Summer Prep

I DID IT! I AM DONE! (at least until the end of August) It feels so good! I took my last test on Monday and have spent the last two day vegetating. I am loving the feeling of freedom! On Monday, after my last test, I decided to reward myself by buying a pair of sandals that I have been wanting. I was disappointed when the store I was at didn’t even carry the brand I was looking for, but as I was leaving I saw a pair of swim shorts and knew I had to buy them. Now usually, I am not such a fan of swim wear so I don’t get excited when it comes to buying stuff, but these swim shorts are different. They are blue and green checkered and they come to my knees. Yes, my knees. I have never been so thrilled in my life. I tried them on, they fit, and I bought them! My SIL was so excited that she bought a pair too (though hers are pink and brown). They look like this . . .(please ignore the white, dry legs and pay attention to the cute, stylish shorts)

They are so fun! They cover up way more leg than my old shorts, and I LOVE THAT! I could definitely spend the day at the beach in these and feel totally comfortable. I could go river rafting without problems. They don’t match my swimsuit perfectly (my swimsuit is shades of blue, and the shorts are shades of greenish blues) but I don’t care! I love them!

Me and Liz decided to use are new swim shorts and go swimming last night. We also took my little niece Maddie swimming for her first time (I have to say, she looks far better in her cute little swimsuit than I look in mine!) It was so much fun! Maddie loved the water and kicked and splashed all over. We were trying to get a good picture, but Maddie was too intrigued with the water to look up for the camera (not normal for her). So cute!

When I got home I told me mom that with my new swim wear I am set for a big vacation to somewhere cool and exotic . . .like Hawaii, or Cancun or Bear Lake. She just laughed. I guess I will just have to make good use of the neighborhood pool for now.

Oh Happy Day!

Since all of my classes are basically finished (with the exception of my Portuguese final on Monday), I decided that I would get my books sold back before they wouldn’t take them anymore. I only had to buy 5 books this semester, but they were super expensive (like always!). There was one that I actually really liked, so I am keeping it. I sold back three others today and will sell back the last on Monday (there was NO more space in my backpack!) I was way surprised when the lady told they would give me over $100 dollars for my books. Woohooo! I was so, so happy! I wish I could do something fun with the money, but sadly, the majority of that money will be used to pay the lovely ticket that I got earlier this month. At least now I can afford to pay it! And, my backpack is nice and light. Life is good!

Have a great weekend!

I’m Not Dead Yet!

Do you remember the movie ‘Monte Python and the Holy Grail’? Honestly, it was never one of my favorites. I actually kind of dreaded the last day of each trimester when almost every teacher would have us watch it. However there is one scene that I have always found amusing. Remember when they are collecting all of the people who died from the plague, and throwing them onto a cart? Then they pick up a frail old man, clinging to life, who claims “I’m not dead yet!” Yet he is thrown on the cart anyways. Poor old man. Kind of morbid, I know.

That is kind of how I feel. I am not built for all-nighters and last minute cramming. The stress of the end of the school year plus a lot of extra hours at work is taking its toll. I feel like yelling “I’m not dead yet!” And still, what am I doing? I am here, blogging, rather than working on my Second Language Acquisition project that is due tomorrow. Hmmmmm. Only five more days . . .

I’m Not Dead Yet!

Just one of those days . . .

. . . When you can’t stop smiling! Today has been so great! Though I was not super excited to get up at 5:30 and make cookies for my presentation, I did anyways and they turned out great! (My poor mom came upstairs to see if everything was all right, I think she thought I was nuts. That’s what happens when you use a mixer at the crack of dawn!) I was worried that they were going to turn out really hard since last weeks weren’t the greatest, but they turned out soft and gooey like they should! My presentation went well, people ate cookies, and best of all, I never have to give another presentation in this class! YAY! I actually had extra cookies, so I have been able to go around all day giving people cookies. If I could have any job in the world I would want to be a professional free-cookie-giver. So much fun! Even better, the sun is shining! Hoorray! The cold this morning was not so much fun, but now it is starting to warm up and it feels like spring! I love days like today!

Hope you are all having an Excellent day as well!

Here's the recipe!

Sorry, I didn’t even think to post the recipes, so here it is:

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C. Butter or Margarine

1 1/2 C. Sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

2/3 C. cocoa

2 C. Flour

¾ C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

¾ C. White chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350*. Cream together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add soda, salt and cocoa, mixing well. Add flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix thoroughly. Add chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls on a cookie sheet (should make about 3 dozen); bake 9-11 minutes, until just soft. Cool slightly and move to a wire rack. Serve with milk. :)

I like a lot of chocolate chips in mine, so if you aren't a major chocoholic, you could use less! I also like to use the two different kinds, because I think it looks pretty, but you can totally just use the semi-sweet ones, and they are awesome! Since they are a chocolate based cookie, it can be hard to tell when they are done. Make sure you don’t overcook, or they are only really yummy for about an hour, and then they turn hard! Hope you like them as much as I do!

Final Presentations

Next week I have to give a presentation in my Portuguese class on Monday, and my Spanish class on Wednesday. I decided to make things a little easier by doing the same presentation in both classes, and just switching the language and tweaking things according to the requirements. So I am doing my presentations on Chocolate Chip cookies. In Portuguese I am going to explain the history of the Chocolate Chip Cookie, and then teach how to make my favorite kind, and in Spanish I will just explain how to make my favorite kind, since I am not as fluent in Spanish, so it will go a lot slower. Last night I made a batch and took step by step pictures to use as visual aids, and here they are . . .

YUM! They were good. I hope the presentation goes well, and even if it doesn’t, I am giving everyone a cookie after, so that should leave 'em happy (at least those who like chocolate!)

Funny thing happened last night. After living in a house for over 15 years, I was able to walk around when it was pitch black and not run into anything. The same can not be said for the new house. Last night I was going to bed around midnight. Everyone else was asleep, and I have to turn off the family room light from one side of the room, and walk down and around the corner to get to my room since there is not another light switch. So I turned it off and started walking without thinking. I misjudged the turn about 2 feet too early, and slammed into the wall, HARD! It was loud, and I was laughing so hard that I was worried about waking the whole family up! I need to pay a little more attention from now on!

Finals Week

I’m almost there! Just 11 more days of school, and I am free until the end of August! Hooray! I had forgotten how stressful the last few weeks of school are. It’s probably because I haven’t been here for a while, but I am ready for it to be over! I try not to procrastinate, and yet I have so much to do over the next 7 days, I wonder how I am going to be able to pull it all off! I have a couple of tests, and presentations, but the great thing is that I only have ONE final! Well, I really have three, but the other two teachers are giving them before finals week, meaning that during finals week, I only have to take one. And even better is that one final is on the first day of finals at 9:30, so by 10:30 on April 28^th, I am home free! I have never finished spring semester before May even got here, and I am way excited! YAY!

(do you like my creation I made on paintbrush? Its a way old edition, but I had a lot of fun!)