Happy 5th Birthday Houston!

I can't believe Houston turns 5 today. Wow do the years go fast. He is such a great kid and I enjoy every minute with him. He's turning into quite the conversationalist. :) He starts Kindergarten on Monday and I start teaching at his school. I'm really excited to be teaching with my kids. I think we're going to have some great years together. I'm teaching high school level Earth Space Science to the entire middle school (10 students total ages 10 - 14) and I'm teaching Alebra II to one high school senior. I'm really looking forward to following the Montessori method and seeing what these kids can do. I got to meet them at orientation yesterday and I think they are excited too. We have lots of fun things planned that you just can't do when you are teaching 35+ kids in a public school. We're going to plant trees for Earth Day, have astronomy sessions at night to find constellations and map the craters on the moon, we're going down to UF to the observatory ..... so many things and I am really looking forward to it all!

Sister Hazel Rocks Again!

Andrew Copeland

Ryan Newell dripping sweat on me.

Andrew, Ryan & Ken

Cardboard versions of the guys came out first.

This is the playlist for the concert that was on the stage by Andrew's feet. We were leaning against the stage so I could read the whole thing. I didn't even zoom in to get this pic, that's how close we were.

Brett leaning against the stage waiting for the concert to start.

Signed CD inserts.

Me & Ryan Newell, lead guitarist.

Me & Ken Block, lead singer.

It was another great Sister Hazel concert. These guys never disappoint. Very talented musicians indeed! We got to meet Ken, Ryan and Jett after the concert. They were all really nice and very appreciative of our support. When I pulled out my CD inserts every one of them thanked me for buying all of their albums. They actually seemed surprised. Great guys, great night! :)

We also got to meet the opening band, Shawn Fisher and the Jukebox Gypsys. Never heard of them before but they absolutely rocked the house. Shawn has a little Steven Tyler in him for sure. Really nice guys too. We bought their CD (and had is signed of course) and I have listened to it about 15 times already. They have some new fans!

Great Post from the CEO of Whole Foods

Read here.

The Great Dumpling Disaster

So this past wednesday was Nancy's (aka Nana's) birthday and I thought it would be nice to cook dinner for everyone. I know she likes my salad bar setup and chicken and dumplings and I've made that recipe so many times that I know it works. Or so I thought. So we have eight adults and six kids over for dinner and I'm running a little behind but not too bad. Got the salad bar up so everyone can make salads and wait for the dumplings. Got the dough made, got it all balled up and pinched off into the broth. Wait about ten minutes then add the chicken and egg back in the pot. Wait another five or ten minutes and test a dumpling just to be sure they are done before I tell everyone to grab a bowl. OMG! They are pure flour in the middle. I'm talking bite it open and loose flour falls all over your mouth. What in the world???? So I cook and cook and cook .... add water and cook some more ... I'm talking these things boiled for over an hour, if not closer to two. And they still were not cooked. I have never had this happen and I just don't understand it. I was ready to order pizza but everyone said they would eat them anyone. They ended up cutting the dumplings in half and let them absorb some juice. This was the strangest incident I think I have ever had in the kitchen. The recipe that I always use calls for self-rising flour which I never have on hand so I add in the salt and baking powder to make it self-rising. Well this time I happened to have a bag that we bought for something else and didn't use. This is the only difference between this night and the probably twenty other times I've made this recipe. And of course this would happen when I have a house full of people to feed. I really just don't understand it. Could the flour be bad in some way? Has anyone ever had an experience like this before? I totally puzzled.

Bad Blogger

Here's something to enjoy while you wait for me to get back to family blogging. Come cruise down the Santa Fe River with us for about 25 seconds. :)




And here's Tiki chilling on the boat. She is in heaven at the river.