Sweetness

On Thursday HH suprised me with flowers and a note...

 

 

We went for a nice dinner at the golf course too. 

 

I gave HH this treat note from The Dating Divas:

 

 

My nephew decided to be Sitting Bull for his third grade Living History Museum.  He is so proud that he has been to South Dakota.

 

 

 

The Weekend

 I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I watched Madagascar 3, and cleaned my washer.  I'm getting ready to do some school work.  I try not to do any on the weekend, but I really need to.
 

Beef Barley Soup in the Slow Cooker

 

Cherry Kuchen Bars

 

 I love this "cheater" recipe!  Kuchen is a dessert that is native to our state, but I've heard is very difficult to make.  I talked with two people I work with who are experienced bakers, and they say it's almost not worth the trouble to make.  HH and I had it when we went to the fancy steakhouse in Rapid City.

 

Crunchers

 

Cheesy Sausage Casserole (Crock Pot)

 

 

Recipe Lump Post...A Long Read

I was supposed to have Curriculum Cabinet from 9-2 today, so I was pleasantly surprised when it was cancelled yesterday.  I had already geared myself up for a short weekend.  I made a lot this week. 

 

I got three packages mailed off, including a package of clothes I had ordered that didn't fit well at all.

 

Butterscotch Reese's Pudding Cookies

 

 

These are the only cookies where I didn't like the taste of the batter.  I always try a taste, to make sure I didn't leave anything out.  I was a bit skeptical about them, but they turned out really well.  Adding applesauce did make them very moist.

 

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Crispy Treats

 

 

... Minus the Oreo because I couldn't find any in Pierre! :(  I substituted colored sprinkles instead.

 

Peanut Butter Cup S'More Bars

 

 

I made these for our custodian, Randy.  He is such an amazing guy, and has been very helpful in teaching us the "ropes"of South Dakota life.  After my class sang Happy Birthday to him, one of my girls said, "Randy, can we give you a hug? You are like our grandpa."  Next thing you know he has six girls hugging him.  Melted my heart.

 

White Chocolate S'mores Gooey Cake Bars

 

 

I certainly attest to running the knife along the edges after it cools for five minutes, it was a very helpful tip!

 

Cheesecake Cookies

 

 

These cookies went to my friends at the bank, telephone authority, and doctor's office.

 

The FLOP:

Apple Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

 

 

I made these the night before I took them to work.  HH tried one, and said they were good.  I don't know if it was the apple pie filling, but they just looked like mush the next day.  :(

 

For Wednesday Night Church:

Oreo Truffle Brownies

 

 

Cider Wassail

 

Two New Items I Love:

 

Dawn Oxi

 

 

I've had problems feeling like my dishes were clean without using a ton of dish soap.  My brother has researched the portable dishwasher for us.  While we still might get it, last week it was more important to purchase our plane tickets to Portland, Oregon for our vacation starting May 20th.   (Woo Hoo!)  Being able to purchase our plane tickets for vacation was in part possible because my mother-in-law is paying for our tickets to visit North Carolina at Christmas.

 

This dish soap is amazing!  I love how it works, and as much as I don't like washing dishes, it is making washing them much easier and effective than before.

 

OXO Good Grips Multi-Purpose Pastry Scraper/Chopper

 

I love that it has a ruler on it, and makes cutting bars so much easier.  I would often have HH cut them because I didn't feel I could get a good angle on it.  I don't need that anymore. 

 

Treat Bags for my Students:

 

 

 

I found the bags at Hobby Lobby.  I think they are way cheaper than using the ink on my printer to make bag toppers.

 

Random:

 

HH and I have finished watching LOST, and are now watching Season 8 of The Office. 

 

I have eight more days of work until I get a FIVE day weekend. 

 

HH is putting up plastic on all our interior windows to ready us for winter.  All the locals think that it will be a bad one since last winter was so mild.

 

I was working on a theme for a friend's baby shower in January.  I asked HH what he thought about pink owls.  He asked why, there seemed to be no point.  I said that a lot of things with babies don't have a point, but are cute.  He insisted that their be a connection, so he said, "Well, they are calling it Baby C, and owls have big eyes....so I guess it could work."

 

HH is a Box Top Counting Rock Star.  He counted hundreds of them this week!

 

Not sure what to try first?  Of everything I made this week, the Peanut Butter Cup S'more Bars and the White Chocolate S'mores Gooey Cake Bars were my favorite.

 

Ladies Fellowship Prep

Friday I wanted to bring in treats for some of my favorite co-workers, and Snickerdoodle Blondies were in order.  Everything you need for this recipe is in your pantry!

I am having a Ladies Fellowship after church at my house talking about Excess.  The following is on the menu:

Broccoli Craisin Salad

I had to google a copy-cat recipe for Salad Supreme, since our grocery store didn't have it.  It was easy to make, and I did have all the ingredients on hand.

Loaded Cookie Bars

Salted Pretzel Marshmallow Bars

Better than Just Old Queso
(No picture)
Southwestern Tortilla Cheese Soup

Are you too overwhelmed to cook?  I gotcha.

If you have only five minutes consider sending this to your spouse "Wedding Email Surprise", or this to a friend (I Wish I Had a Big Yellow Umbrella) who needs a helping hand.

WINDY

Bet your bottom dollar we still had RECESS OUTSIDE.  I went to ask my principal about it, and she laughed.  I seriously tasted grit in my mouth.  I like the prairie, but it doesn't have a good taste in my mouth.
A fun conversation I had with a friend before work...

I told my Math kids (we switch for Math) that they were going to have to work extra quietly because I had to use twice as much glue on my wig due to the wind.  I referenced it a few more times, and the kids started believing me.  Fun times!
Fruity Pebbles Pudding Cookies
These were totally worth the late night run I made HH make to Family Dollar.  I love how colorful they are.  I think they would be fun to bring for a kid's birthday party at school.

Cookie Butter White Chocolate Macadamia Monster Cookies

Between moments of working and trying to finish LOST

This week went by so quickly!  It will be Christmas before you know it! Sixlet No Bake Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies with Candy Corn M&Ms

S'more Cookies (The Stonybrookhouse.com) (These cookies are going over to the ER later on today.)

How the heck can HH's shoe get stuck in his shirt sleeve after going through the washer?

Funny Moments with My Students:

I always talk with my kids about how everyone has a boss, and everyone has things that they don't feel like doing, but have to do, etc.  One day last week I said, "Guys, it could be worse, think about who Mr. F's boss is."  One of my girls says, "YOU?"  Haha!  I said no, but before I could say more, another kid says, "His boss is GOD!"

In Other News: I am taking Zoloft now.  I've had a lot of bouts of uncontrollable crying and mood swings in the past six months.  They have increased in frequency enough that it was beyond time not to do something.  I'm not depressed at all, and I really do love my life, but can't control some of this crying stuff.  It was even getting to where I was tearing up and crying in public (like while I getting my hair done sitting under the dryer).  Sunday after church was a breaking point when I said, "I'm feeling really sad and I don't know why." I had HH come back with me to talk with the doctor to make sure how I felt was adequately described. We are starting with Zoloft on the lowest dose, and will work to adjust things as time goes on, especially since I have the malabsoprtion issue to deal with. I can already see the results.  I'm feeling better than I've felt in a long time.

Mini Road Trip

HH and I left after church on Sunday for a mini-road trip.  We went to Pierre, and stayed the night.  Have I mentioned that I love the Clubhouse Inn and Suites?  NICE, especially for here!
We picked out three pumpkins.  I'm painting one, and HH will be carving the other two.
I got my hair cut and colored.  
I also bought five new cooking magazines (the special ones for the holiday), since I already subscribe to all the normal ones.
HH got a glowing dentist report, and I continue to be my mother's daughter.  I have one small cavity, but my very first crown (which I had a root canal on), has had decay, and must be replaced.  He mentioned that it will probably need a post.  That word freaked me out, but he says it is much easier than a root canal.  I keep saying "HE" because his wife, my normal dentist is out on maternity leave.  I'll be getting that done in November.
All around in the cooking/baking blogosphere I've been seeing these in recipes:

I'm already regretting only buying three bags since I'm seeing so many recipes with them!

Very Vanilla Sixlet Cookies

Apple Cider Caramel Cookies

Chewy M&M Sugar Cookies (with M&Ms White Chocolate Candy Corn)

My First Cross Country Meet

I have two runners in my class for Cross Country.  (I did have three, one quit.)  Native Americans have dominated running in South Dakota for a long time.  Here are some pictures from the meet:
Pre-meet silliness:

Getting Down to Business:

Xandria coming in first place:

Demi coming in third place:
Close up of Demi:

Xandria and Demi posing together after the race:

I can see that I'll have many more Cross Country meets to watch in my future.  These ladies rocked it!