First Bath

Last night, we gave Olivia a bath. Now, I know that cats don't like water, but Olivia is a very curious kitten and she's always playing in the sinks so I thought maybe she would be okay with getting wet. It's a good thing we got her declawed because otherwise Matthew and I would have been scratched from head to toe. I felt like we were torturing her but thankfully she got over it and slept with us last night:)

Next time we give her a bath, I think we'll close the bathroom door so she can't escape and have a fuzzier towel on hand to dry her off. She does smell much better and her fur is soft and silky again!

Winter Party

On Saturday night, we got dressed up and headed to the Heinz History Center for the ECE Winter Party. It was wonderful! The History Center is a great venue with lots of things to look at and a great place for drinks/dancing and a beautiful ballroom for the meal. If we were getting married here, I would consider it as a place for a reception!


Matthew and I


Jessi and I looking cute, like always:)


Know what any of this means?


We do!

Kit Kat Bars

They're delicious and addicting, watch out!

1 stick of butter/margarine
1/4 c milk
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c crushed graham crackers
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c butterscotch chips
2/3 c peanut butter

Line a 9x13 pan with Club crackers. Melt butter. Add milk, sugar, brown sugar and graham crackers. Mix ingredients and boil for five minutes. Spread over crackers and pan. Add another layer of crackers. Melt chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and peanut butter and add to the top layer of crackers. Refrigerate for three hours to set.

Fabulous Feta Salad

This recipe is from the Taste of Home Simple and Delicious Cookbook. I like this cookbook because it let's you plan meals for a week, using many of the same ingredients. This salad is delicious and also very filling

2.5 c uncooked bowtie pasta
4 c torn romaine (or lettuce in general)
1 c cubed cooked chicken
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
1/2 c Italian dressing

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine pasta, romaine, chicken and feta cheese. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.

YUM!

Watson!

Today, Matthew came home from work and was telling me that scientists at IBM had developed a computer that could compete on Jeopardy. Its name is Watson and today was the first round of a Jeopardy competition against two of the best Jeopardy players ever. It was AWESOME! Its able to generate answers very quickly and to buzz in just like the other players. IBM showed footage of the creation of Watson and how big it is (the computer, that is).

Here's some information about Watson

I'm going to be watching Jeopardy tomorrow and Wednesday to see how Watson fairs against the best Jeopardy players:)

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Matthew and I celebrated last Wednesday and I think I'm getting flowers next week:) At school today, carnations were passed out and it was cute to see students (girls mostly) wonder about their secret admirer and discussing their plans for a Valentine's Day date. Now, I don't need to see kids making out in the hall (actually, I don't need to see that anywhere) but it's sweet to see cuddly bears, balloons and flowers floating around on the arms of teenagers.

I spent my Vday at work, at the library, doing laundry and dishes, cooking and making homemade Kit-Kat bars. The recipe will be up tomorrow (along with a photo, I promise).

As The Beatles say "All you need is love"

Saturday night, Matthew and I headed over to John and Jessi's house for dinner and some games. We had a delicious dinner made by Chef Jessi and played LIFE and Catch Phrase and Wii Party. It was great night of laughter, friends and (let's not forget) one crazy doggie, Dixie:)

Good luck to Jessi with Operation: WTF

An eventful Friday

On Friday, I subbed for a high school English teacher. I'm always excited to teach in my subject field, since I usually have some sort of knowledge of what's going on. This day turned out to be very eventful! There was a fire drill at the end of 1st period. While we waited (briefly, thank goodness) outside the school, I took a look around me. Since when did it become acceptable for a high school girl to wear a low cut, short sleeved, white t-shirt and super skin tight jeggings (you could see everything) with Uggs? Have I mentioned that it's February!? It's not warm outside, it's cold...I did a coverage for a Phy Ed class which I normally stay away from. Thankfully all the other teachers who were in the gym at the same time were very good natured and helpful! I got to help the kids play volleyball, which was really fun! I also didn't know that volleyball has a rally point method of scoring, just like ping pong. Learn something new every day, I guess.

In 3rd period, the 10th grade English class had an extremely heated and tense debate about same sex marriage. Regardless what side you're in favor of, it gave me some hope to see the student so impassioned about one single subject, especially in a class debate. That said, I do seriously wonder where kids get their information and statistics. Some of the comments students were making were unfounded and false (you can always find an article online that will agree with your sentiments, no matter what they are). Regardless, it was nice to see kids engaged in a lesson and not being apathetic about everything. 4th period was a class full of apathetic seniors. Apathy drives me more crazy that stupidity. Apathy,to me, implies laziness which is one of the worst traits a student can have at school.

Overall, subbing is going very well, though I truly long for a classroom of my own (no matter how scary that prospect is).

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my bestest Pittsburgh friend, Jessi! I'm looking forward to a wonderful afternoon filled with Mexican food and laughter and celebrating with some of the best ladies in Pittsburgh!