Student-to-student advice

Student 1: (frowns at her partner) Finish the paper.

Student 2: ... uh, I didn't bring a pencil today

Student 1: (sighs) What were you thinking? 
                 You came to school, not a party

Fried Rice with Kale and other stuff

I have about ten students who leave my class early to go to lacrosse practice.  
Today, I had them stay for a few minutes to get the worksheets. And this conversation ensued.

Student 1: "Miss, I don't know why they have to miss class.  All they do is lose."
Student 2: "Yeah, they haven't won a single game all season"
Student 3: "They lose all the time, by a lot of points."

Me: (grabs the plastic tyrannosaurus rex and points it to the class)  Hey now! We are all winners at heart! 

Silence....

Student 1: "They may be winners at heart, but definitely not winners in lacrosse"
__________________________________________________

Anyways, after a long day of teaching and night class, I went home and decided to make fried rice for dinner.

Recipe: Fried Rice with Kale and other stuff

Keep in mind, I am totally making up these proportions.  
I didn't measure anything.

Makes 1.5 servings or 1 hungry person serving

2 cups leftover white rice
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tsp sugar or agave
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp oyster sauce

1 egg + 1 tsp water (scrambled with dash salt, garlic,  and pepper)

Diced vegetables
Kale, onion, carrots, broccoli, scallions, frozen peas

Optional stuff to add in
pineapple, cilantro, kimchi (not both, that might be weird, wait no, maybe both, do what you want)

1. Cook egg first, like an omelette. 
2. Take out of pan and let cool.
3. Saute veggies (onions, carrot, broccoli, scallions) in vegetable oil for a few minutes. Add kale last. 
4. Turn up the heat and add the rice.  Saute for a few minutes with the veggies.
5. Add the soy sauce mixture. Really stir it around. 
6. Roll up the egg, chop it up and add it to the rice. Stir.
7. Finish by adding frozen peas and cilantro. Turn off stove, the peas will lose color if you cook them too much.

I ate the fried rice with kimchi on the side. 
Mama O's kimchi.  YUM.

I forgot to use butter. I wanted to use butter because I see all the hibachi chefs add butter when they are working their fancy grill. But I forgot.  
I guess I'm no hibachi chef.  Just a girl with a pot and a yellow spatula.

Volunteer week

It's volunteer week!  I am the school chaperone for all NYCares volunteer events so I spent my Saturday with my students fixing up Jackie Robinson Park, which is super easy to get to for me. But for my students, not so much.

The phone calls and texts ensued Saturday morning:

Student 1: "Miss, I'm lost. I'm in Central Park. I think I missed my stop"  

Student 2: "Miss, I'm lost. I'm in St. Nicholas Park"

Student 3&4: "Miss, we're lost.  We're on Broadway and all we see is a McDonalds"

Student 5: "Miss, I'm lost. I see a sign that says Lenox.  Do you know where I am?"

Student 6 & 7: Miss, we're lost.  People keep telling us the wrong directions.  It's okay miss, we'll use our GSP"

Oh my. GSP.
I give them props for even trying to make it to the volunteer event.  Also worth noting, the directions I gave them, with very clear instructions on how to get to the site, might as well have been in chinese.

We were assigned to paint the lines in the basketball courts.  Here's the before and after.

14 students participated.  For a Saturday morning, I'm surprised anyone showed up.  They all did a great job!

Lastly, I wonder if cutting out meat in my diet will only make me eat more sweets. Let's me think about this as we look at these hostess cupcake style cookies I made. 

 I got a little frosting happy. The last cookie was a tester.  It was ugly, but I ate it anyways. I might have overcooked some of them because they were a little dry but I ate them too. Frosting very easily covers that right up.  The recipe is here.

Bye February, I didn't even know you were here.

Mural painting afterschool

    February kind of came and went before I even let myself believe it was February.  Maybe it was the weather, or the shortened winter break.  I think I was boycotting February and I didn't know it.

    Valentines Day was interesting.  I got some awkwardly arranged flowers and some chocolates from James. Score. We made dinner and I ate all the chocolates a few days later after a long day of yelling at children.

 

    Three of my female students sent me valentines, which was sweet. They made them out of plain looseleaf, which in some way, was nicer than the cut outs you buy 20 for a dollar. 

"Good luck in LOVE"

   Here's an excerpt from another valentine:

  "I know we all make you get crazy because we talk alot but Miss I have to tell you that something, you are a great teacher and I love when you get mad at us because we enjoy that. If I'm sad and I go to your class and you get mad, you make me happy.  That's one reason you are my favorite teacher".

Sigh. What the hell.

I flew all the way to California to snowboard in snow that felt like east coast snow (hard, cold, icy).  I usually spend my time on the mountain wondering when dinner will start.  The views and the cabin were pretty amazing, way better than anything east coast can offer. 

Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe

Oh and today in front of my class, I google imaged "lipodystrophy," a genetic disease that makes young children look old. And I got a bunch of pictures of saggy butts.  Note to self, do not free style google image in front of students.