Saturday, February 25, 2012

Teaching update

Things were busy for me this week!
I was lucky to be in the same Grade 1 class all week!
Here are a couple of pictures from the week:
Our Paper Bag Houses:



My Body:
Please ignore my horrible body drawing!
I got to do lots of planning. I even got to spend some quality learning time with the class as I had 5-8 kids away each day. Wow...it would be amazing to have small class sizes! Speaking of class sizes... there has been alot of chatter in the staff room about the government and our strike stuff...

Here are a couple of things to leave with you...
Just a little thing on whats going to happen if the government gives teacher net zero.


Hope you are having a great Saturday!
I will be back soon!
B


Monday, February 13, 2012

Tone it Up

Happy Monday! I am pretty happy right now because.....
ITS SUNNY OUTSIDE!!
I just went for a little jog, walk...and I am going to head off to the gym here pretty quick.

Recently I have come across the Tone It Up website and youtube videos.
The creators of this program have videos, meal plans, tips, etc.

Here are two videos that I am going to take some inspiration from for my gym workout today!
#1 Valentines Day work out


#2 Bikini Strap Workout


If only I had the hot summer weather so I could go workout on the beach too!

Anyways hope you enjoy these!
If you have a chance check out their website
B


Saturday, February 11, 2012

Freezer turkey meatloaf

Before I go into the great recipe... a couple of photos that I took early in the week when the weather was trying to be nice...


I have bulbs that are starting to grow! Yahoo!!


Emma has been going through a weird stage this week...maybe more than a week. I am meeting with a doggy behavior consultant after work on Sunday to work on some new strategies to use with her.

Thursday and Friday I managed to fit two exercise classes in. I tried Cardio Combo at my gym with my coworker on Thursday and yesterday I went to Bender Ball with my neighbor and a lady from the firehall. It kicked my butt!
My lower back has been really sore from last weeks class, so I went to a massage therapist yesterday. She was super knowledgable and did wonders; however I AM SOOOO SORE TODAY!!!! No pain, no gain right (Allen loves this saying :P)

Last night I missed out on a special birthday dinner so I just wanted to give a shout out to Miss Courtney!
HAPPPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Thanks to pinterest I found another great recipe
I gave this recipe for Freezer Turkey Meatloaf a try a couple of nights ago. It was pretty tasty (for turkey :P). I find ground turkey can be pretty bland and I never seem to add enough flavor.

So since I changed the recipe a bit, I will give you my directions.

Mini Turkey Meatloaves (adapted from Sweet Potato Chronicles)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/3 cup of onion, diced on the fine side
1/3 cup of carrot, peeled and diced small
1/3 cup of red pepper, diced small
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 containers of ground turkey (from Costco) *I didn't weigh the meat so I don't know exactly how much turkey I used :S
1/4 cup ketchup
1 egg, whisked
1/4 cup parm cheese, grated

2 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Warm olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add vegetables, red pepper flakes, and garlic and allow  them to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a bit.
In a large bowl, combine meat, oats, ketchup, vegetable mixture, cheese and egg. Combine with your hands or a spoon.

Measure 1/3 cup of mixture into muffin tins. In a small bowl combine 2 tbsp of ketchup and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce. Use a small spoon to smear over the tops of the loaves.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Yield: 12
*If you would like to freeze some of the loaves, don't let them cool before freezing. The recipe I got from Sweet Potato Chronicles, said that letting them cool then freezing can cause bacteria to grow? 
I popped the loaves that were being frozen out of the muffin tin right away and put them in tupperware and got them into the freezer right away. They should keep fine in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.
For reheating, you can pop them (unthawed) into a 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Just before you pop them in the oven!
I think the next time I make these I may play around with the spices and flavors a bit more, but overall pretty tasty.

One last recipe to leave you with...
At the beginning of the week I cooked up a whole bunch of quinoa. I used it for a greek salad...as well as this Strawberry Spinach Salad.

I just combined strawberries, spinach, quinoa and candied almonds then dressed it with a red onion salad dressing that I had. Super delicious and satisfying!


Anyways better go get ready for work!
Have a good weekend,
B

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Whole Wheat English Muffins


Don't these look like store bought English Muffins???
My mom and I made this on the weekend, and they were pretty good for homemade.
These english muffins had some interesting ingredients including nonfat powdered milk..... and some interesting tools like canning jar rings...

I would give the website a look through and give these english muffins a try for something different.
Some comments on the recipe:
The only thing my mom and I changed was the flour...we used whole wheat flour.
Make sure to make the english muffins 1/4 cup or smaller otherwise they take longer to cook through. Also keep the temperature on low when cooking the muffins in a frying pan.

On Monday, I went to a professional development day workshop. Our keynote speaker, Dean Shareski, was fantastic. He talked about integrating technology into the classroom. One thing that was particularly AMAZING was that he decided to teach himself how to play the guitar. He ended up posting his own videos, then students from a school in the states gave him video feedback and tutorials! SO AMAZING to see these high school students teaching him what they know about music.
He also talked alot about the education system and how its not really working...teachers are over worked...we aren't connecting or sharing as teachers...

Anyways I thought I would share a couple of things from the workshop........
first...a funny video..
this is his house....


One last thing that I will leave you with is something he said about using technology...

"How can technology make us more human?"
How can we use technology to connect and share with people rather than just "looking something up"?
I feel like I have these comments stuck in my head whenever I am on the computer now...
How can I connect with people via the technology??
Thankfully...blogging is my first step to connecting with more people!!!
B

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Weekend and a couple of recipes

Happy Sunday!
This past weekend, I headed out to my grandparents to house sit for them with my mom. We felt that we wanted a nice weekend of relaxing together. It was great. Yesterday we went shopping...
I managed to find 2 pairs of boots, one pair of jeans, one pair of dress pants and a wonderful wooly sweater. The boots and dress pants were all 50% off!! They were great finds.
After shopping we went and got some groceries to cook a nice dinner.

My next couple of posts will be about our dinner and breakfast recipes...
here is a sneak peak:



A delicious chicken recipe and ENGLISH MUFFIN RECIPE are to come!!!
Anyways here are some photos from our weekend:





How did you guys spend your weekend???
B

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Amazing read

Sorry for being m.i.a the last little bit. Work has been incredibly busy!!!
It was great for the work; however didn't get much time with Allen as he was only home for a week. Such is life!!
Anyways while he was home, we got to meet our friends' new baby Taylor..such a cute little boy!!
I got to visit with some lovely ladies, did some rearranging of rooms and finished painting my bathroom!!


This photo doesn't really look that great, but I am super pleased with the bathroom. I am glad I was brave and tried a new color besides neutrals!

The other day I got a $10 egift card from Lush because of some shopping I did online at christmas.
I was super excited to receive this!
Check out what I ordered:

No Drought Dry Shampoo!
I can't wait to get this to try out!!! Apparently it is great for dark haired peeps!

So on to the book review. I just finished the last book in The Hunger Games trilology.
I AM IN LOVE WITH THESE BOOKS! I am sad they are over, but SO excited for the movies!!


If you haven't read the books yet...you must do it!

I will be back with a recipe soon!!
B