The Indian Embassy in the 'Burg

What did you do on Memorial Day? Did you have a picnic or a barbeque? Did you go out to dinner with family or friends? Did you have a good time? We did!

While the 'Burg is a tiny town of about 14,000 folks, and the University of Central Missouri is considered a small university, we do have a handful of international students. UCM international students have to be some of the nicest folks on the planet. Every fall they cook (yes, cook!) for anyone at the university that wants to come and enjoy a global meal! Every spring they host a multi-cultural talent show.

These international students have to be some of the hardest working and generous students I've had the pleasure of knowing. Several of them volunteer to cook for the Newman Center (Catholic Student Center) on a regular basis.

Manisha, pictured below is a graduate student in Speech and Language Pathology and works as a graduate assistant in our department. From time to time Manisha has brought me samples of her marvelous cooking. And during the past year, she and Orion became good buddies as she helped him on several occasions with his (cursed) cursive, reading, and writing.

Manisha and I are always talking about cooking together, and getting together to have dinner, and yet this past semester was so busy, I had absolutely no time. Finally, we picked a date! I made it a holiday in hopes that I would be home!

(Manisha cookin' up Chicken Curry)

I picked up Manisha and three of her friends at about 1:30, just as it started to rain! Thank goodness we weren't having a picnic! We got to the house and I showed them around and they went to work in the kitchen.

(Manisha, Sadiq, Tanvi (in the back), and Towino smile as they work in the kitchen)

(Sadiq and Tanvi peel potatoes for samosas. Sadiq later made six quarts of lhassi: strawberry, blueberry, and plain)

I was so impressed with how hard they worked and how much fun they were all having. Manisha showed off her "management skills" by organizing everyone and creating chicken tandoori, curry chicken, samosas, pakoras, vegetable Basmati rice, and she applied henna to my hair!

My friends Sally and John arrived at about 3:30. There was nothing for us to do but sit back and watch these students cook up a storm.


Around 5:30 John left to retrieve four more students from campus: Mona, Ankita, and Poorvi (Tanvi's identical twin), all Indian students, and Phat (a young man from Vietnam). Now there were six to eight 20-somethings cooking in my kitchen at any give time!

(No room for me in the kitchen!)

(Towino was only invited for his onion chopping skills! Or so we were told!)

After roughly five hours of cooking we were ready to eat! I couldn't wait! My house smelled great! There were 13 of us eager to eat, eat, eat!

(Manisha stands ready to start the meal!)


(Clockwise from top: curry chicken [short pot], Indian soup made by Sally [tall, shiny pot], 10 pounds of tandoori chicken, samosas, pakoras, and vegetable rice in the center)


(Ankita samples the pakoras)

(Orion and Poorvi fill their plates)

(Sally contemplates all the tasty choices)

I had such an amazing time. Of course, I haven't posted any pictures of myself as my hair was covered in mud and I looked rather scary. We all laugh, visited, ate, and had a marvelous time. I ate too many samosas to count and ate two more before bed! Oh my!

I was impressed by many things yesterday. The first being the amazing taste of everything that was prepared. John and I agreed that this was THE best Indian food we had ever eaten. Yum. The second being that my kitchen was clean before we even sat down to dinner! All we had to do after dinner was put away left-overs and toss the dinner dishes into the dishwasher! Thirdly, I was so tickled by the friendships that these students had forged- their cheerful banter, singing, and joking filled the house. It was a great feeling!

Thank you Manisha for bringing your friends to my house and for cooking for my family and our friends. Thank you Sadiq, Towino, Tanvi, Ankita, Poorvi, Mona, and Phat for your culinary talents, your hard work, the great fun, and a taste of India.

House Sittin'

Four night down and five to go.

I've been hanging at friend's house while she is away hugging grandchildren. It's my job to keep an eye on her dog and two kitties. And I have to say, I love the pet door. They come and go as they please. But I swear, there's a bird in the house today. I hear it, but cannot find it. I am certain with two kitties it won't "be" in the house long.

I've been using my time here to work on the literature review- reorganizing and including articles I've recently found. I need to go to the office and print a few things so that I may also attempt some of the smaller data analyses that I prefer to do by hand: item analysis for the questionnaire, coding of the interviews, and agreement rate between the two questionnaires.

I thought my friend's subscription cable would distract me, but so far I haven't found anything to watch. But I love the music stations. Great genre choices and no commercials.

Back to work! Tomorrow I plan to play a little.

Beautiful Legs

I hate shaving my legs. Really, I do. I went for nearly two decades without shaving my legs only to start again a few years ago. Why? I don't know. I ask myself that every spring when I remove my winter coat!

This spring I thought I would try something new. I read a review about Nivea Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs Gradual Tan Moisturizer (a very long name for pigmented lotion!) and thought it sounded like it might work. If used daily, it is suppose to increase the days you can go before shaving again by softening stubble and subtly darken your legs. They have moisturizer for fair skin and medium to dark skin. I picked up a tube for fair skin at Wal-Mart for about $7 a few days ago and decided to give it a whirl.

After exfoliating, shaving, and drying off completely I tossed on a very thin coat and waited for it to dry before dressing. The lotion is smooth, doesn't smell atrocious, and goes on easily. But if felt like it took forever to dry. Honestly, I didn't really notice a change. But I didn't expect to. I mean, isn't that what "gradual" is all about?

Day two I forgot. Rather, I didn't make time for it. The fact that I even have a beauty regimen (albeit mascara and lip gloss) totally slays me. But I did notice that my legs were slightly darker. Darn, I should have taken before, during, and after pictures!

Day three I hopped out of the shower, dried off, and rubbed in a second application. I was careful, or so I thought, to apply the lotion evenly and to let it dry before dressing. By the time I got to work I could definitely tell that the 'tan in a can' was working, but drat if it wasn't a bit darker around the ankles, and lighter on the backside of my calves! But I was uber careful! Crap, I hope nobody noticed! That night I gave my legs, particularly ankles, a good exfoliating, in hopes of riding myself of some of the uneven tan.

Day four I abstained... Really, no pun intended!

Day five, today, I didn't bother- too many other things to do.

Ultimately, the jury is out. The tan is gradual. But not as gradual as I though or as Nivea predicted. I got a day five tan with the second application. (Of course, when you're this pasty, everything else seems like an Amazon tan.) I think I am going to wait till I shave again, and who knows when that will be, before I go with another application. I was very careful the first two times to apply the lotion evenly and not to rub it off before it dried, but my legs tell a different story. Next time I will avoid ankles, but remember the tops of my feet. Perhaps I'll even take photos to "blog my shame"!

Has anyone out there tried Nivea Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs or any other 'tan in a can' product? Share your story in the comments! You can always post anonymously!

Lash Blast

My beauty regimen usually consists of washing my face in the shower and slapping on some moisturizer with sunscreen (when I remember). If I happen to put on make-up it usually consists of mascara and tinted lip gloss. I seriously resist putting on foundation or powders. But I digress. Regardless of how much make-up I plan to wear or what effort I am willing to give, I always try to slap on mascara. The 30 seconds it takes for each eye is well worth highlighting my unusually colored eyes. (They're hazel, ma. Not brown. And almost green, if you make me cry. And nearly topaz if I am up to no good.)

Well, last Friday I made another trip to the city to visit Costco. This time I brought along a friend and we had a marvelous time. However, I think we both worked up a sweat shopping! Well, I had a coupon for $3 off Lash Blast mascara by Cover Girl. Being that I have been a Maybelline Full N' Soft (about $4.50 to $7.00 a tube) customer and a Neutrogena Weightless Volume (roughly $6.00 a tube) customer for decades I wasn't quite ready to buy a three-pack of mascara that I had never tried. Unless the price was well worth it. It was. The Costco price was $13.99 for 3 tubes of Lash Blast mascara. With the coupon it was just about $3.66 a tube. What a deal!

I got it home and there it sat. For about four days. Then I tried it yesterday and again today. Holy smokes! These are eyelashes worth batting!

I love how the Maybelline mascara adds volume, definition, and color. The Neutrogena mascara does the same, but in a more subtle, nearly natural kind of way. The Cover Girl Lash Blast does all that and more. I am impressed! Think fake eyelashes without faking them! I love this new mascara! My only complaint would be the shape of the tube- ultimately the feel of holding the brush. The barrel so fat, it's kind of hard to hold on to.

I'm not divorcing myself from Maybelline or Neutrogena products. I love them. In fact, Maybelline Full N' Soft mascara just received a very positive review in Real Simple last month. And on the off chance that I use a powder foundation, I have been using Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation and I love it. Oh, and this summer I have been using Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer (SPF 45). I'll let you know what I think.

Long Underwear, Down Comforters, and an Evening Chill

Weather in the 'Burg is so interesting to me that I find that I comment on it on a fairly regular basis! But I cannot help myself!

Last week things warmed up a bit! We had lower 80s and upper 70s. The humidity was wicked, but there was still no real need to start up the a/c unit. Then the thunderstorms rolled in! And on their heels, a cold front. After a few evenings of storm watching and enjoying several magnificent lightning displays the cold front arrived!

The lows this weekend were 40! My bedroom thermometer read 60 degrees this morning! And I was most grateful for my down comforter, which I haven't quite had the time or energy to put up yet!

Princess Lucky Underpants...

Happy Birthday to the prettiest princess this side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge! I can't wait to see Shannon in June when we can celebrate her birthday properly with a pizza from Monetti's.

Mother's Day Bonus

Some of my friends call it the Texas Two-step, but I've heard it referred to as the green apple splatter or quite simply the runs. We call it "Number Six." But Shannon calls it "The Bonus!" The Bonus, indeed! Whatever the case, something did not agree with me Saturday and I spent Saturday evening calling Earl on the porcelain phone. Mother's Day consisted of 7-up until dinner!

What did YOU get for Mother's Day?

Oh, I did get an awesome pedicure from Orion!

Slowing Down

I've graded everything that has been turned in. I had several stragglers show up in my inbox this morning. But they've been taken care of. Now I must post grades to our computer system, complete my annual faculty report, and prepare for my classes on Monday! I should be home in time for dinner at 7:00 p.m.

Hooray!

Last night was our Bowling Banquet and my predictions were correct! Several patches, awards, medals, and good natured heckling rounded out the evening. I had the honor of having the highest handicap series- I am not sure exactly what that meant, save that when they combined my handicap with my actual scores from a game I scored like a "real bowler!" Additionally I earned second place among the women for having one of the lowest games of the season; Sal earned first place! Go Sally!

But the biggest honor, at least to my thinking, Most Improved Woman Bowler went to both Sal and me! Sally, having bowled for only a year, earned Most Improved New Bowler by raising her average 10 points! Go Sally, Go! I raised my average a mere 4 points this year (I had a fall slump, and my averaged dropped down to 99 or so! It was February before I got my average back up to where it was last spring when we ended (102) and I believe those last two big games in April bumped me to a 106! All that aside, those 4 pins were just enough to get me Most Improved Veteran Bowler for 2008-2009! Hooray!

After two weeks of play offs it was good to see everyone and enjoy a meal together. We had dinner at Nathan's Grill in the 'Burg. This ends my third year of bowling! And there's still so much to learn! I've decided I might need to buy my own bowling shoes and maybe even a bowling ball for the next season! Unfortunately I'm having trouble finding a scary bowling ball with skulls and crossbones! I know that would be key to intimidating my opponents AND raising my average!

Grading Blindness

Eleven hours yesterday.

Nine more today.

Need I say more?

Grading Frenzy

My eyes are bleeding!

My butt is the shape of my desk chair!

And I am walking like an old woman in need of a hip replacement!

Time for assisted living or a nursing home? Nah, it's just finals week at U.C.M. With five classes to put to rest and two starting on Monday I am beginning to feel the pressure! And mostly in my cranial regions! As I see it, I have two choices: get everything graded and posted and prepare for Monday's class, or explode and feel sorry for the custodian who has to pick up the tiny pieces of my skull and what's left of my grey matter off the walls, desk, and floor of my wee office.

So I grade.

And grade.

And grade.

Eleven hours on Monday, 8 hours on Tuesday, and I'm shooting for another 11 today! I still have Thursday and Friday left! My only hope is that I get my syllabi together before Monday so I can rest this weekend before the new semester. Ten more weeks until my summer break begins!

Fabulous Friday

Friday was a wonderful day! It was the first "dry" day we had in nearly a week. Up early Orion made his way to the bus and we made our way to sign another year's lease on the Big House. We've come to view the river in the basement more as a water feature than an obstacle or nuisance. I made it to campus long enough visit with a student and then we were off to Overland Park! We rarely make it to the city, which is a shame- there are so many fun things to do there! And despite our limited visits, we've decided we really like the Overland Park area a great deal! We first explored the area when we took Orion to Children's Mercy South and were looking for Asian markets. We have since expanded our trips to include book stores and now the Overland Park, Costco!

Our first stop Friday was the Happy Dragon on W 103rd Street! This small Chinese restaurant was suggested by one of John's Asian work-study students in the computer lab. There was a line out the door to get a table! The buffet was simple, but wonderful! My favorite was Butter Shrimp! How can you go wrong with two of my favorite things? Yum!

From there we made our way to Half-Price Books on Metcalf! I love that store! (Thank you Sal for introducing me to HPB!). The store sells new and used books! I was so excited to find three of the Foxfire books for my collection! I also found a couple of lovely children's books and some Hello Kitty thank you notes. Their stationery prices are wonderful!

Then we stopped at Ambica Foods, an Indian Market, for spices, tea, and samosas! But we were still so full from lunch that the samosa were placed in the cooler for another time! Next was the Oriental Supermarket, a Korean market, where we picked up 25 pounds of jasmine rice, super-thin, sliced rib-eye for bulgogi (Thank you Tree and P.D. for introducing me to that wonderful Korean dish!), and the largest bag of Shrimp Crackers (Orion loves these shrimp flavored chips!) I've ever seen! Around the corner was the Indian Emporium where we bought 15 pounds of Basmati rice, more spices, flat breads, and other tasty treats! This store has a clothing section that I often walk through and drool over. They do not have my size, but they do have some lovely saris and salwar kameez outfits. I would have to say my favorite part of these stores, however, is the smell! Walk into any of them and your nose is greeted by the warm smells of cumin, clove, coriander, fenugreek and more! Yum!

Last on the list was Costco! I was already getting pretty tired and knew I might have to hit the 'hard stuff' (Read: Coke with caffeine and sugar) to make it through the warehouse! Last spring my friend, Ruth, purchased me a Coscto card for a belated Christmas present! Last summer I made three trips to Costco to purchase staples for the pantry and freezer! I didn't have to buy toilet paper until spring this past year! While I hadn't planned to visit Costco till summer school started, I had several coupons for items that we use on a daily basis! We really raked it in! We spent a lot. But we saved $89 with our coupons! And we didn't buy anything we don't regularly use! Some items to come home with us included: a case of canned corn, a case of green beans, a case of black olives, toilet paper (of course!), 96 pounds of Iam's dog food (I had $10 off coupon, limit two- so that was $20 of savings!), 6 months of Claritin (another coupon opportunity, and I'm wishing I had purchased 12 months!), batteries, bagels, brooms, and other assorted things. We were both exhausted when we walked by the cat litter (40 pound bags of Fresh Step) and John shook his head, "no room in the Kia." So we headed to the checkout counter! After loading the car and proving, once again, that the Kia was bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, I returned for two bags of Fresh Step! It is $7 for an 18 pound bag at Wal-Mart and $10 for a 40 pound bag at Costco! There's no hard math involved!

It took us about an hour to return home and another hour to unload the car and put everything away! The best thing is that I received another book of coupons for Costco for later this month BEFORE this trip so I knew not to purchase paper towels, Zip Loc bags, and other items on the original list till our next visit when I can use the coupons! Hooray for Costco! And thank you, Ruthie (again), for my first year's membership and turning me on to Costco!

10 Pounds Lighter...

... or Sheep Shearing in the 'Burg!

Ah, make that Kat Shearing...

Well gentle readers, it took two razors and a very long shower, but my protective winter coat (read: legs au naturel) are ready for the warmer temps and shorter skirts!

Shaken, Not Stirred!

Tree zipped me an email earlier today announcing that she, PD, and the wee ones were fine, okay, and alright! Seems Mexico City was swaying to the beat of a different drum! One located several miles beneath the surface of our Earth and about 100 miles southwest of the city! I wonder how far the tremors were felt? Did my friends in California or Texas feel it that far north?

Chocolate Crock-Pot Cake!

You read it right! Chocolate cake! In the Crock-Pot! Desert in the Crock-Pot? I don't think so! But several years ago I had some success with a bread pudding in the Crock-Pot as well as a Peach Cobbler! But after a failed cobbler, I hadn't ventured back into the desert world of Crock-Potting for a long while.
You must understand, the Crock-Pot is a foreign tool to me. Growing up we had a Crock-Pot! It was avocado green! But the only thing that came out of it was ham and beans or split pea soup. Neither of which are terribly wonderful entrees that will endear Crock-Pot cookery to a ten or eleven year old. In college several friends used their Crock-Pots for cheese dips and chili. It wasn't till I started hanging with teachers on a full-time basis that I discovered that the Crock-Pot can be a life and time saving device. Yet, I must admit, that until recently, I still used the Crock-Pot less than once or twice a month!
This semester has been a doozie! With teaching an extra class, a pre-teen navigating the jungle of middle school who has been mostly sick since Christmas of 2008, and all sorts of other unmentionables I have enlisted the help of the Crock-Pot and often, my husband!
So Saturday, while the Groovy Pork Loin was simmering away and making the entire house smell delicious, I thought I'd throw a cake together! I was going to make banana nut bread, but I had no nuts, and John dislikes banana bread. But I found this recipe that contained all sorts of 'so bad for you they have to be good' items. At first I was stunned that I actually had all of the items in my pantry! Pudding? I never make pudding? And I guess that is why I had a package in the pantry!
This recipe takes forever on low, but it is well worth the wait! John had trouble waiting and kept returning to the kitchen to lift the lid.
This recipe was adapted from one found in Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: Feasing with your Slow Cooker by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good. The book is packed full of recipes, however, there are NO pictures!

Chocolate Pudding Cake

What you need:

18.5 oz package of chocolate cake mix
3.9 oz package of instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups sour cream
4 eggs
1 cup water
3/4 cup oil
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips.
Whipped Cream or Ice cream to serve!

What you do:

Combine all ingredients except for the chocolate chips in mixing bowl. Mix on medium for about 2 minutes. The batter beats up light and fluffy! Definitely worth licking the bowl.
Stir in chocolate chips (I think maraschino cherries would be marvelous!)
Pour into greased Crock-Pot. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
Cake is done when bamboo skewer is inserted and comes out with moist crumbs.
Slide cake out of Crock-Pot or spoon out. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Note: Take 1/2 of what you think you want. This cake is really rich!

Crock-Pot Success!

Another successful Crock-Pot experiment! I only wish I hadn't been so busy in the garden and laundry room to take some pictures before and/or after! Yum!

Kat's Groovy Crock-Pot Pork Loin

What you need:
2-3 pound pork loin
salt, peeper, garlic, rosemary, whatever
celery (what ever is handy)
8 to 9 medium red potatoes
8 to 10 carrots
2 onions
1 cup of broth or bullion (any kind, really)
cornstarch

What you do:
Salt, pepper, and season loin while heating some olive oil in a skillet. Sear loin on all sides over medium high heat.
Chop all vegetables into large chunks (halves or quarters).
Layer celery, carrots, one onion, taters, the other onion, and place loin on top.
Dump about 1 cup of broth over all. Toss in two bay leaves.
Turn on low and cook for six or seven hours!
About 30 minutes before serving, remove the loin and veggies you plan to eat or serve, crank the Crock-Pot to high, and toss in some cornstarch and water. I love to leave a few healthy looking carrots, some celery, and about a half of a potato and use my Kitchen-Aid hand blender to zip it into a creamy, veggie laden, sauce.
While the sauce is bubbling away, cut up the mean, arrange the veggies and W00t! Yum!

I think the success of this particular Crock-Pot attempt can be attributed to two steps: the first, the searing of the loin and the second, placing the meat above the level of the liquid so it didn't 'boil'.

Spring Has Sprung

It wasn't till last weekend that I could tell that winter was loosening its grip. While tulips had sprouted and bloomed, they didn't fend off the snow and ice that we continued to receive. My red tulips looked lovely in my white porcelain teapots and lasted nearly a week as winter precipitation continued to fall. However, last Saturday I noted that the forsythia were in full bloom and the redbud and dogwood were just starting to have a hint of color. By the beginning of this week the bare tree limbs were dotted with a bare hint of green. Friday finds us on our third day of 80+ degree weather with leaflets on most of the trees and seed pods blowing in the stiff winds. But mostly it is my runny nose, scratchy throat, and crusty eyes that have announced the arrival of spring. I only wish I had some pictures to share!

Last Scores of the Season

Well my friends, the bowling season ended last Thursday, on April 16th. Due to an exhausting schedule, an unknown virus or infection, perhaps the African Sleeping Sickness, and the struggle of day to day chores, I found that I was absent almost as often as I attended bowling this spring, missing nearly three weeks straight in March! Despite my unanticipated hiatus, I returned for the last two weeks and duly left my mark!

March 5 118, 110, 120

Sadly, I cannot find my scores from April 9 and April 16! I do remember I had an outstanding game each evening, an average game each evening, and an abysmal game each evening. The high score on the 9th was 160 (!) and there was a 149 on April 16th!

May 7th we will gather for our awards ceremony. I hope to add a few patches to my collection. Perhaps my gal pal, Sal will earn most improved new bowler! I hope so!

Spring Break 2009

I am blessed! Last month I had to opportunity to share one of my most favorite places (Steel Creek on the Buffalo) with some of my favorite people! I think it is safe to say we all had a marvelous time.

Spring Break couldn't start soon enough. I think we all needed a break. I planned for weeks and was excited that my Arkansas buddy, Shannon, would be meeting us as well as my Missouri friends. Email were sent. Directions given. Meals volunteered. It was set! We were ready.

Friday the 13th of March started early. We were up till 1:00 or 2:00 the night before, packing and organizing, and when I woke up well before the alarm Friday morning at 4:30 I went ahead and drove to Wal-Mart for the last minute groceries and goodies. It was cold. And had snowed the previous day in Ponca. We didn't care! We layered on the duds. By 9:30 were were headed south on Highway 13. Only four hours to Ponca! Four hours to heaven. The truck was piled (seriously) with the stuff we would need for a week and then some.

We made good time. We didn't stop till we got to Alpena and then it was nearly too late! I really had to pee! Nola and Minion held it. About 15 minutes later we stopped at Osage to say howdy to Newt and set up a time to bring the crew over for a visit. We made it to the campsite by 2:00. Sites were already filling up, but we were able to score our favorite site, tucked away in the corner against the trees and close enough to the river to hear the water.

It was cold. But the work of unloading loading the truck and the excitement of setting up camp made up for it. We worked hard for several hours in anticipation of our friends' arrival later that night for dinner.
It didn't take long to realize that Orion was feeling quite poorly. Shortly after getting everything set up we sent him to bed in the tent, tucked inside a sleeping back inside a sleeping bag (yes, two- it was cold!). He made us promise to wake him when the others arrived. Shannon arrived shortly after sunset and we enjoyed dogs and brats with some camp beans! By this time Orion felt so bad he didn't even wake up. Not even after we inflated Shan's bed and stuck him on one side of it.


As soon as the sun set, any hint of warm disappeared. A huge fire kept us warm as we waited for Jennifer and Aaron. Shortly before 10:00 Shan and I hiked to privy to wash faces, brush teeth, and take care of business. I had nearly given up on Jennifer and Aaron. Knowing they couldn't reach us via cell phone in the valley, I figured it would be Saturday before saw them! But they arrived as we were conducting our ablutions! Hooray!

We three a few more logs on the fire, had a few more dogs and brats, and finally headed to bed! A reunion!

Saturday dawned damp and grey. The low Friday night was around 26 degrees. (My teeth are chattering just writing about it!) Orion was surprised to find Shannon next to him. His 102.5 degree fever broke during the night, but he still felt pretty cruddy.


Shannon signed up to make her signature breakfast burritos that morning. We were famished! And the day had just begun. Orion wasn't having anything to do with food! I drove to the pay phone at the horse camp and called Meme in Conway. Hooray for Meme! She offered to meet me in Jasper at 12:30 to take Orion someplace warm and dry for the week! Orion was disappointed to miss camping, but being with Meme for the week more than made up for it!


Saturday turned out to be a lazy day. We spent the day sitting around the fire. Mother Nature misted on us from time to time. Sally arrived shortly after noon. After Shannon drove Orion and me to Jasper to meet Meme we returned to laze around the campfire. We recovered from the previous weeks at school and the drive down on Friday.

That evening, about an hour or so before sunset, three young men hiked down the side of the mountain and set up camp on the other side of our compound. I was impressed. They packed everything in. In minutes they had their tiny tents up. After okaying it with the group (Saturday was Jennifer and Aaron's night for dinner) we invited the boys (Josh, Ben, & Travis) to dinner. Tuna and ramen or free-range, hormone-free ground beef and veggie foil pack dinners. It didn't take them very long to decide. We went from 6 for dinner to 9. During dinner we discovered that Josh and Ben were masters students in geology (!) and Travis was a business major. Josh and Ben met Travis on the hike and they decided to join forces. Dinner was great!

Sunday found us all in good spirits! Ready to start the day and investigate Arkansas. We had a tasty breakfast of bagels and lox (Thank you, Sally!). The bagels toasted up nicely on the fire! Yum! Was there something in the cream cheese? I don't know. It could have been the lox. Whatever it was, it had the entire crew begging for beads. Don't ask, because I surely do not know!





























It was decided we would drive up Cave Mountain and head out to Hawksbill Crag (a.k.a. Whittaker Point). I assured everyone that it was a fairly mild 3 mile hike (It's just the last 1/4 of a mile up hill that gets a gal!). It was suggested (Not by me!) we hit Lost Valley later in the afternoon. I didn't have to worry!

We all piled into Sally's new S.U.V. and headed up the mountain. Six adults and two dogs! And I think we could have squeezed in another person! Or not! Jennifer and Aaron were rewarded for being the most fit and slender by getting stuffed in 'third row seating.' It's not always a good thing to be the skinniest! Jenn and Aaron are ever positive! They even kept up with Minion!

We were impressed with the tree damage from the ice and took a moment to look out over the valley. We parked at the trail head and started down the hill and across the ridge to the crag.

The trail had changed since my last trip out to the crag. Several huge tress had to be gone under, around, or over. It slowed me down a bit. Nola is turning out to be a good trail dog. She's handy to have on an incline as she pulls gently. This was Minion's first trail and if Jennifer and Sally hadn't rescued her, I'd have killed her. Being small, she went over, around, and under every tree and wrapped herself up good several times. She nearly sent me heels over head a time or two.

The first place we rested was the Faerie Glen (So named by Shannon, I believe!). Below Shannon stands at the tiny cliff above the glen. The glen was complete with mossy rocks, waterfalls, and graffiti.

Sally was most excited to find a variety of rocks including evidence of Leisengang Banding (?). (You don't want to know what we called it!). Despite our geological irreverence, we learned a bit during Sal's mini-lessons and I caught my breath! At least most of it.

Nola and Minion (no so) patiently waited as we rested and investigated the glen.

But soon, it was time to get back on the move! Upwards and onwards. We took the trail that led us along the bluff with gorgeous vistas of the valley below. Talk about homesickness!



Just around the next bend. I know it! And there it was- Hawksbill Crag! A pretty impressive sight, any time of the year. And a great place to rest! Many photos were made and stories with passing hikers shared. A favorite was of a group that hiked to the crag, changed into their wedding duds, and married on the point! How romantic!

(Aaron, my hero, and ME!)
(Shannon and me!)
(Sally and me!)

(Jennifer and me!)

(Jennifer & Aaron)

(Crew on the crag!)

The hike back seemed to take longer. I am sure it had something to do with the many breaks I took along the way. That last quarter mile up the hill nearly did me in. I was down to my sports bra on the last 150 steps or so. Yeah, it warmed up nicely! The first third of the gang arrived some 30 minutes before I did, the second third roughly 15 minutes before I did... I was happy to bring up the rear! We piled back into Sally's car gulping down more water (I drank two bottles on the hike!) and crunching on G.O.R.P. We returned to camp a few hours before dinner.

(Dinner for 9?)

It was the Leslie's evening to make dinner. I tossed about 15 taters in the fire (I wanted extra for breakfast the next morning!) and chopped up a variety of veggies for one of the Dutch oven. John roasted two chickens in the other Dutch ovens! Our friends from the previous evening joined us. Dinner was late, but quite tasty! (Thank you, John!). I think the worst part was that we couldn't build a GIANT fire to warm ourselves. As soon as those taters and chickens came off the fire we tossed on several logs in an attempt to feel our fingers and toes again! Brrr!

I wasn't looking forward to Monday. Shannon, Jennifer and Aaron were going to eventually head back. Why couldn't they stay the entire week? No fears! Monday turned out to be fabulous as well. Shortly after Jenn and Aaron broke camp, they drove up the mountain and around the bend to get cell coverage so Aaron could call in for another day of vacation! They stayed one more day! After breakfast of eggs, taters, and two pounds of bacon (No kidding! Thanks Jennifer and Aaron for breakfast!) we all headed to Lost Valley for a nice hike up to Eden Falls and the cave.

The Monday was much warmer than Saturday or Sunday and folks were crawling all over Lost Valley. I was sore from the previous day, but had full intentions of crawling into that cave! Shan and I had to stop at our hollow tree for a photo. I was please to note how much skinnier I look in one layer of clothes than three (See previous pictures!). John and the dogs remained at camp. But I think he was feeling the previous day's hike to the crag. Warrensburg is pretty darn flat!

Sally snapped photos of rocks, plants, and us! And instead of geology lessons from Sally like the previous day, we got botany lessons from Jennifer! Fabulous!

We finally made our way up to the top of the hill where we rested a bit at the mouth of the cave. Shannon volunteered to watch our packs. Sally and I strapped on knee pads and headlamps and the four of us (Sally, Aaron, Jennifer and me) headed into the cave! The water was up! The water was cold. And the rocks were slippery!

Slow and steady wins the race. There were a few tight squeezes, but having good friends took my mind off the close-ness. Once in back, Sally was there to answer our questions! We came back out and it was time for me to hop over a gap in the rocks. I made it on the way in, but my feet were dry and my muscles were less fatigued. I was tired. Sally stood below me and urged me to STEP ON HER SHOULDERS! I didn't want to! I just wanted to jump back over, but knew my shoes were slippery wet! "JUST STEP ON ME," she urged! Eee gads, I thought! And I did it. We both survived.

More water, more G.O.R.P. and I was good for the return trip. By the time we made it down the hill to where the path levels out, I could feel the near 8 miles I had hiked in the past two days! Thanks goodness for Advil, and lots of it! Aaron hung back and walked with me as the others moved forward. I think he was bored senseless waiting for me on the last hike! We said good-bye to Shan as she headed back home from Lost Valley.

The best part of spelunking was the hot shower at Lost Valley Canoes! Sigh! It's a good thing that Monday night was Sally's night to cook! She did a marvelous job with camp fajitas!

Tuesday morning John made pancakes and sausage. It was cold and damp again. We huddled around the fire. This time Jenn and Aaron had to break camp for good. As did Sally. Down came Sal's tent and Aaron and Jenn's pop-up. We all drove into Osage to spend some time and money at the Clayworks. It was wonderful to see Amy and Newt! And it's always fun to bring something home from the pottery! We said adios to Aaron and Jenn and headed back to the river. We took Sally for a joy-ride down to Kyles Landing! We were surprised! There was some serious ice damage to the trees, but what really caught us was the damage to the road down to the campground. Perhaps it was from last year's flood. But it made for some fun manuvering!

(Satan's Lil' Minion suns herself at the Buffalo River)

We made it back to camp at 3:00 for a late lunch and then Sal had to head back to the 'Burg. I spent the rest of the afternoon soaking my feet in the icy waters and making rock art. It was a quiet afternoon and evening, just me and my old man around the fire. We were pretty tuckered and ended up eating a hot dog each before turning in early!

(The Buffalo River)

Wednesday it was time for us to break camp. We had hoped to stay till Friday but we missed Orion terribly and needed to pick him up in Conway. We took our time breaking camp, but by the time we tossed the last item on the truck I was ready for the air conditioner. Yes, that's right. The sun was wicked hot that day. I was miserable and wished I had brought shorts! What was wrong with me? It was just a little heavy lifting!

When I started the truck I noted it was just after 2:00 p.m. and the thermostat read 87 degrees! I was justified! I couldn't believe it was so warm! We drove slowly out of the valley, already missing the river and the trees and the mountains. We stopped in Jasper for a hamburger (Yum!) at the Ozark Cafe before driving down Highway 7 and on to Conway. We arrived in Conway to find Orion driving the four-wheeler around the yard.

We spent a quick two days in Conway. Orion and I made a trip to the doctor for his cough and fever, which had returned. Meme and My Bob took good care of all of us! We headed back to the 'Burg on Saturday, stopping several times along the way. We arrived home to some very lonely cats.

I had an incredible time with my family and friends. I can't wait till our next adventure. But I have to tell you, I'm still unpacking!

Faculty Research Day

Every spring the University of Central Missouri's Information Technology and Instruction and the Center for Teaching and Learning host Faculty Research Day. It begins with a call for research papers in the fall. The deadline for these papers is at the end of January. These papers are anonymously reviewed by our colleagues and winners are announced in March. The first place winner earns $500 while the second place winner earns $250.

I submitted a paper based on my dissertation data (hiss!). I wrote the paper for the ASTE conference in Connecticut in January and presented with my advisor, Dr. Wavering. I was also second author on another paper, "Persistence of Meteorological Misconceptions." My gal pal, Sal (aka Dr. Zellers) was first author and the paper shared findings from our initial study on weather misconceptions common to undergraduate students. This paper was also presented at the ASTE conference in January.

Winners were announced Tuesday. First place for Education and Human Services went to a colleague for his paper, "Effects of an Inner City Preschool Teacher-Directed Curriculum on the Achievement of Third Grade Students Following Standardized Assessment Measures for English and Mathematics" and the second place went to ME for my paper, "Alternative Conceptions in Earth Science and the Preservice Teacher." (Special thanks to my editor and advisor, Dr. Wavering, who served as co-author!)

Both of these papers came from our newly formed department, Elementary and Early Childhood Education! A major coup for us. And while I didn't place first ~sob~ I did spend several hours editing the paper that earned first place so I like to think I helped a little. The award ceremony will be Friday, March 6, in the Union! I can't wait!

Bowling - Bowling

Last week I had a blast bowling. I feel it was one of my better nights. While my scores were only slightly above my new average of 104: 104, 105, & 118, I felt that I was consistently rolling some solid, straight balls. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a force field around the seven pin (and occasionally the ten pin) as I left them more times than I care to count! At least I can say my balls were straight! I'm looking forward to Thursday! I need to bowl off some steam! (I made a funny!)

A Month or More

It is hard to believe that it's been over a month since I've found the time to blog! I have no excuse- only work! The past seven weeks have been a wild ride! (The next sentence pretty much sums it all up!) Saturday was the first day I felt almost caught up; I spent Valentine's Day taking down the Christmas Decorations!

December 21 - January 2 was spent in Arkansas visiting with family and friends! Being away that long just reminded me how wonderful it is to come home!

January 3 - January 6 was spent scrambling to write a research paper for an upcoming conference. Gal Pal Sal was right there with me writing another paper on a similar topic! What a week! Glad THAT is over!

January 7 - January 11 was spent in brisk Hartford, CT at the Association of Science Teacher Educators annual conference! Our papers were well received and it was wonderful hob-knobbin' with folks I look up to! I also got to see several fellow UA students! It was a fabulous week and well worth the angst of preparing the dreaded papers.

January 12 - January 12 was spent preparing for my classes! ASTE has just about the worst time for conferences (Right when classes start!). I never quite caught up!

January 13 marked the first day of courses! Woot!

January 19 I picked up an extra class. Seems there was a course sans a professor. I stepped in. It is a field experience course and very similar to another class I teach.

January 20 I got sick. Very sick. Took me nearly three weeks to recover.

January 31st I attempted to take the Christmas tree down. I got about half the ornaments off.

February 4 Orion got strep throat. I begged the doctor to tell me how to avoid it! I couldn't get sick again. He let me know I probably GAVE Orion the bug. Note: I do NOT encourage Orion's penchant for drinking out of my glasses; I find it rather gross. So it is possible he gave it to himself!

February 13 I finally caught up with my calendar writing, syllabi writing, grading, organizing my courses on BlackBoard, and the like. I worked every day that week from 6:00 or 6:30 a.m. till about 7:00 p.m. I left Friday having only 7 tests to grade! It was the closest to "caught up" I've been all semester! I celebrated with gyros, tabouleh, hummus, and beer with some friends in Sedalia! Woot! We offered props to Darwin, Lincoln, Valentine, and wished Lupercalia was still celebrated.

February 14 was Valentine's Day. I finally finished taking down the Christmas tree and assorted decorations. Wheph! Dinner was fabulous. Really. My boys gave me a Gameboy Advance (and old one to play my Tetris game on!) and some tasty chocolates! It's so good to be loved!

February 15 was spent in the bathroom! Intestinal bug. Or a parasite. :-)

February 16 found me back at work, plugging away. I can't say that I feel 100%, but I feel much better than I did at the end of January! Ugh! And so far, I'm caught up with grading and what not for all five of my courses.

Here's to staying healthy, blogging more often, and getting back into that "dissertation saddle!"

I've missed you guys!

Bowling Update

Can you believe it? We're entering the last third of the bowling season. I will have a chance to play teams I've played twice before over the next nine weeks. It's been a good season- despite my average and the several days I missed in November and January. Below are my most recent scores

01/15 122 90 105
01/22 Missed
01/29 116 98 122
02/05 Missed
02/12 107 117 127

With a new average of 102!

Dang!

I just received this email from our Director of Public Safety.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a "Wind Chill Advisory" from 9 PM tonight through 10 AM on Thursday.

Temperatures will continue to drop this afternoon as the North winds increase tonight. Temperatures will fall below 0` tonight with Wind Chills will reach 15-20` below zero by morning.

Persons should use caution if outside for extended periods of time tonight and dress appropriately, in layers of clothing.

And I thought it was cold already! Yesterday it was 1 degree as I made my way to work!

8 Crazy Nights

Sing along with Adam Sandler!

Happy Chanukah

They say chicken soup is good for the soul. And your immune system. And both could use a shot in the arm!
Yesterday started early. Too early. 5:30 the alarms went off and the three of us were up! We spent about two hours tidying up the house, getting the cats situated, and loading the truck. It was dark and about 2 degrees F. Surprisingly we were gassed up and headed south by 8:01. Right on time. We drove for about 3.5 hours; as we headed south, the sun crept up over the land, and the temperatures rose to about 18 degrees by the time we crossed the Arkansas state line around 10:45.

We met Shannon in Harrison. We had a quick lunch and she picked up a few boxes so we wouldn't have to keep up with them. We were back on the road by 1:30. Of course, we couldn't cross the Buffalo River without stopping to play, even though it was only about 20 degrees by that time. Brrr! The edges of the river were frozen and made the coolest sound as we skipped rocks across the ice.

The rest of our trip was uneventful and despite our little jaunts, we made it to Conway by 4:00.

Orion and his cousin, Tabor, made quick work of our bags while I got started in the kitchen. I spent the weekend working on my secret chicken stock. Out came the pots. In went the stock. In went the carrots and celery and chicken. I got the mixer going and got the matzo balls started.

Meme and I peeled 8 potatoes and several onions while John zipped them through the food processor (Cheating, I know!). Soon we had potato pancakes (latkes) frying up in golden oil. As the soup began to boil I dropped in my light-as-air matzo balls. I have to brag, they floated effortlessly in the chicken stock and tasted like a little bit of heaven.

John was kind enough to snap a few of these pictures. Yum! I'm wishing I hadn't frozen the left overs. I think I'd like another bowl of soup!

Bowling Update

It seems like forever since I've been bowling! What with being sick last week and missing FUN night (where strikes are gutter balls and 9s are considered strikes!) and Thanksgiving. I think it has been nigh unto forever since I've bowled. And longer still since I've blogged my shame (i.e. bowling scores!).

That doesn't mean I've not been keeping up with them. And for my dozens of readers out there who have been clamoring for those scores, here they are!

10/09 89 125 107
10/23 100 102 119
11/13 100 114 121
11/20 124 140 93

Wild Weather!

Looks like we're in for a wild ride here in Midwest!

Yesterday we experienced a WINDY (40+ mph, white caps on ponds) warm (in the 50s) day. The boys and I drove about an hour or so north of here to meet a blacksmith in Malta Bend (Orion may be the ONLY 11 year old getting 150 lbs of coal for Christmas!).

Today finds me in the office grading papers and getting ready to post final grades for the semester. I thought it might be a good idea to come today since the weather is supposed to do an about face!

It was about 61 degrees when I got here this morning. It will be about 38 when I leave around 4:00. And 11 tonight! Yes, I said 11.

Precipitation has already started and there just might be some accumulation before the sun rises tomorrow! Snow, ice, or both!

A Good Day

Wow! It's not yet noon and I have been blessed with several little happies already! First I was greeted with the weather report as I hopped into the car at 6:30 a.m. Temperatures dropping and snow coming! Woot! I hopped out of the car and raced back inside to bring a secondary set of shoes (instead of my traditional Birks) as well as my hat and gloves. I can't wait! Bring it on!

The radar pic was from 10:30 this morning. It's coming! We're only expecting one to two inches. But I can hope for four! Right?

After tossing my 'winter gear' into Grace I made my way to Parker's Grocery to buy gas. I've watched the prices dropping (with the minor hiccup for Thanksgiving) and have held out as long as I could. With my Parker's Card I paid $1.33. We get 3 cents for being customers and a penny off for ever $10 we spend over a two week period. I do most of my shopping at Wal-Mart (prices) but I love the meat selection at Parker's. So I was able to fill my near empty gas tank for no, not $40, no, not $30, no even $20! But for less than $15 this morning. I spent $14.60 to fill my car today. And did a little happy dance in the pre-dawn glow of the gas station.

I administered my second of three finals this morning at 8:00. My students shared their creative philosophies of education. Each one different. Each one personal. Each one genuine. It was sad to say "see you later." I will miss them.

For the rest of today and Wednesday I have hundreds of papers to grade and a handful of meetings (blah!). Thursday afternoon I have my last final. And Friday Orion heads to Children's Mercy South for his G.I. check-up.

Now then, I'm off to do my snow dance and grade some papers. What's the weather like in your neck of the woods?

Crock-Pot 365

The crock-pot is an interesting invention. Some say it is nothing more than a giant Petri dish, just warm enough to grow your favorite bacteria. Others tout its money saving capabilities! Personally, I have always been attracted to the time saving factor associated with the original "set-it-and-forget-it!"

About a year ago I found the Rival Crock-Pot Cooking cookbook on my friend Ruth's shelf. It was published in 1975 and I have found it to be most useful. So much that I haven't returned Ruth's book! Last weekend while shopping the antique stores with my friend Shannon I found a copy for my very own! I was so excited I told Ruth she could have her copy back! That's when she told me about A Year of CrockPotting!

You can find a Year of CrockPotting at http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/. I liked this blog so much I've book marked it! I zipped Stephanie, the Crock-Pot Lady, an email asking if I could link to her blog and rave about her recipes. She was quick to respond in the affirmative. (Thank you Crock-Pot Lady: for your permission and your hard work!).

At a Year of CrockPotting you will find a diary of Crock-Pot experiences for the past year. There are breakfast recipes, veggie recipes, and dinner recipes as well as several things I never thought to use a Crock-Pot to create (Soap?). I love that Stephanie begins each post with a picture of her creation. Then she lists her recipe with the steps and provides a picture of her ingredients. Each entry ends with a "verdict." I find this most helpful as there are some creations I think I'll pass on after reading about Stephanie trying them not once, but twice!

Visit the Crock-Pot Lady and let her know what you think! It's one of the best blogs I've seen!

P.T.S.D.

Post Thanksgiving Stress Disorder that is! It's the scary realization that Christmas, Hanukkah, and other winter festivities are around the corner and you've done nothing to prepare! I hope your holidays are P.T.S.D. free this year!

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving! A friend and colleague invited me to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. There I spent the afternoon with other friends, colleagues, and a group of Latino guys and gals (friends of my friend's youngest son). We partook of some seriously tasty victuals. There was shrimp cocktail, bread, crackers, cheese ball, deviled ham spread, to start us off.

From there we found ourselves at the table consuming turkey with Panchetta hidden under the skin (yum!), duck, mashed taters, candied yams, various steamed veggies, and so much more.

The most difficult decision was deciding whether I wanted seconds (more turkey and dressing) or whether I wanted to try the deserts. You may be surprised to discover that the deserts won. I had a small slice of tasty pumpkin pie and a healthy slice of some impressive cream cheese pound cake! There were really too many wonderful choices! I split a German cookie that took me back about 30 years or so. The cookie was moist, almost cake-like. But it was not sweet. It seemed to be heavy on the ginger, orange, and possibly molasses. It reminded me of a Christmas cookie my mom and grandma used to make. This one was covered in a tiny layer of chocolate, but the ones I remember as a child were covered in powdered sugar.

Mom, if you have any idea what I am talking about send me the recipe! Amber, with your baking expertise you might know what I am talking about. Readers, can you help?

By not having to shop or make Thanksgiving dinner this year I not only saved a tremendous amount of money, I had an extra day and a half that I used to clean my house. It's still not as clean I would like it, but at least now I have an idea of where things are. All it all it was a good holiday. The best part was spent with family and friends. I hope your Thanksgivings were just a wonderful! Feel free to share in the comments, especially any tasty recipes!