while.

 

 

I was sad to see Wil go. He did indeed have some beautiful hair. Good game strategy? Not so much. Asking Frank and Boogie not to put him on the block? Smart. Refusing to reciprocate that promise for one measly week-even if in word only? Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. He played a good psychological game. Like a Thespian he could make any player believe he swallowed every lie they told, until he told us otherwise in the diary room. Sharing his high school troubles with Danielle had her caring for him like a puppy left outside in the storm. Still, he wrote his own eviction notice when he walked out of Frank's HoH suite not willing to say who he would nominate the following week if given the power.

 

 

Ashley has quickly fallen from my favored player list. The fact that she asked Frank on a "date" (Definitely a BB14 legacy) is smart game play- definitely not something we are used to seeing from her. She came onto the show giggling about how much she liked nerdy guys, but I'm not buying it. I think she feels like she would be a "catch" for any nerdy guy. But as soon as the popular jock asked her if she "wanted to make out on the couch," she forgot all about the resident geek. I don't think it was a big insult to go on the date with Frank- it was smart game play. But her back wasn't looking "out of commission" when she was rolling around on that couch. What lowered her standards even more in my eyes, is that the more attention she is given, the dumber she acts. No, she's not a bright one, as Zingbot says, but you can see her going from being generally ditzy to playing the dumb blond the more attention she is given.

 

 

The return of the annoying Zingbot. And his annoying offspring, which Frank releases from captivity when he unsurprisingly wins Veto power. Joking on Shane's pink shirt (borrowed from his niece) wasn't too zingish and Boogie being an old man, not so much a surprise. But when he announce that Shane would be getting something for Danielle- a restraining order- that was kinda priceless.

 

 

Also annoying? Still annoying? Shouting Joe! Even his wife and kids made fun of him, shouting into the cameras. As Frank says, "Joe is like a drunk girl at prom. You know she's going to make a mess, you just don't want her throwing up on your shoes."

 

Or yelling at your TV.

 



Phones & Cameras

Technology is apparently the theme of this week, or at least the past couple of days.

I got a new phone yesterday!

More importantly I went from this...

 

To this...

The iphone 4S. Yes, I know... everyone said, "Just wait until the iphone 5 comes out in October." But from what I have seen, there is always a new iphone coming out, and never when they say it is going to! And honestly? I just don't care. The keyboard on my old phone stopped working and I was not going to last 2-3 more months texting from the number pad, and once the new Key Club season starts, I will be texting... oh, will I be texting. Like a twelve year-old with her first boyfriend will my phone be blown up with texts planning our many charitable endeavors.

The other reason I don't care? I can barely figure out how to use this one! I know, like anything else, I need to just take the time to sit down and play with it and figure it out... but the only thing I have been figuring out on it is what funny responses I can get from Siri. (I love you. Will you marry me? Tell me a joke. What's your favorite color? Where are you?) I'm not going to even admit how long it took me to figure out how to turn up the volume or turn on the ringer. It was sad, rather sad.

In other news, my Big Momma camera, which was sent to Sony for repairs, returned home today. I have mixed reviews about this experience with Sony. I think the repairs were excessive in cost. And, although it is obvious they stress customer service, the customer service people don't know anything about the products... and the technicians don't know anything about customer service. I would not chose to send it in for repairs again. On the positive, however, Sony sent me an entirely new camera and lens... which, although preferred, is a bit confusing since the technician told me the specific repairs he was making to my camera and lens.

To celebrate her return home though, we took took her to the park in Sedley.

The Waves of Summer (ending)

This is a sad antithesis to the "Summer Waves" one would normally think of... involving toes in the sand, and in the... everywhere else.

Exactly one week from today I return to school. Summer vacation ends. The school year begins. The calendar will tell us that the last day of Summer is September 21st. However, for most of us, especially those in school- or with kids in school- we will debate that Labor Day is "really" the last day of summer.

For the McHenrys though, summer is already coming to an end... in different waves.

Football season has officially begun. This is not as easy as simply watching the TV in the other room, as it is for some "Football Widows." No this means that Jason leaves before I get out of bed in the morning and returns home shortly before he is ready to fall back into the bed. Right now the team has 2-a-days. However, I don't imagine the schedule will be any kinder once classes start next week and there is only one practice. With my volunteer work, a (nondriving) son active in sports and other activities and a toddler... this is going to take for some very creative scheduling (and meal-planning).

Cross Country season has also begun, which means I am driving Cameron to and from the high school every morning.Trust me, leaving at 8:15 in the morning is a bit hard after peeling myself out of bed at 10 most mornings this summer.

I might as well fall into the routine of driving to the high school though, because I return next week. (For which I will have to crawl- kicking and screaming... or at least heavily crying- by 7:00... ish.) I thought we would not go back until Wednesday, so I have a doc appointment on Monday and a pending spa day on Tuesday, all of which must be cancelled. I am just a smidgen ready to return though. This has been a very restful and reviving summer, much less stressed than the past two.

This seems a good time to revisit the Summer 2012 Bucket List to see what I want to still squeeze in (before Labor Day).

1. Visit Water Country & Busch Gardens at least 3 times each- We've been to both 1.5 times. The 0.5 times being visits cut short by bad weather or bad attitudes- namely mine. I'd like to get in one visit more to each before Labor Day, and then a final visit before the season ends to each- September for Water Country and October for Busch Gardens.

2. Visit the beach at least 3 times- We've only been once. This one does make me sad. I want to squeeze in one more visit before Labor Day and hopefully one more this season!

3. Complete a scrapbook for Benjamin's first year or for all the old Key Club pics- Did not happen. I did start a scrapbook for Key Club... and realize my OCD-creative detail (oxymoron?) means it is going to take quite a while to complete a lay-out. It was fun, surprising that given my scrapbooking stash, it was the first time I tried it. I learned what not to do, lol (cut the paper smaller, leaving no margin for the binder- ooops). This can definitely be an ongoing stress-reliving creative endeavor. I just have to force myself to make time for it weekly!

4. Visit DC or Baltimore for one (mayyybe 2) days- Did not happen, and that's okay. I couldn't really justify the expense of an overnight stay and was not romanced by the long drive. There was the mini- get away for Harrisonburg. I think I will revisit the idea of a DC trip for Spring Break. That's when I have taken the boys before and it's a good time to go.

5. Picnic at the Chesapeake (or Portsmouth?) park with the train- Did not happen. However, we did visit the local park and rode the train at the zoo. It's a little hard to justify driving an hour to go to the park.

6. Get craft room painted, built, organized, and functioning- Check! I do want need to get a functioning work side to the room. As is, I am going to have to decommission my craft table for school work, and I know that's just going to make me less likley to clean it all up to engage in creative time.

7. Go to an outdoor concert- Well, there was the outdoor concert at the beach when we went. However, it was during that concert when I realized (remembered?) how crowded they are... and at the risk of sounding old, that was just not an attractive idea. I think I want to go to a Tides game instead. I just have to figure out a day Coach can go or figure out how to entertain a two-year old alone at the stadium.

8. Visit the Living Museum once (Dinosaurs exhibit) and the Children's Museum once (Curious George exhibit)- Got a membership to the Children's Museum and went twice! Did not go to the Living Museum. Usually we get a membership to one local museum and frequent that one for the year and then go to a different one the following year. Well, since we chose to do the Children's Museum and Zoo memberships this year, I decided not to to go to the Living Museum this summer. But, we've been to the zoo twice also!

9. Make an entry (or two) in the County Fair- I decided against this. When, the time came around for fair registration, I did have a few available crafts to enter (especially a Recycled Metal Jewelry that I felt pretty confident for the win). However, the more I thought about all those entries sitting on open display in the "barn" for the three days so the public could peruse them, the more I thought that I treasured my new creations more than I would a blue sheath of satin with "Southampton County Fair" emblazoned on it.

10. Start the school year with a functional curriculum and set of lesson plans- Haha! Well, there's three weeks before Labor Day, right? 

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

Being from the Eastern Shore of Maryland (home of Perdue chicken, and Perdue stadium and Perdue School of Business, and many other building named in honor of the lucrative poultry business), chicken is a staple of my diet. Jason joked something to the factor of me trying to "turn (him) into a chicken" when we first got together because it was all I cooked. However, since Banquet frozen chicken was a staple of his diet, I overlooked his lack of love for my feathered friends.

I am also a big fan of coconut (preferably in tall drink glasses sporting little umbrellas). The only recipe that I use coconut regularly for involves Christmas cookies. Thus, when I saw this recipe for chicken + coconut, I was rather anxious to give it a try.

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Coconut Chicken and Apricot Sauce

Yield: 4 servings
1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl; set aside. Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping once halfway.

To prepare the apricot sauce, mix the apricot preserves and the Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Freezer Friendly: After baking the chicken, let cool completely then freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. To reheat, bake in a preheated oven at 400˚F for 20 minutes.
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Avoid the temptation to sprinkle extra coconut on top of the dish before baking. I did this and those extra coconut flakes simply burned. I do wish it had more of a coconut coating though, so I will work on a method to accomplish that next time I make this dish.

I was also iffy on the sauce. It tasted very "mustardy" to me. So, I would strongly suggest adding half the recipe amount and taste-testing before stirring in more. I think I would prefer more of a Pina Colada sauce like what restaurants typically serve with coconut shrimp... maybe using the Yoplait pina colada yogurt, which is yum.


Recipe Source: Pennies on a Platter