Friday, March 25, 2011

Working Woman

Wednesday was a long day. Since August I've helped with Awanas at church. It's a good program that gives the kids time to memorize and digest God's Word and then some time to run around and play games. I have a group of 4th graders who I get to follow around, and they're quite entertaining. Anyway, after starting my first day of work and then sitting through the notoriously congested Houston traffic, I met Sam and inhaled some food before hanging out with my 4th graders, driving home, and collapsing. Oh, and then I had to shift gears and participate in a discussion about Breton lays and Authurian Romance yesterday.

After such an intensely exhausting day orienting myself to a new workplace and skill set, some of the things my Wednesday night group told me were funnier than usual. I was dressed up for work, so I expected some comments about that, but when I walked up to the group the first thing a kid said was, "Hey, you know you look like..." I expected him to compare me to some teacher or professional-looking character on TV, but instead he inserted the name of a Disney channel star. I looked up the show when I got home, and she looks 15. So much for my attempt at a grown-up appearance.

The other funny anecdote occurred when I told one of the girls she had to act like a big kid. She jokingly whined that she was still a little kid. I responded that sometimes I wished I was still a kid, but we would both have to accept that she was a big kid and I was a grown-up. Such an appropriate conversation to have on the day I start my job and try to digest all the responsibility that goes with it.

Fridays I'm only working half days until I finish grad school, so today is shaping up to be much less intense. I went to work this morning, put in four hours, and was able to come home to eat lunch and brew some iced coffee. I even had time to blog before heading to the grocery store. Have a wonderful weekend, and maybe I'll have more to report soon!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Life Just Got a Little Busier

Husband and I had a great spring break. We got to spend some time with both of our families and see some good friends. And then I got a call from a place I interviewed a while back and was offered a job. I start tomorrow, so my dismally sparse blog posts might get even more sparse. Or maybe I'll have so many interesting work anecdotes that my blog will become an enlightening space overflowing with humor and the secrets of adulthood. We shall see. The former is probably more likely because I will continue studying literature with all the associated reading and writing. Oh, and I like to live in a clean place and wear clean clothes. So those things will continue taking time.
Hopefully I can find time to update occasionally, but until then, you know what I'll be doing. Working. I bought some awesome office-appropriate pants today. You should check them out because they're on sale at Target. That's all for now, as I join the working world. Happy mid-week!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Food on the Brain




Have you eaten at Buca di Beppo? Well, you should. It's family style dining, so gather up a large group of friends and family, and head to the location nearest you for your next special occasion. Or the next time you crave delicious Italian food. Sam and I tried it for the first time this weekend, and everything was delectable. We went to celebrate his mom's birthday with his parents and sister's family, so there were plenty of people to share a variety of dishes. Mmm...and somehow we lucked out and got to take the leftover chicken marsala for lunch the next day. Thank you Marla for inviting us and Laura for having a birthday!

For small group this week I made monkey bread. It rose to perfection. I've had trouble with that in the past because our apartment seems to retain warmth to me, but apparently bread dough finds the environment too drafty. The solution was found in a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Maybe you already know this trick, but for fellow bread bakers who have trouble creating a warm, moist environment I'll share the trick. Place a bowl of steaming water on the bottom rack of a cool oven, and then place the covered dough on the higher rack. The moisture and heat from the steam make the dough rise beautifully. Just ask anyone from our small group. I brought home an empty plate with nary a crumb left.

On another note, can you tell I'm hungry? I've been browsing The Pioneer Woman's site, and included on the menu for the rest of this week are her meatball sliders and spinach and mushroom quesadillas. Are you hungry yet? Happy eating (and exercising) this week!