Beautiful days in Juneau!

Wow - we have been so lucky lately. Spring has arrived in Juneau! It was another beautiful day - sunny, warm and gorgeous. We have NO RAIN in the forecast, nothing but sun and we are approaching 70 degree weather. Wow. There is nothing better than a sunny day in Juneau.

I think this weekend we are going to plant containers of flowers. We will have to watch the weather closely, till the frost danger is gone, but I think we are safe!! Can't wait for the flowers to bloom, to put out our colorful flag and get the patio furniture out and set up. Our cruise ship season starts tomorrow, and a nice downtown restaurant opens on Friday. Spring/summer is here!

High Tech Game Night

So, tonight we are taking it easy at home and playing games using the iPhone! We played Yatzee and are now in the middle of Monopoly. I'm Nesting Doll and Larry is Penguin. It is a fun game, and there is absolutely no pieces you can lose... To roll the dice, you simply shake the iPhone! When it is the next persons turn, you just pass the iPhone. Very fun...

Mom's Christmas Morning Breakfast... a tradition!

Well, I just finished making 15 casserole dishes of this wonderful recipe. State testing is coming up, and I decided to cook for the kids! Yes, it is about 200 children that will be eating my mom's recipe. Of course the recipe passed to me - and even though mom is not around any longer - I still make every Christmas (and sometimes other times as well)! I hope the kids like it! They are so excited about having breakfast at school.

Do-Ahead Breakfast

5 slices sourdough bread, torn into pieces
1 lb. Brown & Serve sausage links (pre-cooked), sliced
1.5 lbs. Cheddar Cheese, shredded

2 1/4 cup milk
4-5 eggs
1 tsp dry mustard

Take 9x13 inch pan and spray with Pam. Put torn bread pieces into bottom of pan. Sprinkle cheese on top of bread. Place sausage slices on top of cheese. Mix the milk, eggs and dry mustard. Pour over the casserole. Cover with foil, put in fridge and allow to sit overnight.

In the morning, mix one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup and 1/2 can of milk. Pour over the top of casserole.

Bake at 300 degrees for about 70 minutes. (Just enough time to open presents!)

Wii Fit...

Well, technology just keeps adding to our lives doesn't it? We are now the owners of a Wii Fit. Finally got all the pieces on Thursday (wii console and wii fit), with flight delays & cancellations due to the volcano erupting in Alaska. I have been a faithful user of it since its arrival. It is quite fun, motivating, keeps you moving, and I am actually sore - so it must be making me use some muscles that were not used prior to its arrival.

The exercise categories are balance, yoga, aerobics, and strength. When you begin, the Wii Fit does body measuring - it measures weight, bmi, and balance/agility and provides you with your Wii Age.... Yes, it is brutally honest depending on how you do with your balance/agility test, weight & bmi, and will provide you with an age that may be either above your own, or below your own (yay). Like today - I was "40". Liking the wii fit today :) One day I was in my 30's - that was a wonderful day. Larry's first Wii age was 66 - I still give him a hard time about that.

When you begin "training", you are given a gift of a piggy bank. This bank is to collect & tally your daily minutes of exercise. I have put in over one hour a day so far and try to equally balance my activities in all of the areas. It actually has positive reinforcement built into the program, as the more time you put in exercising you unlock more games and activities.

My favorites so far are the advanced step aerobics, hula hoop, rhythm boxing (all aerobics), ski slalom, penguin, and bubble in the river (all working on balance). I also am enjoying the yoga - and especially like the breathing visual & sound to remind you to breathe. I tried push ups on the strength, and found it to be quite difficult to do using the balance board as your hands seems to slide.

So, more experimenting to be sure needs to be done. But, so far - I'd highly recommend it.

This is spring?

Oh my goodness. If you have been to my house, you have seen I have the great view of Juneau from my windows. Well, today my view is gone. All I can see are millions of tiny snowflakes falling (no dumping) from the sky. I can't even see the street in front of my house any longer, except for the narrow pathway carved out of 12 feet of snow! We are so done with this weather, and anxiously awaiting springtime! It may be officially spring, but boy is it hard to tell just from looking out the window...

Who won the HGTV Dream Home?

Meet Cheryl from Lakeland, Florida. This retired couple, who live in a modest home in Florida, are the happy and surprised owners of the HGTV Dream Home in Sonoma, CA. They have won not only the home (complete with furnishings), but an Acadia Crossover as well. Congratulations Cheryl and family!

If you want to learn more about the dream home, and "borrow" some of their decorating tips, check out HGTV Dream Home Central. http://www.hgtv.com/dream-home/index.html

Spring is here...

Well, today on our first official full day of spring we actually have SUNSHINE! What a beautiful day. Now, if only the snow would melt (all of it) by tonight. (ha) I'm very ready for spring, and have spent the morning watching QVC looking at patio furniture, plants, and fountains! Can you tell I'm ready for nice weather?

Here is what I'm debating currently...

I want a dwarf kishu mandarin tree! It can be grown here outside in the summer, and then brought inside as a potted plant before the first frost. I had it in my shopping cart as I was thinking it over, and now it is sold out! I guess my decision has been made for me.

OK, now that I can't have the dwarf mandarin tree, I'm thinking about plumeria to grow indoors as a houseplant. If I can't have Hawaii or the Caribbean all the time, I could at least have it in the living room! Just going in and taking in the scent would be enough to transport one to paradise...

Chicken Salad Anyone?

Well, I found a wonderful chicken salad recipe that I modified slightly to serve at a salad potluck. It was yummy - and a HUGE bowl of it was devoured (always a sign of a good recipe).

Chicken Salad
Serves 12

4 cups cubed cooked chicken meat
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp paprika
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (cherries work well also)
1 cup chopped celery
2 green onions, finely sliced
1/2 cup finely minced green bell pepper (I used the food processor to make it quite fine)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp garlic powder
Ground black pepper to taste

Mix together mayo, & paprika. Blend in all other ingredients and mix well. Season with black pepper to taste. You can serve in a number of ways - as a salad; on a croissant; on a nice wheat/multi-grain bread; in a toasted pita; or as a spread on a tortilla (with baby spinach) - a wrap. Very tasty - I'll be making this one again!

One of the meager homes...

If you had the good fortune to win the HGTV dream home, this would be one of your neighbors! This home sits on an entire city block. It appears to have a pool house, and at least one guest house on site. Rumor has it the owner owns a winery in the area. Not too shabby huh?

Who will win??

Well, during our short time in California we were able to find the new HGTV DREAM HOME in Sonoma, CA. Some lucky person will be winning this home in a week or so! It is in a cute little area in Sonoma - wine country. I thought it would be grander and larger... but it actually was a nice farm style home. The other homes in the neighborhood were gorgeous (and actually more lavish than the dream home). Not that I would complain mind you! The lucky winner will have to cough up about $700,000 for the tax man.

I learned while there that actually HGTV picks several names; then does interviews with the perspective winners finding just the "right" person to win the home. So, I'm betting I did not win or I would have heard by now! Oh well, back to reality.

Off to California!

Well, I'm gearing up for a week long trip to northern California. I leave Wednesday morning for San Francisco to attend a yearly summit put on by a company called CORE. I will be in Burlingame (near the airport) for the first part of this trip. Some well known reading researchers are going to lead sessions, so I'm looking forward to hearing them!

Part two of the trip is spending the weekend in city itself - near Fisherman's Wharf. I'm hoping to get in touch with a friend who lives in the area and be able to see her! It truly has been years since we have been able to see each other.

Then, finally part three of the trip will be in Sonoma. I was lucky enough last year to be part of an intensive reading training. It was the best training I've ever experienced! (four trips; 12 days of intensive training - and it "WAS" intensive) I will be involved in a follow-up session focusing on grades 4-6 this year with the same trainer.

I'm hoping for warmth and sunshine, but in looking at the weather report it will most likely be chilly and possibly rainy as well. Oh well, it will be warmer than here in Alaska! Now to figure out what to bring...

Inservice Day Lunch - Ole'

Well, tomorrow we are putting together an old favorite in the crockpot for lunch - TACO SOUP! There are a million different recipes, all quite similar. Here is the one I'll be using (which I have modified)...

Taco Soup In the Crockpot
(serves around 8)

1 pound of browned extra lean ground beef (drained)
1 chopped onion
1 can of kidney beans (undrained)
1 can whole kernel corn (undrained)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 14.5 oz cans peeled & diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 4 oz can diced green chiles
2 cups water (you will want to judge the consistency of your soup here - very likely won't need to add the water... with the undrained canned goods - you probably will be fine)
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 pkg ranch dressing

Mix everything in the crockpot and turn on high for 4 hrs; or low for 8 hours. Top with Fritos; cheddar cheese and sour cream. Enjoy.

Facebook!

Well, this is quite an addicting site I must say. It is a fun way to touch bases - keep in touch, with friends from near and afar. I have "friends" from the Caribbean; England; and an old friend that was a co-cub scout leader with me (eons ago) who is living in Budapest. I'd love to find more friends (you know, those friends you lose contact with when you move away), and I just sent out another batch of "invites".

If you haven't tried Facebook - try it, you'll like it! And when you do, find me as a friend!

Have fun...

Another yummy breakfast!

This recipe again comes from Kalyn's Kitchen (my favorite website). Enjoy!

Southwestern Egg Casserole
Serves 10-12)

18 eggs
4 oz can diced green chiles
14.5 oz diced tomatoes, well drained (organic preferred)
Seasonings (Spike Seasoning; Freshly ground pepper)
12 oz grated cheese (4 cheese mexican blend works great)
3 Tbsp sliced green onions
Optional: you could also top with bacon crumbles; or browned sausage

For Serving:
Sour Cream & Salsa

Preheat oven to 375. Drain your canned diced tomatoes in a collander and let sit to completely drain. Spray a 9x12 glass casserole dish with nonstick spray. Whisk eggs until well mixed, stir in well-drained tomatoes, green chiles with any juice, and seasonings.

Put the cheese in the bottom of the dish. If you are using bacon or sausage, put this over the cheese. Sprinkle the green onions. Pour the egg mixture on top. Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes (until eggs are well set and top is starting to brown). Serve with sour cream and salsa to top. Yummy!

To look at Kalyn's website for a picture and other recipes for breakfast casseroles, follow this link!
SOUTHWESTERN EGG CASSEROLE

Transitioning to new technology can be tough!

Well, one thing always leads to another right? This time around it is all related to efficiency. I went to a wonderful conference that taught us to work efficiently and with our secretary with the utmost of organization. Part of this plan involves calendaring, and how our secretary should be handling our calendar. So, being open and willing to get more organized, I thought I'd give it a try. I dug out the old Palm Pilot, got it all charged up and "synced". Strangely enough it did not want to sync with the Palm software, but it seemed to like ICal. OK, I can go with that - so I spent one night entering all the data I had in my Palm calendar over to ICal. Worked great! But, to make things more complicated we wanted to have my secretary have my calendar on her computer where I could sync my Palm with her ICal. Oops - little did I know there is a rule about multiple computers - a definite no-no. The district IT person said we need to use Google Calendar, then it will load to my ICal, then I can sync my Palm. Easy right? NOT... In order to get Google Calendar to talk to ICal, he had to take my computer away, update it, and he returned it at the end of the day. All my e-mails disappeared in the process - not good. I then re-entered everything from ICal into Google Calendar and tried to sync. Well, Google did move everything to ICal like it was supposed to, but now it has been determined that my Palm is ancient and to not even try it. IT's recommendation: Get an IPhone. So, that was yesterdays journey - the AT&T store.

I've spent the day (Sunday) getting things sync'd (now it works). Next step - take the IPhone to the Ford Edge and get the two to talk to each other so that I can use my handsfree phone. Don't ya love technology? It is absolutely a love/hate relationship!

P.S. My Ford Edge and iPhone can now talk. (I had heard there were issues getting the two to communicate. Luckily, I was not one with trouble...)