I knew it was coming...

That's right, it would seem that eight years of seniority in my school district is meaningless these days, because it still didn't save me from getting this little layoff notice on Friday. Oh, the irony of getting a layoff notice on Friday the 13th! I was forewarned by my principal about a week ago, but it's still LAME. The reality is that my job is pretty safe (uh, I think!), and this anxiety-provoking letter has been sent to too many teachers. But it's still a bit unnerving to even be put in the 'pink slip' category.
I haven't really lost much sleep over it, but I did use it as an excuse to try out a new recipe. Hopefully in the coming weeks as budgets are continually reviewed and reworked I'll hear that this letter has rescinded. Until then, I may just cope with any rising nervousness by experimenting with new pink desserts! I'm always looking for an excuse to put my KitchenAid to work!

Last of the Celebrating!

It was almost two weeks ago that we wrapped up our weeks of birthday celebration by heading to San Francisco with Nate's parents on a Saturday afternoon.
We had some time before dinner so we walked around Pier 39 and, our personal favorite, the Ferry Building. I just love window shopping for gourmet food. They have a whole store there selling mushrooms. -- $100 mushrooms! Incredible. When we go there I always lose Nate at the Cowgirl Creamery shop. After his wife, cheese might possibly be his second love. In fact, after this trip, he's decided that since we're not wine connoisseurs, we're going to learn to appreciate and sample fine cheeses. Fine with me. We ended up bringing some cave aged Swiss Gruyere home with us and, well, two years of sitting in a cave must do the trick, because that stuff is really good.
Honestly, as if it wasn't obvious already, the trip was inspired by our desire for good, no I mean great, food. So as the evening approached we made sure not to be a minute late for our reservations at Houston's. Ah, Houston's.
Nate first fell in love with Houston's when he lived in San Jose. He and his friends would drive into the city at ridiculously late hours for Houston's. At some point before I came into the picture, Nate's parents met up with him and tried (and loved) Houston's too. My first Houston's experience was with Nate, but I was already sold because I had become a huge fan of the Rutherford Grill, near Napa, years before. They are owned by the same group and both have the most amazing ribs. Mmmmm...the ribs. That's what the men ordered and Shauna and I had fish. But, lots of sampling and sharing went on for sure. We topped of the meal with the five nut brownie sundae. Again, delicious.
More than anything it was just nice to get out of our usual, busy routines and out of town, even for a few hours. This time of year gets pretty crazy sometimes. Thanks to our two family accountants for getting to work very early on a Saturday so we could get away and have some fun in the city.

Small and Big Birthdays

I think I was more excited last night to celebrate Nate not working until ten or eleven o'clock than the fact that it was his birthday. And, we got to eat dinner together. That doesn't happen much these days (um, pretty much never), at least not during the week. So we stopped in at our favorite Folsom restaurant, Chicago Fire and filled ourselves with pizza. Yum!
For my birthday I got a little something in this oh, so cute little box from Nate. He really is the best gift giver, and I love this latest one as a treasure to add to my jewelry box (which he also gave me a few Christmases ago).
I didn't look very hard, but I think gift bags large enough to hold Nate's present are hard to come by. I didn't even try to wrap it. A cute bow was all he got. It didn't matter though, because the contents of the box were definitely well received. Nate's got a new gadget! Photo editing just got a lot more detailed and clearer, that's for sure.
It's been a good birthday week for the two of us. Thanks to all for the emails, phone calls and gifts. If this is what the thirties are like...we'll take it. Life is good!

a lot of hot air!

Yesterday we celebrated my birthday (the big 3-0!) with my family. For some reason I totally craved a summer meal: grilled kabobs for dinner and ice cream roll for dessert. Barbecuing in that stormy, blustery weather wasn't ideal, but the finished product was oh, so delicious. Thanks Mom. You went all out, and it definitely made for a memorable 30th birthday.
Since Nate's birthday is just a few days away (the 19th, to be exact!) my mom made 2 cakes so we could celebrate his big day too. Keeping with her tradition of covering a cake with the number of candles of your age, Nate got 31 and I got 30. Those cakes literally lit up the room. I'm pleased to report that both Nate and I discovered we have fabulous lung capacities as we managed to blow out every last candle. And the ice cream cake...well, just like EVERYTHING else my mom bakes it was awesome. The perfect sweet birthday treat! It's birthday week at the Boyces!

What's your love?

So, today instead of writing some sappy entry about loving Nate (which of course I do, but I’ve teamed up with Hallmark and it’s taken care of), I thought instead I’d share a few of my other ‘loves’ that also, right along with my sweet husband, make life happy, easier or just more fun:

* Google Reader. This is my newest love. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s changed my life, or at least the way I read blogs on the internet. No more mindless Internet surfing (well, that’s not entirely true) to check up on your blogs to see if there’s an update. Google Reader tells me!
* Breville Juice Fountain. Don’t you just love the name? This was actually one of Martha Stewart’s ‘Must Haves’ a few weeks ago, but, I’m one step ahead of you Martha -- I’ve had it for years. Just the other day I made apple/orange/carrot/lemon/pear juice. YUM!
* TABACON. Go there. At least once in your life. I’m hoping for another visit, even if it’s after I’m officially old and gray.
* Gap’s Essential Perfect Pants. The name pretty much sums it up. If I could wear these every day I would. I love, LOVE them! The perfect combination of comfort, sporty and fashionable – if you consider yoga pants fashionable at all.
*The Women’s Murder Club books by James Patterson. There was a show on ABC based on these books last season starring Angie Harmon that fell victim to that nasty writer’s strike. I discovered the books over the summer and they’re a fun (if you call solving murders fun I guess), fairly quick read. I just finished 7th Heaven, Patterson’s latest in the series last night!
* Fresh baked bread with honey. Who says you can’t live on bread alone? My mom made all, and I mean ALL, of our bread growing up so this is a long time love of mine. The smell, heat of the bread and sweetness of the honey are a heavenly combination and perfect comfort food. And, now that I'm over my fear of killing yeast, I think I like making bread too. Bread alone (well, with honey) is fine with me!
* You Need A Budget. I resisted it at first, but I LOVE this budgeting program. You can create all kinds of categories and assign your dollars wherever you want (as long as you HAVE the dollars, that is). Want to start saving for Christmas so December’s finances aren’t such a train wreck? Well, put aside a little of your income each month into that category. The program tracks it. I know, lots of programs do that. So, the BEST part is that it’s based on living off the previous month’s income. That way you’re no longer living month to month (if you currently are). You’ve always got a month’s income set aside. Oh, and it was created by a BYU accounting grad.
* Health Insurance. Thank you PacifiCare.
*Eat This Not That. I saw this little book at Costco, and I’m so glad I bought it. It gives you all kinds of information about what to eat (that’s the ‘Eat This’ part obviously) and what to avoid at pretty much every restaurant. Here’s an example: Did you know at Chipotle, you can cut 570 calories out of your Chicken Burrito just by ordering it as a bowl (without the tortilla) and asking them to hold the rice?
Might I also recommend Eat This Not That For Kids and Eat This Not That Supermarket Survival Guide?
* Ironed clothes. Let me be clear. I don't love the act of ironing, at all, but the finished prodct is another matter. I have a huge disdain for wrinkled clothes, especially men’s dress shirts. But sometimes the starch I use to get those nice creases really makes my iron gross. Thank goodness for Faultless Hot Iron Cleaner. This stuff cleans all of that ‘drag’ off, and my iron is like new every time -- ready for ironing more shirts! I can only find it at Bed Bath & Beyond, but that’s good enough.

I'm always looking to add a new love! If you've got one...don't be shy. Share!

How did I know?

So, my students' Valentine's exchange was of course a hit and, wouldn't you know it, but I was right on in yesterday's blog entry about the most popular picks for this year. These are just two of the many 'love notes' I received today. Is it because I'm not ten years old that I just don't think Hannah Montana is anything special?

How can Hallmark compete with these? Have a love-filled day tomorrow!

I'm a little early...

So, Valentine's Day is still a couple days off, but I love holiday baking and couldn't wait! Of course, it has nothing to do with Nate working until at least nine every night this week, and I'm really annoyed by most of what's on t.v. these days. Aren't these darling? I can't wait to make deliveries and share a little Valentine's love. And Sistas, I know our baking blog is practically extinct, but I'm bringing it back and posting the recipe here.
You might not have realized it, but tonight's a big night for kids, practically like Christmas Eve. Well, that's probably a stretch. You see, tomorrow, unless a kid's got a real Scrooge for a teacher, is the Valentine's card exchange at school. You can bet every one of my twenty kiddos tonight is admiring their card choice, be it some Hannah Montana or Star Wars, or whatever, and filling out one for every friend (we're ALL friends in room 9!).
Every year they're so funny to watch as they deliver and then excitedly open up all of the cards they received. You know how it is: there's no sweet, heart-felt message. In fact, there's nothing personal besides a name, but they LOVE it. And, you know what? When I was a kid I did too. In fact, that's one of the reasons I love my job. I get to experience some of the things I loved as a kid all over again and have almost as much fun! Can't wait for tomorrow!