Maybe there's actually nothing new to say

I sat down to blog, but it occurs to me that I don't really have anything in mind to talk about. I wanted to note that there was a furious battle between Braeburn and Fuji. I changed my mind several times, and finally decided that they are tied. Initially I prefer the Braeburn, for it's tartness, but the fuji is nice and sweet. They're both crisp and juicy, which is very important for me. This week we'll have to get some more and fill in the gaps. It's been a great food week. We ate lots of produce, and I have the menu and list all ready (and in store order!) for today's errands. Being organized makes me happy.

I've had a visitor at school a couple of times in the last week. Bible Christian Academy is going to have a Spanish teacher to replace their music teacher, and she has no teaching experience, so she's been coming out to watch see what Elementary Spanish looks like. I like it, because it helps me to see the kids and the classroom from an outsider's perspective, and it is really impressive. I should probably be all proactive and be inviting parents and other teachers and administrators and school board people to come and watch my classes, but I'm not. I do have enough other stuff to deal with, right? I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just going to do my best.

Our principal sent us a link to a website called Sparkpeople, which I am addicted to. It's lots of fun and actually very motivational for me. We're doing "The Biggest Loser" as a school. We weigh in with the nurse on Wednesdays, and if you gain weight, you have to put a dollar in the jar, and the winner at the end gets the money. It's kind of a nice thing, and since everyone is doing it, we have lots of healthy snacks in the lounge now instead of just doughnuts. I do miss baking for the teachers though. I used to make lots of cookies and cupcakes and muffins and etc. and now I can't really do that. I made banana bread for the women's retreat at the church, that was a small baking fix, and a lemon cake for the ladies at Joan's store, but I want to bake more! It's one of my favorite things to do.

Oh! I remember. I posted awhile back about wanting a class to teach me how to cut things up and now GCCC is offering that very class. I'm excited. Does anyone want to go with me? 2/13 and 2/20 6:30-8:30. I would like a buddy. I'd be willing to go to a class with you, if you want to trade. I'm also considering the seafood class and the herb class, but how much time do I really have?

And in other good news, our insurance will reimburse us for all the food we had to throw out after we lost power. So now I have to make a list and price it, but that should be a nice brain exercise....with money at the end!

Keeping busy

Yesterday was a nice day. It snowed all day, and we didn't leave the house. Anna was a little cranky and is not napping well, but she was still pretty fun to be around.

I've been going through my recipes and cooking magazines and finally getting them all organized into one place with one uniform system. It makes me really happy. It's been on my list to do forever. And I made a floral arrangement for the January mantel, but I'm not sure about it. I think next year we'll have to do it differently. And Matthew and I played a ping pong match (he won), which always means it's a nice day. And I made a really good dinner and everyone liked it.

I have a zillion new years resolutions this year. One of them is to try a new vegetable every week, as we have been firmly settled into a carrot, green beans, yellow beans pattern forever. So far we've had butternut squash, sweet potato, shallots, yellow pepper, and red pepper. It's been lots of fun.

The apple testing continues... Ambrosia lost yesterday to Fuji, but it wasn't a very good ambrosia, not very crisp. And Fuji beat a Cameo today. A few days ago Cameo lost to Ambrosia. So... we have 1. Fuji, 2. Ambrosia, 3. Cameo for those three. There are so many combinations. I'm having a great time with this.

apples to apples

Lots has happened since Matthew's birthday, but I don't feel like catching all up. I'll leave that to Matthew. Suffice it to say we all had nice Christmases and the ice storm was a big deal and the trip to Oregon was fun and now school has started and I'm getting over the flu.

I've been eating lots of apples lately. At Jeanette's house I taste-tested Jonagold versus Braeburn and the Braeburn was clearly my favorite. It was so much fun, the blind apple taste-test, that we've been doing it lots at home. It's sad that Matthew doesn't like apples, but he does administer the tests for me, and Anna loves apples, and it's a great way to make sure we eat two a day. So far we know that Fuji beats Pink Lady, that Pink Lady beats Gala, and that Fuji beats Gala. The pink lady has a very grape-y flavor I think. It's interesting, and I don't know that I would have noticed it if I hadn't been focusing so hard on the flavors of the apples. I really recommend it. Who knew that apples tasted so different? This week we're going to buy some more different apples so we can add to the list.

1. Fuji
2. Pink Lady
3. Gala
(I can't put Braeburn or Jonagold in yet, as they've not been tested against these three) I think this will keep be busy for a long time, and it's such fun!

In other apple-y news, Matthew got the game Apples to Apples for his Birthday and we had a fantastic time playing with the Lobmeyer clan. Two thumbs up.

And now for a cryptic post-script...The other one is still there, just hidden. If you know where to look, you can still find it. Questions? email me.