Happy Birthday to Me!

Hello all! Well as you could have guessed it is my birthday week. (Yes I get a whole week because I am having a few different celebrations with family and friends...we all have very busy work schedules. :) ) Yesterday was technically my birthday and I must say it was prob. one of the best I have had. I took the day off of work for a doc. appointment...I know I know who schedules a doc. appt. on their birthday?! Let's just say it was one worth having. Anyway I was able to spend the rest of my day shopping with the hubby, relaxing at my house, and then dinner with the family. Oh and I started decorating for fall. What can I say it is my favorite time of year! Even though I stayed home from work I never really get my mind off of it. I think that comes with being a teacher. I know my students had a wonderful day and were in great hands but I still miss them and wish I was there to teach them all the fun things I had planned. Well today when I walked into my room not only was it clean, which is very exciting after being out for a day, but I was greeted with a wall full of beautiful bright and perfectly glittered birthday cards (and an Edible Arrangement delivered from my mom..all I can say is yum!) It made my day to see my students take the time to do such a nice thing for me ( and in their best handwriting!) It never gets old having a student say "you're the best teacher" and "your lessons are so much fun." It's days like this that make me take a step back and remember why I chose this career and why I am so passionate about it.

DIY Marker Board

Happy Tuesday! Years ago I was given a painting in an old frame. I still have the painting but have put it into a new updated frame. This old frame, however, has been sitting in my craft room for years just waiting for me to find a purpose for it. When browsing a craft store with a good friend I decided I would make a marker board. Not quite sure what I will use if for (to do board, message board, classroom, future kids room..etc) but I thought I would give it a go anyway. For this project I needed paint, brushes, and of course a marker board.

 The board started off with a brown frame and a beige canvas lining. I wanted a rustic look so I didn't sand it first. If you wanted more of a smooth painted look than you would want to sand it down before painting. I simply painted the wood white and the canvas teal. I found a plain marker board at the local craft store and nailed it to the back. Here is the finished product:

 

 

Scallop Pasta Alfredo and Strawberry Salad

Hello all! What a busy week it has been. Between family outings, teaching, preparing for teaching, and everything else I completely lost track of time and could not post on Sunday. On this happy Wednesday, however, I thought I would share a recipe I came up with for those yummy scallops I caught last weekend. I love rich pastas and what better pasta dish than one with seafood. Since I was doing such a heavy main dish I decided to pair it with a very light but tasty salad. :) Try it out and let me know what you think!

 

Strawberry Salad

ingredients

 

Spinach salad

1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries

1/2 cup dried cranberry

1/2 cup chopped walnut

1/3 cup chopped purple onion

sprinkle Gorgonzola cheese

raspberry vinaigrette dressing

 

 

Scallop Pasta Alfredo

ingredients

 

1 box bow tie pasta

2 cups scallops (could use shrimp or any seafood)

1 tbs butter

2 cans artichoke hearts

1 pkg. sun dried tomatoes

chopped bacon cooked

1 can peas drained

 

alfredo sauce ingredients

 1/2 cup butter

2 tbs. cream cheese

1 pint heavy cream

1 tsp. garlic powder

2/3 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

 

directions

Cook bacon in saute pan. Remove. Saute scallops in butter over medium heat in same pan until they are white. About 5 minutes. Add artichokes, bacon, and peas. Saute another few minutes.  Cook pasta according to directions. Drain then add scallops, bacon, artichoke, sun dried tomato, and peas. In same saute pan as bacon and scallops melt the butter. When butter is melted add cream cheese and stir until soft. Add heavy cream, garlic, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes over low heat stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add parmesan cheese. ENJOY!

 

Fun Day at Sea

 

 Happy Labor Day! This weekend, to celebrate the holiday, the family and I went scalloping in Crystal River. With only a few hours on the water we were able to catch our limit (which meant some good dinners were to come!) This weekend was the first weekend that my dad, step mom, brothers, sisters, my husband, and I were able to all get together at once because my sister was away all summer working on a ranch in Colorado. My brothers love to go scalloping. My little brother Jackson had most of his fun diving off the front of the boat. He is quite an amazing swimmer! My little brother Garrison was able to catch a lot of scallops and discover some other ocean life. He was really good at pointing out all the starfish that were hiding in the tall sea grass! After the current grew strong we decided it was time to do some relaxing and clean the scallops. Just after the marina is a great fresh water spring which feels so great after a hot day in salt water. Of course no day goes off without us forgetting something. :) We forgot to bring the cleaning knives. Luckily we were with some friends that were nice enough to let use borrow theirs. So with two knives and gallons and gallons of scallops we just knew we were going to be there all day and night. Loyel got creative and figured he would use his car key. Once we got an assembly line started it actually worked! My sister opened the scallops (ice usually does this, but we caught them so quick there wasn't really time to have them on ice) and Loyel and I cleaned them. The catfish loved us that day! However, my step mom,Tina, who was standing in the water did not love the catfish. :)


Garrison

Jackson

                                                                       

Sleepy boys



Garrison and Loyel showing off their snorkel mask hair.

 





My sister LeAnna and I cleaning the scallops.