the spoon and the thimble

Small Surprises in the Big City

Published on April 3, 2014 by teachermama1 Comment

Our Linda wanted to check Broadway off her bucket list and kindly checked it off the lists of Sister, Daughter, and Me, too! In honor of Libby’s 16th birthday (you might remember that we did have a little party last September!), she flew us all to NYC to see shows, eat amazing food, hike the urban jungle, and gawk in wonderment. You’ve all seen the big city on tv or explored it yourselves, perhaps, so I just thought I’d mention a few things that surprised me despite the stereotypes and one previous visit.

1. The taxi drivers are not there to make sure you have a nice ride. They are only paid to get you to your destination — no telling what’s going to happen on the way. The first time I took a taxi from JFK to Times Square, the driver jumped out of the car at a stop light to get himself a hotdog! Scared me to death! I actually prefer the subway.

2. The view may cost you $27, but it’s worth it. That’s what we paid to go to the Top of the Rock – 30 Rockefeller Center. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see the world from up there, but I am glad I did! Amazing, beautiful, different.

3. I knew space was at a premium in NY, but I didn’t know they stacked the cars like Hotwheels!

4. Broadway. Just Broadway. Have been a theater geek all my life, so should have expected to be brought to tears, but it caught me off guard. The tiny but grand theaters made me want to laugh with glee and then commune with the ghosts of shows past. It was very moving. We saw three shows from three different perspectives: balcony, box, and orchestra. Each one was perfect. The theater below is the Schubert — just the theater where A CHORUS LINE set the record for longest running show on Broadway!

5. My daughter. No fears. Just jumped into New York like Mary Tyler Moore going to Minneapolis. Hopping on and off the subway, benches in Central Park, curbs into swarms of people with umbrellas. She might have some kind of new york gene.

From “crap” closet to “craft” closet

Published on March 25, 2014July 11, 2014 by recoveringkristin2 Comments

I apologize for my lack of posts. I would love to say I have been so busy crafting that I just didn’t have time to post but that is not really the truth. I have found a new hobby that I can’t seem to get enough of…..napping! I just adore it. Anyway, yesterday I decided to forgo my daily nap and clean a closet or drawer out instead. My house was clean and so I decided to tackle something that usually gets neglected. My poor linen closet came to mind. I started thinking that I don’t ever go in that closet except to throw the random crap in 5 minutes before company arrives. I thought I would take a look and refold some things and make some nice stacks. When I opened the closet and looked inside I started to realize just how long it had been since I had given this little closet any attention. I started to pull random things out. Beach towels, old (expired) medicine, half burnt candles (from my first house), used plug ins, bedding to bed sets I don’t even remember. I began by pulling everything out of the closet and started 3 piles. Keep, trash and Goodwill. The majority of the crap went to Goodwill or trash. I kept only the beach towels but moved them to a Rubbermaid bin in the basement. Now staring at an empty closet I had to decide what I would fill it with. I walked around the house and realized one recurring theme I had in almost every room where signs of my kids “crafting”. I had buckets of crayons in almost every room. My laundry room has been a catch all for Play-doh, coloring books, markers, old pencil cases and glue sticks. I had 3 drawers in my kitchen full or markers, stickers, crayons, thread, glue, clothes pins, ribbon and other random artistic supplies. So I had my idea. I would consolidate our crap…er I mean crafts. Now normally my sister Kim would direct this project and I would just do as I was told but since she is 5 hours away, I was on my own. I remembered a few things she told me. 1. Buy all matching Rubbermaid and buy twice as much as you think you will need. 2. Buy clear containers! You need to be able to see what you have at a glance. 3. Label everything. It won’t get used it you don’t know it’s there 4. Keep 1 or two items. You don’t need 12 of anything. (Except scissors! They looked too cute to get rid of any of them) 5. Make it visually appealing but more importantly functional. I took a trip to Target. I bought a lot of bins, more than I needed! I stuck with a color theme….yellow, black and white. I bought chalk labels to label the bins. This way I can change them as the bins change contents. I placed empty bins on the top shelf so I would know exactly where they were when the time came to fill them and so they wouldn’t accidentally get used for something else. Now I don’t know about you but we always have a lot of unopened crafts from birthday parties etc. that I save for a rainy day. I placed these on the top shelf as well. I wanted to kids to be able to see what we have but not be able to grab it all!!!! 🙂 I tried to display the craft supplies so they would be easy to see what we had and easy to access as well. All of this took about 1 1/2 hours to complete. The kids love it and it keeps the crafts organized and in one place. As crayons get broken and markers run out I throw them immediately in the trash. So there you have it from “Crap to Craft”! Before/After

Together at last

Published on March 20, 2014 by recoveringkristinLeave a comment

Must. Stop. Talking.

Published on December 18, 2013 by teachermamaLeave a comment

In 7th grade one of the teacher comments on my report card was “Kim is a good student who should talk less.”

Hmmm, well, yes, shouldn’t all 7th grade students talk less? I didn’t give it much thought beyond rolling my eyes when my family teased me about it.

But 30 years later, and it’s still true. I should talk less. I really am working on it. I am trying to listen. I am trying to stifle the tiny thoughts that pop into my head while someone else is talking. Teaching for 20 years didn’t really help me with this personality flaw because talking was a big part of my job. And now I probably type far too many of these tiny thoughts into my facebook status. Maybe that is a fairly innocuous way for me to get them out of my head — and readers can certainly choose to ignore them.

Still, I keep making faux pas that could be avoided if I would shut up. Today I volunteered at my daughter’s middle school, helping with a “marketplace” where 50+ students made products to sell. The proceeds will go to Heifer International and an experience that they provide to help make our kids aware of life beyond their locale. I was really impressed. As I talked with (what appeared to be) another volunteer, I expressed my amazement that this teacher would take on such a huge project. So much work! She put so much time and energy into creating this meaningful opportunity for her students! I said that though I am also a teacher, I would never undertake such a big, complicated event. Of course that’s not really true. I’ve just done it enough times to know how much work it is. But anyway, that’s what I said. Then I was introduced to this person, and she turned out to be the Gifted Coordinator for the school district — the person to whom I would go for a job if I decide I want one. ARgh. Must. Stop. Talking. Made myself sound like a slacker!

At Halloween I happily greeted a sweet 2-year-old neighbor and her mom, who has been expecting a baby. What did I say to her? “Oh! No baby yet?” She replied, “Actually there are two, and they are at home sleeping.”

WHEN will I learn?

Things my big sister taught me.

Published on October 31, 2013October 31, 2013 by recoveringkristinLeave a comment

Things my big sister taught me.

Well, I have to say that I can’t imagine my life without my big sister. I have learned so many valuable lessons over the years from her. Now that I am 40 she still continues to teach me new things. Three new things I recently learned:

1. People love getting mail! She mails everything. Since she moved to Arkansas, she has mailed me books, banners and most recently Halloween costumes. The fact is that she would have mailed these things to me if she still lived in Fenton (35 minutes away). I don’t know what it is. There is just something she loves about it. She likes writing and stationery and has always had an appreciation for proper etiquette. She particularly loves sending unexpected treats. Just yesterday my girls received homemade Halloween cards with sticker sheets inside. You would have thought they won the lottery. They ran in from school and these beautiful pieces of mail, addressed personally to each of them sat right by their afternoon snack. They tore into them and were thrilled to have a hand written message from their Aunt Kim. So lesson learned. . . receiving mail truly can make a person’s day!

2. It’s good to feed your dog a raw food diet. This one I admit I was a bit skeptical about. However, she is a smart girl who does her research, so I listened. She has been telling me for years how horrible it is to feed your dog store bought dog food. She buys whole chickens and feeds them to her dog RAW 😦 . Anyway, the other night I was making chicken tortilla soup. To make it easier on myself I bought a rotisserie chicken. As my dog stood diligently at my side, I decided to give this chicken diet a try. I threw him a chicken leg. Now, she told me that they eat the bones and all . . . and he did! He loved it! In fact he loved it so much I saved the other one for the next day. My husband was really concerned when he saw our little dog going to town on this chicken leg. “Is he really supposed to eat the bones?”

“Yep,” I replied, “Kim said the whole thing.”

I was pretty proud of myself, and when I called my sister a few days later I told her how I was getting on the raw food bandwagon. She yelled through the phone, “What? You gave him cooked chicken bones?”

“Yes, you said I could give him the bones.”

“I said RAW chicken bones! You can’t feed a dog cooked chicken bones!!! They splinter and could tear his internal organs.”

“Oh. He seems okay to me though.”

A couple hours later I received a text from my sister that said, “I’m worried about Bogey. You sure he’s okay?”

What’s the lesson here? While a raw food diet may be good for your dog, the real lesson learned here is SMALL words matter too. RAW really was the key!

3. How to lock down your itunes account so your kids can’t buy things without your permission. A few weeks ago I posted on facebook that I was a bit surprised when I got my itunes receipt via e-mail and there was a $1.99 charge for a game called “Pou.” When I asked my kids about it, they explained that it was a game where you have to take care of a piece of poop. Yes, apparently nothing is free these days. Anyway my sister attended a PTO meeting the other night and called me on the way home. During the meeting she had learned that there is a way to lock your child’s iphone/ipod so that they are unable to make purchases. She quickly walked me through the steps. The irony in this is that yesterday my sister received her i-tunes receipt and it had over $60 worth of charges that her daughter had made. Lesson learned. . . don’t laugh at me for paying $2 for shit when you just spent $60 on your own pile.

It’s good to have a sister to teach you these things!

Love you, Sis!

Oh and on a side note. I sent this entry to my sister to edit for me before I posted. Usually she calls me up, and walks me through the edits explaining why the change is needed. This time she called me, and as I went to my computer to make changes she said “Forget it! I’ve explained the comma rules to you a million times and you still don’t get it. I’ll make the changes myself and send you the finished copy.” Lesson learned….Not paying attention can pay off! BTW – I threw some extra commas in this last paragraph for good measure.

Gluten-Free Vegan Quinoa Chili?

Published on October 31, 2013July 30, 2014 by teachermama2 Comments

So I volunteered to make a main dish for my daughter’s teachers’ monthly luncheon/treat. One of the teachers requires gluten-free food, and no one had signed up for that spot. I’ve never cooked gluten-free before, but how hard could it be?

Searching for recipes on Pinterest, I found one for “The Best Ever Quinoa Chili (vegan and gluten-free).” Now I happen to know that another one or two of the teachers are vegetarians, so thought this might kill two birds with one stone. Of course, the gluten-free gal is a full on carnivore, but, hey, one dish can only meet so many needs. And I’ve been meaning to try quinoa.

I was caught by surprise while shopping for ingredients. Had to be choosy on brands of diced tomatoes, for instance. Some had garlic powder, I think, and therefore, gluten. And my grocery did not carry a gluten-free Worcestershire sauce, so I left it out. Bet I could have found it at the health food store, but no time. A few ingredients were pricey: over $5 for the box of quinoa, though it was enough for a double batch. And over $4 for ground chili chipotle, but I’ll use that for other dishes. And, of course, I had to buy organic beans to make sure they were vegetarian.

As I described this experiment to my sister (the gourmand) over the phone, she started laughing. “What’s so funny about quinoa chili?” I demanded.

“I just hope it tastes good,” she worried. “You don’t want to ruin your reputation.”

Ha! I happen to know from experience that hungry people at work enjoy food that arrives, unbidden and free, regardless of how experimental or vegan it might be.

And. . . it was good! Well, I liked it anyway. I used yellow, orange, and red peppers, and, combined with the quinoa, they gave it a great texture that I enjoyed more than ground beef. And beef production is bad for the planet, anyway. So there. Try it if you dare.

Thanks to Sarah at Making Thyme for Health for the recipe: http://makingthymeforhealth.com/2013/09/30/best-ever-quinoa-chili-vegan-and-gluten-free/

A Few Things I Love. . .

Published on October 28, 2013October 28, 2013 by teachermamaLeave a comment

1. Never, never going to the bank anymore. In fact, I can’t go to the bank bc my bank is in another state. All of my banking is done via Smartphone, even the deposits. I just endorse, photograph each side, and bing! Depo made! I love it.

2. Chalk paint. Not chalkboard paint. Paint with chalk in it. Annie Sloan or Cece Caldwell or Make Your Own; it’s amazing stuff because you don’t have to sand or prime. I am a very lazy painter.

3. Tea. I now understand why those European explorers just had to find a way to get tea. Sounded so strange to me in grade school. My preference is hot, green tea, but I’ll try anything. . . it never fails to cheer me up.

4. Modern art. I was sad to leave the St. Louis Art Museum’s modern art collection, but so lucky to find myself 10 minutes away from Alice Walton’s modern art collection! I think I’ll do a whole blog post on Crystal Bridges and my favorite pieces. Coming soon. .

5. Haribo Gummi Bears. Feels a little weird putting that gummy substance in your body, but yum! Tastes so good — and probably reminds me of my teen years in Germany.

I could go on and on, but these are the things I love today. More on another day when I am feeling reflective.

Kim

Pumpkin carving?

Published on October 28, 2013October 28, 2013 by teachermama1 Comment

Pumpkin carving really isn’t as much fun as it sounds. I used to throw pumpkin carving parties, but it turns out that kids get pretty bored watching adults wield knives, and adults get pretty bored cleaning the guts out of pumpkins. The best part is the picture taking when all is said and done.

This year I’ve been inspired to go glitzy and pin sequins to craft pumpkins. I’ll still have them next year! Woohoo!

It took a while, but I had plenty of good Missouri football and Cardinals playoff ball to watch while I pinned. My right thumb felt like I had poked a hole through it, but, hey. . . we’ve got thimbles, right? I don’t have any pretty ones like Kristin, but I found a plastic one in an old sewing kit, and it was invaluable. Next up. . .St. Louis Blues?

Eating in these United States

Published on October 23, 2013July 30, 2014 by teachermama1 Comment

Having grown up in the Air Force, I have often observed the “homogenization” of the United States. It seemed to me that regional differences were disappearing, and you could get a Big Mac and fries pretty much anywhere. Sad.

My husband and I moved to Utah in 1996, and I kept my eyes open for foods that were special to that area. We didn’t find much. And, man, did we miss St. Louis pizza! I know St. Louis pizza has gotten a bad rap in the media lately, and, please believe me, most of us who enjoy that thin-crust specialty also like the occasional deep dish delicacy from Chicago or drippy slice from NYC. It’s just that no one wants to eat predictable franchise pizza every Friday night.

I was disappointed earlier this week when I was unable to find Louisa frozen cannelloni (or ravioli) in the grocery store here in NW Arkansas. After begging my sister for dinner ideas, she came up with adding a nice marinara and provel cheese to frozen cannelloni for a good “fake it” weeknight dinner. Now I knew it would be a stretch to find the St. Louis brand Louisa here, but not even a substitute! (And we can’t find any decent Italian restaurants, either.)

However, you’ve got to take the bad with the good, and the lovely surprise is that this area is teeming with Mexican specialty food. So I switched Italian night to Mexican night and picked up fresh tortillas, real chipotle peppers, and even that crumbly white cheese, cotija. These things are not easy to find in St. Louis. I decided to try to make a more authentic enchilada, using red sauce and corn tortillas rather than white sauce and flour tortillas, which have far less flavor (and nutritional value!). Ended up using mostly this recipe from Tyler Florence, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-enchiladas-recipe/index.html and it actually smelled like a Taqueria in the kitchen! The whole family and an extra teenager were pleased. Yum! and Yay for regional differences!

“Hope”ing to make this old chest new again

Published on October 22, 2013July 30, 2014 by recoveringkristinLeave a comment

When I was 18 years old my Mom took me out and bought me a “hope chest.” At the time I picked it out I just loved it and thought, “Well, this will never go out of style.”

Fast forward 22 years later. It sits at the end of my bed looking so 80’s to me. However, it still serves a purpose. We store our warm blankets in there and sit on it to tie our shoes, so I wasn’t ready to get rid of it. But I did think it could use a little sprucing up or down as the case may be. I first decided to try and “white wash” it. It didn’t turn out exactly the way I had hoped.

I needed to fix my mistake fast. So I slapped some Milk paint on that bad boy and watched it begin to distress itself. I love the way that the Milk paint naturally bubbles up and peels off. Here you can see what I mean.

I was much happier with this finished product. I do have to admit I have a bit of hesitation putting this post up in fear my poor mother will have a heart attack. I love it, though! Makes me feel like I have a new piece of furniture and my kids can’t do a thing to it to jack it up!

See what I mean? Can’t even get the kids out of my pictures much less my room.

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