which side are you on?

we saw this new miricle whip commercial the other night. i thought it was so funny! i'm with pauly d.

sorry for being a "jrk".

i've recently started working with a first grade class on more of a regular basis at school. i've been doing reading groups and helping them with their writing, which has been really fun! i've always loved the little "love notes" and pictures that students have given me. last week i started getting a barrage of love notes. here are two of my favorites.

translation : "dear mrs. short, i am sorry for reading, you know, when i was a jerk."

my name often changes. mrs. good, mrs. small.

kids are sweet, and funny.

snow-tastic!

early in the week we found ourselves right in the middle of a blizzard. school was cancelled for 4 days in a row, kyle's work closed early, and most of springfield was essentially shut down for a few days. it was so fun to just sit and watch the snow pile up outside out windows. the roads are still very snow covered and icy. they could take some tips here from northeastern states on snow removal.

it's been fun to have some time off to sew, spend time with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law, and catch up on stuff around the house.

here are some pictures from our snowy day.

my shovelin' man.

meal of regret.

a month ago i was voted staff member of the month. i was pretty excited about it. some perks of this recognition included a parking spot near the front door, a certificate, a "supersaver card" to local restaurants, and two free meals at golden corral.

last saturday night kyle and i decided to cash in on a free meal. i don't think i had ever been to a golden corral before. i now know that i will never be going back. we should have turned around the minute the scents of the buffet wafted towards us when we opened the door. but, we stayed, and we ate, and we left feeling really sick.  

my brother really loves golden corral. i have a feeling if he ever visited our corral he might change his mind. it was a true picture of the midwest. yuck!

we're famous!

not really. janae posted some engagement pictures she snapped a few weeks before our wedding. the pictures she took at the wedding will be soon. here are some of my favorites.

snow day = sew day.

last week we had a snow day. i loved it. i giggled when i read "springfield schools" on the TV and then shook my head when i looked out the window and saw only a few inches of snow on the ground.

i took it upon myself to really enjoy my unscheduled day off. i completed a mountain of laundry and put my sewing machine to good use. it was great. i didn't talk to one person all day (except for kyle, who called 3 times to ask if i'd talked to anyone:)).

the first thing i made was a pretty ear warmer. i used the tutorial found here.

then, i made a matroyshka doll for hazel. she turned 2 on the 24th. i can't tell if she's stoic, sad, or sleeping. it took hazel a little while to warm up to her.

finally, i made some paper heart garlands to decorate our home. so easy and so pretty.

i would love it if every day was a snow day!

good eats.

we've been eating some pretty delicious meals from "The Food Matters Cookbook" lately. my favorite so far is "pasta with asparagus, bacon, and egg" (and i added baby portobellos, because i love them!). don't be put off by the egg, it really makes the whole thing. here's the recipe...

ingredients:
salt
2 TBS olive oil
4 oz chopped bacon, pancetta, or guanciale(whatever that is?)
1 1/2 lb asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
8 oz any pasta, preferably whole wheat (i used fettuccine)
2 eggs
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
black pepper

1. boil water for the pasta. meanwhile, put oil & bacon in large skillet over medium heat. cook until bacon starts to soften and brown, about 5 minutes. stir in asparagus and raise heat a bit. cook until it has softened, but is still crunchy, 5 to 10 minutes. turn off heat
2. cook pasta in boiling water until tender, not mushy. meanwhile, warm a large bowl and beat the eggs in it. stir in the asparagus and bacon, along with any leftover bacon fat from the skillet.
3. when pasta is done reserve some cooking water. drain pasta, immediately toss it with the egg & asparagus mixture adding some cooking water if necessary. add cheese and black pepper to taste.

the heat of the pasta and the cooking water cooks the egg right away. i was still a little nervous though, so i nuked the whole dish for 30-45 seconds to be safe. it was delicious!! so delicious that kyle at ALL of our left overs as an extension of his dinner. oh well.

i also made the best bread ever this week. it's the "best bread EVER" recipe i found here. when kyle tasted it last night he said, "you've done it! this is the best bread ever!", he didn't even know the title of the recipe:)