Quick recap of the ACM awards

Could Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton be any cuter?  I love that their song "Over You" was a big winner.  It's a really powerful song.

Garth Brooks was a class act, singing "The Dance" and not doing anything unique with it--just singing it as we all expected it.  Then he sang with George Strait and remembered his place.  George is the reigning king of country music.  No upstaging by Mr. Brooks.  Thank you for that!

And Luke Bryan's reaction to winning Entertainer of the Year was absolutely priceless.  I was in tears. . .felt like someone just needed to go give that man a hug.

Since "Over You" is the most powerful song of the show, I'm including it for you today.  Those who know me well understand why this song hits home.  Anyone who has had a loss understands as well.

Would you like to swing on a star?

This one popped into my head a few days ago.  It was among the great hits we were treated to listening to when I was a kid.  And actually I like it very much.  I always did but now I love it because it reminds me of being a little girl and watching "Going My Way" with my family.

Enjoy. . .an don't grow up to be a mule! You can be better than you are :-)

Friday Five (I know, I know)

But this is supposed to be a blog that includes my favorite things.  So why not?

1.  Trader Joe's Spicy Chai Latte

2.  Trader Joe's Organic Dark Chocolate Truffles (Christmas time only)

3.  Fridays in general!

4.  Ivory Snow detergent.  I have long been a fan of Dreft but it's crazy expensive.  I like Purex Baby detergent but it doesn't have the same baby smell.  Ivory Snow is like middle ground price-wise and it smells soooo deliciously baby-like. 

5.  Having a former student guest speak in my class.  Brian graduated 11 years ago and is in banking.  He came in to do a lesson that had been set up by another organization.  One of the other gentlemen who came in told me that Brian was nervous about being the teacher.  No need for nerves--he did great.  And it was absolutely awesome to see him all grown up, married, father to a little girl, a homeowner and hard working young man. 

Enjoy your Friday!

I am geek--hear me roar!

Today I share with you something fascinating.  At least, it is for me.  And I hope you enjoy it too. 

Apparently on Monday I totally missed Google's fun with a treasure hunt.  But I found it yesterday and spent WAY too much time playing with another treasure hunt that had been created.

IGCSE Modern World History Revision

Go ahead.  Do a treasure hunt!  Just be sure that any "outside" searching happens in another window because if you accidentally leave the page, you have to start over.. . .and that is a total bummer.

Oh Happy Day. . .

Because it is.  They tell me that it's going to get warmer by the weekend. . .more spring-like weather.  That's cause to celebrate!

We also celebrate some new babies.  One of the guys I work with was due to meet baby #3 on Tuesday.  And another lady from work is to meet her first grandbaby later on today.  So excited for both of them.  They are getting little girls.  I cannot wait for names and pictures!

Man that was rough!

Returning to work is always hard.

First of all, I have to wear shoes.  All. Day. Long.  Crazy, yanno?  And of course I went all out and wore a pencil skirt, dotted hose, hiiiiiiigh heels.  It was a sharp outfit if I do say so myself.

And then, adding insult to injury, I only get to eat at certain times.  One might think this is a good thing but I find that when I have to eat on somebody else's schedule, I tend to mess up.  I might not be hungry when it's time to eat but I eat anyway just because I don't want to get hungry later and not be able to eat.  Or maybe it's just that I'm grouchy about having to wait to eat?

Today the two younger girls get their first day back to school.  Hopefully they adjust better to the whole "wearing shoes and eating on a schedule" thing better than I did.

Onward and upward. . .each day gets us closer to summer. 

Back to life, back to reality

Somehow it just seems wrong to go back to school on April Fool's Day, yanno?  Two of the kids don't go back until the second (lucky!)

But since I get to head right back into reality, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to get through the week.

There's chicken salad.

There's ham salad.

There's shredded chicken waiting to become bbq chicken.

There's shredded chicken waiting to become lime chicken tacos.

So even though the calendar calls for a busy week, we will be eating well.

Mom's Ham Salad:
Use a food processor to shred previously fully cooked ham.

Add just enough salad dressing to make it into ham salad.  Remember you can always add more Miracle Whip but it's pretty hard to just come up with more ham ;-)

Perhaps my most ridiculous recipe ever but since I had a friend ask me how I make ham salad, I figured there was a chance that someone else out there might need a little nudge.

A little tune to get us back in the swing of things: